If you walk past Vivienne Cao’s desk or see her in the Urbana High School parking lot, you might notice something a little extra bright. Whether it’s the shimmering patterns on her water bottle or the crystal designs on her phone case, Vivienne makes everyday objects stand out. Known among her peers for her bedazzling skills, Vivienne has turned a hobby into a signature style that catches everyone’s eye.
“I’ve always loved things that sparkle,” Vivienne said. “It started with just adding a few gems to my notebooks during summer 2025, but then I realized I could basically turn anything into a piece of art if I had enough glue and patience.”
The process is more than just sticking stones onto a surface; it requires a steady hand and a sharp eye for design. Vivienne spends hours planning out color gradients and patterns before she even begins the application process. For her, the appeal is in the transformation. “There’s something so satisfying about taking something plain and making it totally unique,” she explained. “It takes a lot of focus, but it’s actually really relaxing for me.”
Her talent hasn’t gone unnoticed by her classmates. Friends often ask her for advice on how to customize their own gear or marvel at the precision of her latest projects. Vivienne uses B6000 glue to stick on her bedazzling gems. She plans to start selling her bedazzle products, but right now it’s just something that she uses to kill time on her own. “It’s honestly impressive,” said one fellow senior, Kate Sigoin. “She’ll show up with something new, and you can tell she spent so much time getting every single crystal in the perfect spot. It’s like her own personal brand.”
While she treats it mostly as a creative outlet between her busy schedule of classes and college prep, Vivienne says the hobby has taught her more than just aesthetics. “Bedazzling taught me patience and how to appreciate the small details,” she said. “You can’t rush it, or the whole design looks off. You have to take it one stone at a time.”
As graduation approaches and Vivienne prepares for life after high school, she plans to keep her kit of crystals close by. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop,” she laughed. “Even when I’m in college, my dorm room is probably going to be the shiniest one on the floor.”
With a talent for turning the ordinary into something extraordinary, Vivienne is making sure her senior year ends with shine.
