Browsing on TikTok and Instagram Explore, one craft seems to dominate my algorithm as of late: bedazzling. This craft is on the tedious side of the crafting spectrum, consisting of individually picking up rhinestones with a wax pencil and gluing each of these tiny gems onto your object of choice. However, this trend originated long before the bedazzling kits of TikTok Shop. Ron Popeil’s team designed a bedazzling tool known as The Stud Setter in the late 1970s, which only gained moderate fame during that period. In the 1980’s, Bedazzlers became a popular children’s toy, alongside other crafting tools like Puffy Pens and Shrinky Dinks. Only with the rise of the 1990s and early 2000s popular culture did the bedazzler begin to entice an audience of trendy young adults. With the turn of the century, a sense of “millennium optimism” manifested in sparkling and eye-catching trends. Famous figures like Justin Timberlake, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears swam in layers of rhinestone-embellished garments and accessories, leading their millions of fans to associate stardom with sparkle. As Y2K trends make their way back into the limelight, rhinestones, too, have regained popularity and begun to dazzle Gen Z audiences.
One of the most asked questions about bedazzling is what to bedazzle. The craft is no longer limited only to clothing garments, now encompassing just about any item that could be improved with a little sparkle– key fobs, popular figurines like Sonni Angels or Smiskis, makeup products, and just about anything else that can stick to rhinestones with a dab of glue. After buying my own kit, I have already bedazzled three Sonni Angels, two claw clips, and even a pill bottle– turning something purely functional into something joyful. Bedazzling is so much more than sparkle; it is a way to express creativity and show your dedication to creating a brighter, more joyful world. At a time with bitingly cold weather and overwhelming political unrest, a little bit of sparkle offers a bit of tactile joy in an otherwise bleak environment.
