I remember flipping through a magazine a few years back and seeing a tiny picture of sunglasses that were adorned in beads. It was so small that I couldn’t exactly see all of the detail, but I remember staring at the picture for a really long time, wishing that I owned a pair.
Taking something you already own, and adding a few extra touches here or there is the perfect way to reinvent and make it feel new again. With the peak of festival season on its way, that mental image I took of those sunglasses popped back into my head, and it made me eager to finally try and make a pair of beaded sunglasses. It took a little bit of time and a steady hand, but the result was well worth it.
Here’s how to make your own pair of beaded sunglasses…
What you need:
Sunglasses (it’s best to use a pair with thicker arms)
Seed beads
Bendable wire (small enough to fit through the bead opening)
Super glue (I used this)
Before you get started, it’s good to have an idea of what kind of design you are going to do. I chose to do a chevron and stripe pattern. If you can’t decide on what to do, you can always pick out your color scheme first, and then just decided as you go along. You can always follow the design that I did as well!
First, take your wire and string on your first row of beads. I started out with a light blue.
Take your super glue and place a thin line of glue along the arm. (I lightly blew on the glue to allow it to set a bit before placing down my beads) Take the beaded wire and place it straight down on the glue, then lightly press down on the row of beads before sliding out the wire. If all goes well, you have your first row! Sometimes there might not be enough glue, so if the beads don’t stick the first time, take them off and apply another thin layer of glue before trying again.
Continue this method for each row of beads you place.
Be careful not to press down too hard on the beads when you are placing them so the super glue doesn’t seep through to your fingers.
When you are finished, give a good press over the beads with your finger and set your sunglasses aside for an hour or two to make sure the glue has completely set.
How cool do these look?! Have fun and get creative with your design! :)
More DIY ideas from the BLDG 25 Blog.
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This is the coolest DIY ever!!!
These are so gorgeous–thank you for sharing!!
xoxo Katie
http://www.etsy.com/shop/adifferentsun
I LOVE these!! I am so going to do this DIY…thank you for such a awesome diy!! :)
i love this, trying it out this weekend! thanks!
Great idea!! Love it <3
Strawberry Blonde
This is so cool! Seems like a lot of work that is really worth it!
shakkablakka.blogspot.nl
LOVE!!! Pure genius ❤️
I adore the idea and can’t wait to try!
Such a great idea! I never would have thought to use wire in this project.
http://be-sparked.blogspot.com/
These. Are. AWESOME!
I can imagine that you might need some patience, but that’s worth it!
http://lettersandbeads.blogspot.de/
I love the result. I think I’m not good in gluing beads but good inspiration. Thanks. :)
These look so good! I’m really impressed by the technique! :)
acoupleofbrownfinches.blogspot.com
This is such a cool idea. Like, so awesome. I’m totally going to try this.
xx Kelly
http://beautyandthebeachblog.com
Awesome idea! I wonder if using a glue gun would give the same results or would it be too thick?
A work of art!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/EarthChildArt?ref=si_shop
I did this a few years ago but just used bead glue to attach each individual bead – never thought of stringing them first. Good idea – I always get rave reviews on mine! :)
Awesome DIY!!! Highly recommend. Instead of using glue I just strung the beads on a piece of copper wire and wrapped it around the arm band. It was great when I decided to change the pattern I just unwrapped it and started over. They’ve held up really well and I get lots of compliments!
This is the perfect time to try this! I love how it can be personalized for anyone’s style AND you could make multiple sunglasses for different outfits. :)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LovelyLikeTheSun
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I love it thanks for copycattin’ our culture!!!!!
Wow~Nice~! once i have seen before handmade stitch eye wear, and this is another handmand using beads! thank you for sharing! I like it!
http://www.malayaoptical.com
I really love it!! This is so COOL! I am going to DIY soon……
http://eyeweartoday.blogspot.com/2014/09/malaya-optical-is-celebrating-57th.html
Great idea.Thanks for sharing.
This is a fantastic idea for festival fashion and summer in general. Thanks so much for sharing!
Very creative! Great idea to decorate your old sunglasses !