All that glitters……

If it sparkles, I want it…..if it doesn’t sparkle, I want it anyway and I’ll make it sparkle!

Since I started dancing, my husband says I’ve turned into a Magpie! (Just to clarify….I’ve not grown wings and a beak and started to fly……just the attraction to shiny things!!)

One of the things I love about dancing is the image. The make up, hair, shoes, jewellery, tan, dresses (oh the dresses!!!!!!) and the copious amounts of crystals!

Staying up all hours to decorate dresses, skirts, tops, motifs, adding them to earrings, hair clips, bracelets….I love it….and it requires a lot of tea and chocolate! I actually find it quite therapeutic!

Stoning motifs ready to add to a Paso outfit

I’ve used various types and brands of crystals, for example on a Latin dress that I had made, I used Swarovski Crystal elements. They were easy to fix to the dress using a basic crystal glue from Chrisanne Clover and have stayed brilliantly. The shine as the light hits is beautiful! Using them in my hair on the day of the competition was interesting! Adding them to my hair using eyelash glue was one challenge….but looked great once they were on. Removing them on the other hand was another challenge altogether!

It’s easy to get carried away ordering crystals and when using high end, well known makes, whilst they look amazing, the cost really does mount up!

I’ve since stoned more items and searched for another supplier in a bid to cut the cost but aim to keep a quality that shines from the floor when I’m dancing. A friend recommended I try Rhinestone HQ on Facebook who sell premium crystal rhinestones.

The concern when buying something that costs so much less is that the quality will be jeopardised. I ordered AB rhinestones to begin with and was so impressed with the quality and shine of the stones that I haven’t looked back. They look amazing! Any stones I have used since then, be it to replace any lost stones on my ballroom dress which was originally decorated in Swarovski Crystal elements, or to stone new ones have been from Rhinestone HQ!