Anyone owns the Bedazzler or the Gemagic

I own 2 beadazzlers because for a while my friend and I were making designs on bandanas and selling them online. After one order, we vowed to never do it again. We shared our profits and called it a day. It's not that the machines are bad, it's just that they are time consuming and they don't always work on the first punch. There is a lot of trial and error. Plus we found that buying the rhinestones (or at least the nicer looking ones) was a lot more expensive than we thought that they would be. Mind you, I'm talking about 7 years ago so it's possible the supplies are cheaper. Also, I'm pretty sure they will be cheaper if you buy them in bulk. Right now my beadazzler is sitting in my mother's basement. I have thought about taking it out to make some things for me, but I found that I didn't have the will power to mass product things. I just wasn't patient enough. However, if you enjoy making things bit by bit and following and creating patterns, you could have a really fun time with this. The nice thing about it is that the cost to get one isn't too much, so if you end up just using it for personal use, it isn't too bad.

I haven't tried it, but this is a leery product for me. The prongs on the rhinestones can snag at clothing and pinch. Not something comfortable to wear, isn't it? I believe that for porous fabrics, sewing or, in recent years, hotfixing is the best method of applying rhinestones/studs. The latter method involves using a tool of some sort that picks up or applies heat to the stone/stud with a heat-activated glue. The glue is permanent, with the exception of putting it in hot washes and stuff. For non-porous items, a strong glue is best for putting bling. That's my 2 cents here.

I bought a Bedazzler on clearance at Walmart for $5.00 and bought a huge amoutnt of rhinestones and such for $1-2 for a plastic case of them. I have found other gems and such on ebay as well as books. I haven't tried it out yet but hope to this summer with the kids.