Jewelry

DIY Russian style and glamorous products with Swarovski crystals

One European baron, who visited Russia in the 19th century, noted in his memoirs how one summer Sunday day he saw on the road passing by the estate where he was staying, a group of women, young and old, slowly passing by, so smartly and luxuriously dressed, so magnificently that he had never seen such a thing before. This procession seemed to the Baron more like a vision than a reality. "What is it?" he asked the owner of the estate. - "Women from my village go to church."

And John Gottlieb Georgi, who studied Russia for decades as part of geographical expeditions, wrote "... a well-dressed Russian ... looks handsome and important ...", "and a perfect women's dress ... is very valuable and extremely good and magnificent ..." ...

Therefore, you do not need to limit yourself, because we tend to decorate ourselves, which means that rhinestones will find a place on our clothes and accessories.

Let's pay close attention to products with Swarovski crystals, because today these stones adorn not only jewelry and clothing, but also mobile phones, glasses, business cards and even cars. What really cars! There are rhinestones for decorating nails, face and other parts of the body.

Each item, decorated with rhinestones, looks individual and unique, especially if it is Swarovski crystals.

You can independently decorate your clothes or some other thing with rhinestones, having been in the role of a designer. You probably know that rhinestones in themselves are not a great value - after all, they are just a semblance of diamonds. But the work in creating chic outfits that shine with a fabulous radiance is highly valued. Indeed, a masterpiece of design art is born after a long and painstaking work. If you decorate a thing with rhinestones, its price immediately rises.

Where are rhinestones produced and how are they classified?

Of course, the most unsurpassed in beauty and quality are Swarovski crystals"... Therefore, Austria is considered the very first manufacturer of rhinestones, followed by Korea. Both the first and second manufacturers make rhinestones from high-quality glass, using the strong green HotFix glue. But "Swarovski" is mainly machine-cut, which is extremely valuable (small crystals, of course, by hand). And in Korea, only the front and back walls of the rhinestone are machine-cut, approximately 80% of the total rhinestone, which means 80% of the shine, the rest is made by hand. This is done in order to save production costs. Therefore, Korean rhinestones are cheaper, but their beauty is undeniable. And finally, the third manufacturer is China. Chinese rhinestones are not the most expensive, but there is much less beauty and shine in them. Here both glass and glue are of lower quality.

Rhinestones are divided into several types:

Glue crystals: without hot melt glue and with hot melt glue. Crystals without hot melt glue are stones with a flat bottom and silver foil on the back, which allows them to be fixed with glue. Amalgam determines the color of the crystal. Crystals with hot melt glue can be glued thanks to a special glue based on a stone, which is preheated.

Glue rhinestones are used in jewelry accessories: belts, bags, phones, business card holders, key rings. They can be used in interior decoration - decorate furniture, mirrors and much more.

Crystals without amalgam - these rhinestones are completely transparent, but their color can be not only the color of a tear. They can play with all the colors of the rainbow. Such stones are more used in the decoration of mirrors, furniture and even door sashes. Apart from the interior, they have found special application - in crystal paintings. The technology for gluing rhinestones to glass is not simple.But using transparent multi-colored stones, you can get real masterpieces of art, where glass and rhinestones become one.

Sew-on crystals with a flat bottom contain one, two or three holes. These crystals are used to decorate clothes and accessories.

Beads - stones with one hole. They are also used for clothing, textiles, costume jewelry and accessories.

Buttons, buttons are also made using rhinestones, which are different in their shapes, colors, sizes.

Decal - these are not just textile rhinestones, these are ready-made drawings of rhinestones, which are applied to a fabric film. To decorate your outfit, you just need to slightly heat the finished applique and apply it to the fabric surface of your clothes. Fast and luxurious!

Pendants - this is, one might say, a finished rhinestone decoration that you can use as an addition to jewelry, clothes, accessories. Pendants, like beads, have one hole.

Hot-melt metal rhinestones:

Half balls - hot-melt, metal hemispherical rhinestones with a glossy surface. Their advantage is the reflection of light from any direction. If you decorate your clothes with these rhinestones, you can be sure that you will not go unnoticed, as their glossy surface shines brightly, evenly reflecting light in all directions.

Half balls (m) - hot-melt, metal, hemispherical rhinestones with a matte surface. They are made of unpolished metal, so they can be used to decorate clothes with patterns "like metal".

Hats - these are hot-melt, but metal rhinestones, in the form of a convex disk, which are shiny or matte. From them you can independently make up your own designs on the fabric. But the most original addition of them is the imitation of chains.

Octagons - hot-melt metal rhinestones, but in this case in the form of an octahedron. They are very original and noble. They also, you can "draw" flickering stars on your clothes, make your own compositions.

Polymer rhinestones:

Iris - hot-melt polymer rhinestones. Their name is explained by the iridescent sheen. Rhinestones are translucent, have a special coating that allows them to imitate rainbow colors.

Glitter - hot-melt polymer rhinestones, but unlike rainbow ones, they are transparent and with numerous sparkles inside. The glitter designs look magical, they shimmer with small sparkles. Depending on the incidence of light on your outfit, flashes of sparks seem to occur - first one, then the other - a magical sight.

Pebbles - hot-melt polymer rhinestones in the form of a hemisphere with a shiny surface. If you want to feel like the "mistress of the Copper Mountain", make a drawing of these stones, which will imitate marble.

Pebbles (m) - hot-melt polymer rhinestones, but with a matte surface. They are also in the form of a hemisphere, but imitate matte marble. From them, you can make a composition that will resemble sea pebbles.

The effect of different colors is created by applying a special reflective foil layer to the bottom of the rhinestones. When a special layer is sprayed on the surface of rhinestones, it is possible to change the color and enhance the shine.

Sometimes the spraying of a special composition is applied only on one or two facets of the stone or on a part of the stone - this is also the original decision of the glass master.

Common and standardized sizes of Swarovski crystals

What sizes of rhinestones can you see? Usually their sizes are indicated in millimeters or in the form of symbols "ss", which corresponds to "Stone Sise":

ss 6 - 1.90 - 2.10mm
ss 8 - 2.30 - 2.50 mm
ss 10 - 2.70 - 2.90 mm
ss 12 - 3.00 - 3.20 mm
ss 16 - 3.80 - 4.00 mm
ss 20 - 4.60 - 4.80 mm
ss 30 - 6.32 - 6.50 mm
ss 34 - 7.069 - 7.272 mm

Beauties with Swarovski crystals and Russian style

Swarovski crystals with sewing holes

How to choose a glue for rhinestones?

What is the best glue to glue rhinestones? Here it is worth thinking seriously, not in a hurry.It should be noted that when hardening, the glue should become transparent and should not harden quickly, otherwise it will be difficult to adjust the position of the rhinestone in the picture - you may not have time, and everything will look messy. One of the best is Kristall # 18 glue. This glue adheres rhinestones well to fabrics, does not stain, and the fabric retains its flexibility after drying. Such a product is not afraid of water - you can wash clothes with pasted rhinestones in a week. But in no case should you use dry cleaning. In any case, when you start gluing rhinestones to the fabric, make a so-called test - how your fabric will react to the glue.