Last week I was browsing through Target’s “Dollar” area, and spotted some cute little bags. I thought I could dress up bags with rhinestones for our little princesses for Easter. I had never worked with rhinestones before and figured this would be a good beginner project.
Yesterday I decided to get going on the project. However, after taking a better look at the Target bags, I decided the quality was so poor (even at $3.00 a piece) that it wasn’t really worth the effort: the bags are going back for a refund. I went through my stash of fabric and found a vintage tablecloth that I figured would be perfect for my little bags.
I have made several larger bags in the past, so I took the basic pattern for those bags and cut it down to make something more appropriate for little girls.
Our awesome KNK team sent me rhinestones several months ago but I had yet to take the time to learn how to apply them. Thank goodness for Sandy McCauley and her awesome videos! I watched all of her rhinestone designing videos and learned so much. (I will be watching a LOT more of her videos in the near future, because I learned so many awesome tips.)
Sandy made it look so easy designing the rhinestone templates that I couldn’t wait to get going. Of course, there was a bit of a learning curve so it didn’t seem quite as easy as it looked watching her, but I managed to get a good result for my first try.
- Materials:
- Rhinestone Motif Rubber
- Rhinestones
- Rhinestone Transfer Tape
- Blue-capped Blade
- Small baking pan
- Backing board such as chipboard, foam board, etc.
- Iron
- Settings on KNK Zing:
- Force – 100
- Speed – 10
- Multicut – 2
- Offset – .25
- Steps:
- Design Template (or open pre-made design)
- Remove backing from rubber and place sticky side down on mat.
- Use brayer, or rub firmly with hand to make sure rubber is adhered adequately to mat.
- Insert into Zing and cut.
- Peel template off mat slowly. Make sure all holes are clear. (All the circles should stay on mat.)
- Apply rubber template to firm backing. I used a piece of foam board.
- Place template in baking pan to contain rhinestones.
- Spread rhinestones over template. Spread rhinestones over template until all holes are filled. Make sure all holes are filled and rhinestones are right-side-up.
- Brush off excess rhinestones.
- Cut piece of transfer tape and adhere to top of rhinestone design. Press gently and make sure all rhinestones are sticking to tape before removing from template.
- Place your rhinestone design on your bag or other item.
- Use iron on wool or cotton setting. Hold for ten seconds. Pick up to move slightly, and repeat a few times.
- Remove transfer tape.
If you are designing rhinestone templates for the first time, you will definitely want to watch Sandy’s videos. She also has a YouTube video that shows clearly how to apply them. You will learn a lot of tips that I did not include here.