Do you remember when puff paint was hot? When all you needed for a highly personalized item of clothing was 4 bottles of the stuff and a blank canvas? Do you die a little inside thinking back on these memories?

You might think I'm crazy, but I think it is time for a puff paint revival sans the sweatshirts and old man t-shirts. It is a little bit of amazing to see just how many different colors of puff paint there are. There's glitter, gloss, turquoise, and about 50 different shades of pink. I don't remember ever seeing so many different colors back in the 80s-90s which kinda puzzles me since I haven't seen a lot of puff paint out on the streets. Maybe the closet puff paint enthusiasts are hoarding it and wearing their creations alone at home Buffalo-Bill-in-Silence-of-the-Lambs style. It's a mystery to me.

Regardless, the variety makes it perfect for creating your own stick-on body jewelry and avoiding the $5 a pop commercial variety which can get a bit spendy and isn't entirely gratifying. The advantage of making your own body jewelry with puff paint is you can create little candies and mini pieces of art to apply to your face/body that can be thrown away without guilt and that won't smudge with sweat.

Step 1: Materials and Prep

You will need:

Puff Paint (or 3D Paint)
Parchment Paper (or Wax Paper)
Clipboard
Post-It Notes
Rubber Band

To prep:

Tear off a sheet of parchment paper and clip it to the clipboard.
Pull a rubber band around the bottom to keep it in place and snug to the board.

Step 2: Making the Body Jewelry

You will get clogs and air pockets in the bottles of puff paint which is why it's good to keep a pad of post-it notes nearby. You can start a bit of paint in the nozzle by squeezing it onto a post-it. I prefer using the post-it notes because they're sticky on the back and less likely to fly around the room and spread goop onto everything.

Draw your designs on the parchment paper. You can think of it a bit like cake decorating without as much volume, so work by squeezing a bit of paint out and then pulling it along the paper. If you get frustrated, remember that it's hard to go wrong with simple dots, and more is better.

You can get fancier by inserting sequins and beads into the paint, or you can layer the paints and make them more 3-D by allowing a first run to dry and then going back over it with another layer of paint.

For drying, I like to place the clipboard in the rear window of my car to bake in the sun. They dry pretty quickly there but are still malleable. Because of dry time, you will need to have these prepped 8-24 hours in advance.

Step 3: Application

You will need:

Your Dried Body Jewelry
Tweezers
Clear Eyelash Adhesive

Apply your makeup if you are placing these on your face.

Squeeze a little adhesive on the back on your non-dominant hand.

Pick up the individual pieces with tweezers and dab the piece in the adhesive.

Allow the adhesive to become somewhat tacky and place the piece on your face/body.

Allow to dry the rest of the way.

For added protection against them falling off, apply a coat of LiquiSet over the jewelry, especially around the seams.

Enjoy and have fun with it!