I needed to take a quick break from what I was doing last week and wanted to try 'zhng'-ing something. Zhng. That's a new word which I learned recently. It's a verb, describing the act of applying diamante/swarovski crystals on something. Any surface that you can think of. Fingernails, electronic gadgets, car accessories, keychains, etc. The word 'zhng' itself, I assume, is derived from the sound something shiny and sparkly would make. Kinda like, "BLING!" or "CHA-CHING!". Who came up with this word, I don't know, don't ask me.
Anyway, initially I wanted to try zhng-ing my Blackberry, since I thought it looked too masculine and I wanted to girl-ify it a little. However as it was my first attempt ever trying this stuff out, I wasn't gonna permanently disfigure a brand new gadget that cost several hundred moolahs. So I merely laid the crystals on top of the phone to see what the effect was gonna turn out like (without any glue)... and I ended up not liking it.
Not too bad though, eh? But maybe the crystals should be in a different color... or something.
Determined to zhng something - anything!- but not wanting to risk ruining an expensive item, I decided to test this out on an old USB thumbdrive. You know, test out the sticking power of the glue, etc. This turned out to be a good idea, since the thumbdrive was a freebie promotional item from a vendor obtained dinosaur years ago and I wanted to cover up their logo. :p My first attempt turned out pretty cool after all and I was mighty pleased. (I do need to get a packet of really tiny crystals to fill in the gaps, at some point.)
Yay! Old vendor logo covered in style (it was all scratched up and fading anyway).
Emboldened by my successful attempt last week, I decided to tackle zhng-ing my nails this week. I have lots of crystals to spare, so why not. I must say I am loving the results! My manicure and pedicure are bling-blangin' now. The process is so easy. I roughly thought of what design I wanted (keeping it simple as an amateur), used nail glue (ie. super glue) and stuck the crystal on one at a time. I think I'm supposed to put a coat of clear polish afterwards, but I don't have any so I didn't.
Oooooohhh, purrtttyyyy...
Word of caution: Don't get your nails wet before the glue dries up. Else, you'll get a cloudy white fuzz-like yuckiness around the crystals. Sorta like how white fuzzy fungus starts growing on food going bad. How do I know this? Because I washed my hands before the glue dried, and I ended up with the fuzzy yuckiness. -___-" #*^&@$*#%^!!!!!!
In conclusion, DIY is the way to go, imo, as my manicurist charges $0.50 each for a tiny crystal and $1.00 each for the larger one. You can do the math, getting crystals for every fingernail and toenail (just one crystal per nail) is gonna set you back $10 (or $20). One crystal per nail looks really very skimpy and unsatisfying. For that money, you can buy two packets of crystals, totaling 288 pieces! *_* Your choice.
This is fun and addictive. Try it sometime! :) But try to practice on inexpensive small items around the house first. Coz as you know, super glue is super sticky and once the crystals are fixed on, they'll be stuck there for a pretty darn long time.
Happy zhng-ing!
