Fun with Rhinestones

By request, I'm loading all the details of the rhinestone applicator I've been using these last few weeks. And no, I'm not on commission!

The one I bought was a Hot Fix Applicator Wand from ShaggyDogCrafts.com. You can buy the crystals from them too, in all different colours. They used to have a useful Hints page, but this seems to have disappeared...

The wand is available from other sources, too. In the States, it's also called a "Bedazzler"!

The Hot Fix applicator works with flat-backed crystals, that have glue on the flat-back. The applicator picks up the crystals, shiny side up, then heats the crystals till the glue on their back melts. You then place the crystal down where you want it to be. Simple as that!

I bought my crystals through Ebay, the vendor was Crystals R Us and I've been very happy with the service, nice & cheap and next day delivery. But again, there are plenty of other Ebay sellers (All That Glitters and Rhinestones Online seem to have the same sort of products at the same sort of prices).

I bought the applicator because I wanted a custom t-shirt, with rhinestones on it. Once I got it, I went a bit mad with it!

Here's a mini-gallery of the fun I've had so far... Click on the image for a bigger version.

This was my first experiment. I worked the lettering freehand. The crystals are Hot Pink.	I already had this t-shirt with the bellydancer on it, from way back. I just jazzed her up a little.
This was another freehand effort and I found I'd started it too far across so I had to add the star! (I'm really going to have to learn to plan better)	These t-shirts were the whole reason for buying the Rhinestone gun in the first place
And finally, a discreet spot of decoration at the ankle of one of my many pairs of black jazz pants

I have many future plans for this new toy...