Thread: Swarowski crystals

Hiya folks,

I'm looking for swarowski crystals to add to one of my costumes. Do you know of any good online stores out there that sell crystals that can be used for costuming?

I get all of mine from http://www.dreamtimecreations.com

They have sew on, heat set, prong-set, etc. And they ship out very quickly!!!

There was a thread on this on classic bhuz a while back and I bookmarked a few sites. I've never tried them myself, but other bhuzzers recommended them.
http://www.rainbowsoflight.com/SewOnStones.html
http://www.rhinestonechain.net/index.html
http://www.ejoyce.com/pmain?cmd=e_listmain
http://www.dreamtimecreations.com/
http://rhinestoneguy.com/

Try www.firemountaingems.com.

www.lightning7supply.com
I ordered some LARGE tear drop sew-on's from them. great service and shipped fast. good luck!

www.gspncrystal.com they are alot cheaper. they also ship fast

Alrana

I bought a gross of huge pear shaped swarowski crystals (the kind you see on Bella and other top of the line costumes)
They have the holes drilled in them so they are sew on...
I got them at
www.rhinestoneguy.com
he's got alot of stones! They are not cheap but the are top quaility.

Thanks guys ..g.:

Any fave tips on cleaning them? for a prong setting? Iv'e heard class cleaner.

Originally Posted by damiena

I get all of mine from http://www.dreamtimecreations.com

They have sew on, heat set, prong-set, etc. And they ship out very quickly!!!

I agree -- good product, fast shipment, a lot of variety in shapes and sizes.

~~Shakira Om Mia
www.raqshabibi.com

I'm curious: if you place a large order, do you pay extra for insurance or do you trust the mail sytem and go for regular, untracable mail? After all, they fit in an envelope and normal mail is fairly reliable.

I just bought several stones for a costume project, but browsing through the site made me want big sew on crystals in every shape and color!

I have always just used regular mail with Dreamtime Creations and my items have always been shipped in padded envelopes and have arrived quickly, but I think the most I have ordered was 6 different colors/styles - say a dozen or two of each so they still fit in a small envelope!

I do recommend getting the sew on ones if you can find them. The glue on ones have a metal backing that comes off if you need to remove the stone. The stone then loses it's color and sparkle. With sew one stones you can always re-use the stones once the costume itself wears out.

I had good luck cleaning mine with glass cleaner. I always beaded my bras and belts with bugle beads so glass cleaner was fine. If you use sequins for fill be careful to keep the cleaner off the sequins or they may bleed on you.

dreamtimecreations.com

cheap, fast shipping, big selection,
pleasant customer service.

I bought from dreamtimecreations too. Very easy to use check out system. When my shipment has arrrived, I can comment on them for the European bhuzzers.

www.rainbowsoflight.com is the cheapest online when i was looking. i bought from them several times and the customer service is excellent. He carries all kinds of sew on swarovski crystals as well as others. I have also bought from dreamtimecreation because i wanted the heart shaped sew ons. They are more expensive then rainbows of light if you compair prices. Ejoyce is another place i have bought from quick and easy ordering as well! Firemountain gems just started carrying some of the large sewons. I use them mainly for my bulk seed beads. They are the best source for beads! fast check out, shipping and no ask return policy. (i love that)

the rhinestone guy is the MOST expensive place to get rhinestones. I havent ordered from him because of that so i cannot tell you about the customer service.

I've got a question. When you add stones to an existing design, do you try to surround them with beadwork? Or do you just sew on the crystal?

I've wanted to add some decoration to a lycra skirt, but I'm afraid it'll just look weird!

Lauren,
I am working on a similar project with my bra and belt. I would suggest placing them i na pattern before all the sewing. that way you will know if it is the look you want. But i know you will come up with something.
Alrana

I need to sort out one of my costume with crystals as well, so thanks for this thread...

Hi Mekyria,
As a fellow euro I'd be very interested to hear feedback about your shipment when it arrives!

The dreamtime.com order that I placed on teusday arrived on friday. Wow, that was fast! The crystals are gorgeous, but the income tax bill sucked. I was hoping that they didn't check the UPS mail for custom taxes, but they did. I've also palced an order with a German online shop (this thread really got me hooked on swarovski crystals!) and I'm waiting for the international bank transfer to arrive. It takes more time, but since there are no custom taxes for goods send within the EU, it might turn out cheaper.

Wow that was quick.
In the UK they seem to do random customs checks on all packages, I have had to pay import on ups too, but only about 1 in 5 packages, so it depends on luck to an extent.
Whats the German store you are using? I'd love to have a look at that one.

Surely there must be suppliers in the EU that sell either swarovski or czech sew on stones for similar prices to the US?
It seems crazy to me to buy the ones exported to the US, then have them shipped back over to Europe and pay import duties.

the German store is called 'Tanz Maus' and they carry bellydance, ballroom and ballet stuff. Shipping and handeling to the Netherlands (benelux) is 10 euro's, other eu countries 14 euro.

Had a look at 'Tanz Maus, but they don't have exactly what I'm looking for.
And the dancing mouse made me feel a bit uneasy.

I think I am going to try strass.com

They are still a bit more expensive than the US stores, but at least I won't have to worry about the painful import duties!

Dreamtime can't be beat- for quality, speed of delivery, nice easy site & large selection of stones- also they are really friendly, - I spent MONTHS trying to find a comparable UK site - nothin doin' - for beads fire mountain are really good - Uk try Jilly beads.
Janjewels are really good for unusual items.
As for adding decoration to existing costumes - Ive made a few complete costumes now, it takes time but if you try the design out on a scrap for fabric first it saves a lot of heartache in the long run. Best of!!!

I have bought sew on swarovskis from ebay seller whitestones, their store is called whitestones rhinestones. I have no idea how their prices compare to the others posted here, but I was pleased with my order.
eBay Store - WHITESTONES RHINESTONES: 20ss - 4.7mm flatback, Hot Fix Stones, 16ss - 3.8mm flatback

Originally Posted by firefly5

Surely there must be suppliers in the EU that sell either swarovski or czech sew on stones for similar prices to the US?
It seems crazy to me to buy the ones exported to the US, then have them shipped back over to Europe and pay import duties.

I usually also order from the US, prices in general are lower than anything you will find in the EU even with shipping added.
Especially now with the low dollar.

I ordered from the German site gogoritas® Schmuck Swarovski Strass Perlen Strasssteine Schmucksteine Chatons Nieten Glasperlen Strassschmuck Gogos und vieles mehr yesterday, the package is due to arrive monday.

I'm very curious because I ordered the sequin like one hole sew-ons in different sizes for the first time. Anyone ever used those?
I think sewing a crystal AB bead on top will look nice and hold it down nicely.

elenya,let me know what the service/shipping is like. They have beautiful sew on crystals that I haven't seen anywhere else.

Originally Posted by mekyria

elenya,let me know what the service/shipping is like. They have beautiful sew on crystals that I haven't seen anywhere else.

I just received my order, I would definitely recommend them.

Service is wonderful, they emailed not only the order conformation but also a shipping notification with ETA (which was accurate).

The items were well packaged to protect the stones, they put the big stones in a tray so they could not damage each other. They also send some candy with the order .

Only downside I think is that my order could have easily fitted in a flat rate bubble enveloppe, they used UPS which was € 10.

But I would order from them again, like you said, they have stuff that's hard to get elsewhere.