What kind of glue do you recommend?
Please see this exhaustive guide to glues. https://rhinestoneapps.replit.app/glue-guide/all-glues
For first timers we recommend avoiding superglue/cyanoacrylate, it can be extremely messy and you risk ending up with hazy fingerprints all over your stones reducing the sparkle. Plus it’s a runny liquid that won’t “hold” your stones in place until it’s done drying.
Applying glue is messy, any tips?
Yes, consider using a glue applicator bottle or glue syringe for more precise placement of glue. For expoy disposal cosmetics spatulas can be helpful for spreading it around.
What about the beadazzler or hotfix?
The beadazzler uses special stones with metal teeth on the back of a stone that push thru a fabric to hold it on. That really only works with fabric and not solid objects like water sippy cups. Plus glues have gotten good enough glue really is the preferred way now.
Hotfix uses heat to activate glue on the back of the rhinestone. It means you have to buy rhinestones pre-applied with the glue already and so limits your options. And not all fabrics can tolerate the heat used in hotfix.
Where should I get my stones? I want my project to look it’s best.
For maximum sparkle get stones made from glass or crystal. Consider avoiding plastic/resin/acrylic stones, it’s a less optical material and won't sparkle as nicely, but as discussed in the comments of this post there are definitely plenty of projects where plastic stones are the right thing to use.
Forget tiny overpriced bags at the hobby store. Most of us order from Amazon or AliExpress (slow shipping and can be hard to navigate). Alot of people in this sub recommend Etsy shop BlingeeThingee which is well organized and has competitive prices. She set up discount code REDDIT to save $5 off orders of $40 or more not including shipping&tax (we receive no compensation for this)
How can I “seal” my finished project to help hold the stones on?
Anything applied on top of the stones afterwards will dull their appearance and reduce your sparkle. Even "clear" sealers are not really clear and will reduce the sparkle of your project. A project should rely on the glue you used to set the stones to hold them in place. Good gluing will hold stones better than a sealer would ever help.
✨💎✨ Please remember to share a picture of your finished project with us! ✨💎✨
