When applying rhinestones, it is much easier to use a wax-tipped stick to pickup and place the stones than it is to use your fingers. Place a dot of glue on your material where you want to place the stone, then lightly press the wax end of the stick onto the top of a rhinestone (so that the flat back is facing downwards and the side you want to show is against the wax), and then lightly press the stone into the glue. It should stick into the glue and come right off the wax with little fuss.

They sell wax sticks and wax pencils for this purpose, but for a job like this, it is just as easy to melt a small amount of candle wax onto the end of a bamboo skewer and use that instead. You may need to refresh the wax after some time, since it might get slightly smooshed the more stones you place, though I was able to place all of my stones without having to reshape or reapply the wax.

Apologies for the clumsiness of the video – I’m trying to apply stones with my non-dominant hand while trying to hold the camera still.