This thesis present the result of four experimental projects, that revolve around the practical aspects of using NV centers for quantum applications. The core of the this work deals with the coherence time of NV centers and how it is affected by damage introduced into the diamond lattice by ion implantation where we have discovered that while the emission of the NV center is sensitive to the damage the coherence time is not. The other topics of this work cover a novel method to deposit isolated nano diamond using aerosols and a method to secure the nano diamonds into silicon substrates using self-assembled mono layers. Finally, the work concludes with a proposal to use the magnetic field produced by spin vortices to increase the coherence time of NV centers where some preliminary result of the spin vortices fabrication are presented.