Diamond painting and paint by numbers look alike online but feel completely different to do. Here is an honest comparison of kit contents, time, mess, cost and the finished look, so you can choose the craft you will actually finish.

You spend hours filling every tiny shape on your canvas. You hope to see a bright masterpiece when you finish. Instead, you step back and notice that the colours don't match the box. This problem is frustrating and ruins your creative mood. Your artwork looks dull, muddy, or the paint looks different from the website render. You might even wonder if your whole kit came with the wrong pots. The...

Easy, medium or hard? Learn the four things that set a paint by numbers kit's difficulty — colour count, section size, subject and canvas size — and how to pick the level you'll actually finish.

Ten spooky paint by numbers kits — skulls, witches, black cats, and ghostly scenes — plus tips on canvas size, timing, and turning your finished piece into standout Halloween decor.