..::JessNLane52804::..

Sparkette19

Hi!

I took a peek at your bio, the DIY section and instructions, and I absolutely love your cake topper!! I am definitely going to send an email request to your vendor.

I have a few questions about the steps you took to decorate your letter.

Why did you paint the letter metalic black? Is there a specific reason or did you just like the overall look of it?

I don't really understand the bit about the rhinestones. I'm very new to the DIY/crafting world. Could you clarify what your were saying about the 5's and 20's? Are those different sized rhinestones?

Finally, how much/what brand of rhinestones did you use? Were your less expensive on ebay or was it a matter of quality? What should I look for?

I'm sorry for so many questions. I really like the way your letter turned out and that's exactly what I am looking to do too!

Thanks so much

jessNlane52804

Thanks for your compliments! I'm so happy with the way it looks.

Crafty Eddy is awesome! My letter was $14 including shipping. I ordered on a Saturday night and on Tuesday it was in my mailbox! In his email he sends a link to a photoalbum with hundreds of pictures of his work.

The metallic black was just a matter of preference. The letter comes in plain wood, so most people paint it for a more finished look. I thought the metallic paint added a bit more shimmer.

Rhinestones come in 2 varieties (that I know of): flatback and hotfix. Flatback are just plain on the back and hotfix have a glue back that activates with heat. For the cake topper, it really doesn't matter which you use. I used hotfix because they were cheapest and I used E600 glue (available in the craft section of WalMart or Michaels, etc) to glue them on the letter. Rhinestones sizes are labeled 5ss, 10ss, 20ss, etc. This is just a measurement of the diameter. (Here's a size chart: https://www.rhinestoneshop.com/catalog/popup_information.php?info_id=5) For my letter, 10ss turned out to be between 2-3 stones across. Smaller stones makes for less space in between, but larger are easier to work with . Most places sell them by the gross, which is the number of stones. A gross is 144 rhinestones. (Now that I type all this out, it does sound like a different language LOL)

I bought from that ebay seller just because it was the cheapest that I found. Swarovski are the best. I've seen a lot of knotties order from here: https://www.rhinestoneshop.com/. More expensive rhinestones do sparkle more because they're cut better. I just figured that it was a cake topper and people aren't really going to get close to it, so it didn't matter if they were quality.

HTH! Good luck with your topper and let me know if you have any questions!

kthame

DITTO to this post! Jess, I have been meaning to page you re: the same exact thing!!! I am SO doing the same thing!!! Thank you so much for all of this information!!!

Kate