How To: Cell Phone Adornment

How do I cover my Cell Phone with rhinestones? Well, it’s easy, not expensive.

If your phone is a flip-open type, consider the top a 'canvas' to produce a piece of art on. You will need GemTac glue ($4.70 ), a few applicator sticks, and a variety of colored rhinestones You may choose to do all the same color, mixes of colors, or actual designs with rhinestones. The final look is up to you. But, if you want to create a work of art that is unique to you and your phone, using different colors set up in patterns. Choose 5SS 7SS 9SS stones to cover these phones, for this sizes allows great detail of pattern. If you choose to cover your phone in all one color, then choose 12SS stones, for application will go fast. BUT, still prefer the smaller, more time consuming 5SS 7SS 9SS stone.

Remember:
The smaller the rhinestone, the less chance you losing stones due to abrasion
Use Gem-Tac Glue, it is easy to use.

Questions:
How many rhinestones will I need to cover my phone?
     What model phone, how much you want to cover?
     How many stones it will take to cover a certain area?
Here is a formula you would use to cover a cell phone:
Length X width of area in inches gives square inches or if the phone is 2" X 4", then it would have 8 square inches of surface.

Since hinestones are measured in millimeters you will need to convert using 25 millimeters to one inch. So with the above area (2X4 =8 sq. inches, then (2X25) X (4X25) = 5000 square millimeters. You have to know how many of a specific size rhinestone will fit in 5000 square millimeters, and to do that, you have to know the square millimeters in a specific rhinestone.

Here a formula to do just that. You are going to use either 5 SS 7 SS 9 SS or 12 SS rhinestones to cover your cell phone.
5 SS rhinestones are 2.54 sq. mm Square Set: allow 3.2 Sq. mm
7 SS rhinestones are 3.8 sq. mm Square Set: allow 4.8 Sq. mm
9 SS rhinestones are 5.31 sq. mm Square Set: allow 6.7 Sq. mm
12 SS rhinestones are 7.07 sq. mm Square Set: allow 9 Sq. mm
16 SS rhinestones are 12.56 sq. mm Square Set: allow 16 Sq. mm
20 SS rhinestones are 17.34 sq. mm Square Set: allow 22 Sq. mm

If you are going to set all your rhinestones in a tight grid without interleaving then allow a 9 SS rhinestone to cover 6.7 sq mm, a 12 SS rhinestone to cover 9 Sq mm. Figure out how many rhinestones you need in total, divide the area to be covered -in Sq m- by the Sq mm coverage of the rhinestone.

In the above example, you had an area of 5000 Sq mm to be covered with a 9 ss stone. Therefore, 5000/6.7 = 746 rhinestones, and since rhinestones are sold by the gross (144 ea.), you would need 5.1 gross, so order 6 gross. We suggest the 9 SS rhinestone for a good reason. It is subject to much abrasion ...the smaller the rhinestone, the less likely it is to be ripped off when handled roughly. Conversely, the larger the rhinestone, the more apt it is to be torn off, or separated from it's backing (Leaving a shiny silver spot where a rhinestone used to be. You will be much more happy with the look of 9 SS stones. If you really want to get fancy, and if you have a very steady hand then go with a 5 SS rhinestones for a look! (This is the size that a very prominent of course, if you use a 5 SS rhinestone, you will need more rhinestones. In the above example, you would need 11 gross.)

A note to advanced: Laid out what consider the most direct method of calculating the number of stones needed. there are faster ways to figure the needs, and of course, 25mm squared is 625 that can be used as a single multiplier...but this gets the job done, and everyone can remember this method.

If you choose to interleave your rows of rhinestones...offset every other row for a very tight set, then you will need more rhinestones, up to 1/3 more.

Your rhinestones will look best if set onto a black surface. The black will add contrast to your work and make it pop. Do not paint the surface a color that matches the rhinestones, for the overall effect We do not advise to pain any cell phone. If it is silver, green, purple, whatever, so be it. The overspray can cause a problem. Either get a black cell phone or cover the one you have. No matter what color it is, it will be very sharp when you are finished.

The value of used everyone is doing cell phones. strongly suggest laying out the cover as a real rectangle, ignoring curves that fall outside the rectangle. Do all stoning inside the drawn rectangle, then finish by fitting stones to fit the curves. You may use a smaller stone to make everything come out perfect. Mixing stone sizes inside the actual design is not a good idea, as the fit will fall apart very quickly. A large work of art will take some time. about 4-5 hours for the glue to fully set. If you work on your lap top at night, it can be used the next morning, and you can return to your project the next evening, everyday, more of the picture will appear. When you decide to replace your note book with a new, improved version, the rhinestones cannot hurt its resale value, for there isn't enough resale value to worry about in the first place. Why not enjoy the unit as a work of art as well as a functional computer while you own it. And, can you imagine your friend's reactions when you pull it from its case! Yes, I can too.