Reusable water bottles have surged in popularity due to a growing awareness of environmental issues; they offer an eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastic bottles, significantly reducing waste and pollution. The convenience of having water on-the-go, combined with the cost savings over buying bottled water and the ability to express personal style through various designs, also contribute to their widespread appeal.
A popular way to personalize your own water bottle is with the addition of rhinestones. The DIY rhinestone water bottle trend has caught on for its blend of sustainability and personal style. Crafting enthusiasts enjoy customizing their reusable bottles with sparkling rhinestones, creating unique, eye-catching designs that stand out.
How to recreate this rhinestone drink bottle
Blinging is an art form and a skill, but it is easy to master with practice, patience and a few handy tips along the way. We’re going to show you an easy way to achieve this fabulous ombre design for your water bottle with rhinestones.
What you’ll need:
- Glass, plastic or metal re-usable drinks bottle – preferably a cylindrical shape with a flat straight surface. Adding rhinestones to a water bottle with a textured surface or curved shape will have a risk of stones falling off.
- Gem Tac glue – this is the best rhinestone glue to use for these types of bling projects as it is long lasting, easy to use and dries completely clear. Gem Tac can be used on almost any surface or material.
- Applicator syringe – this is a useful tool for applying the glue in small amounts, neatly.
- Rhinestone pick up tool – using the correct embellishment tool for picking up rhinestones is essential for a quick and easy application process.
- Flipper tray – having your rhinestones nearby in a tray makes the process of picking up and applying them a lot quicker and easier.
- Preciosa or Zodiac non hotfix flatback rhinestones – here we’re using SS12 (3.2mm) Preciosa Rose AB, Citrine AB, Peridot AB and Capri Blue AB, but you can use any colours you like. For the ombre effect you’ll need colours that flow neatly into each other. Or you could go for contrasting shades and do a colour block design.
Optional extras
- Tumbler turner – This is a nifty tool for professional blingers. If you are blinging multiple bottles/tumblers, for example if this is your business, the tumbler turner holds the item steady and allows you to turn it smoothly.
- Honeycomber – This adjustable bling belt helps keep your rhinestones in line when blinging.
Step by step method:
- Firstly, make sure the bottle is clean and dry before you start. If it is a plastic or metal bottle, lightly sand it down and wipe away any dust.
- Tip your first colour rhinestones into the flipper tray and give it a gentle shake so they turn shiny side up.
- Pour a small amount of Gem Tac glue into the applicator syringe and screw on the precision tip.
- Starting at the base of the bottle, gently squeeze out small dots of glue (smaller than the size of your rhinestone) in a straight line going around the very bottom. Start with 10 – 12 dots at a time.
5. Once you’ve applied around 10 – 12 glue dots, use the pick up tool to pick up your first rhinestone and place it on the first glue dot.
6. Continue picking up and placing, keeping the rhinestones as close together as possible to avoid gaps.
7. Repeat this process until you have made your way round the whole bottom edge, back to the very first rhinestone.
8. For the next row, we recommend using the ‘honeycomb’ method. There are lots of different application styles to choose from with crystallizing, but the honeycomb method means you can apply rhinestones close together without gaps between each row.
9. Start the next row by adding the rhinestone in the middle of the two below it, rather than directly above. Keep up this method for each row and you should find that the rhinestones sit snuggle in between each other.
10. To achieve the ombre blend, measure out roughly where the next colour will need to start, this will be about a quarter of the way in if you’re using 4 colours. When you reach this point, you need to start adding in the next colour, just a few at a time. Gradually, as you continue to add more rows, you need to include more of the new colour, until you get a solid row of the next colour.
11. Keep up with this technique, remember it doesn’t have to be perfectly calculated. In fact, the more randomly interspersed the colours are, the more natural the blend will look.
12. As you go along, make sure the rows of rhinestones are sitting flush against the surface, and are staying in the straight line you started with.
13. Once finished, allow the glue to dry completely before you use the bottle. Don’t worry if you can see wet glue, it will dry crystal clear.
So there you have it, your very own bedazzled water bottle! If you’re not confident trying out the ombre design, start simply and use just one colour for an all over bling water bottle. Once you get the hand of crystallising you can try more complicated designs. Have fun getting creative and remember our top tips:
