DIY Decorating: Your Sunglasses!

Guest blogger, Kristen Kauffman and All Brand Glasses have paired up and decided to show our readers a bit of fun concerning sunglasses and how to dress them up for springtime. Let's take a look, shall we?

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You want something different. You go to the beach and everyone there is wearing the same shaped sunglasses with the same tortoise shell or black frames. If your friends don't have tortoiseshell or black frames, they have the same six electrically bright colors: pink, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. You don't like plain colors- after all, your wardrobe is comprised of clothing with mini-prints and stripes, so why wouldn't you want your sunglasses to have those mini-prints and stripes, too? If you want to learn more about decorating your sunglasses, take a look at a few approaches.

Before You Start…

Before you start decorating, there are a few tools that you may need. Perhaps the most important tool is to start with a great pair of sunglasses - but make sure you have the right kind. After all, the decoration happens on the frames, not on the lenses themselves, so aviators are one such pair that is out. Some really great sunglasses to work with are Ray Ban's Wayfarers, or frames from Marc Jacobs. The bigger the frame, the more you can decorate. Other tools you may need depend on what you want to do: if you want to put glitter on the arms of the sunglasses, you'll need glitter and Mod Podge; if you want to bedazzle your frames with rhinestones, resin roses, or charms, you'll need those items too; and if all you want to do is draw zig-zags, stripes or interesting Native American designs, then you'll need a paint pen or even some puffy paint.

Style 1: Glitter

 

When you want to apply glitter to your sunglasses, you'll need a few things. You'll need the sunglasses, the color glitter you want to apply, Mod Podge and something to apply it with, such as a sponge brush.

1. Use the sponge brush to apply the Mod Podge to only one arm of the sunglasses. (You'll only do one arm at a time, otherwise they would cross and you stand the risk of smudging the glitter and the glue.)

2. Sprinkle the glitter onto the wet Mod Podge.

3. Once you've sprinkled glitter onto the entire arm, go back and sprinkle one more layer.

4. Gently press the glitter into the Mod Podge.

5. Once that arm is dry (about 3-4 hours), you can do the next arm.

Style 2: Applique 

Another great way to decorate your sunglasses is with applique items such as resin roses (featured in the example), charms, or rhinestones for cat-eye glasses if you like a more vintage look. Whatever you're applying to your frames, make sure that you have collected those items and Mod Podge before you begin, and something to apply the Mod Podge (such as a Q-tip) for accurate placement.

1. Use a Q-tip to dab Mod Podge on the back of whatever you're applying. If you're applying rhinestones or other finite details, you may want to apply the Mod Podge to the frames first, but make sure that you're don't put too much glue onto the frame.

2. Either place the charm onto the frame or press the rhinestones onto the already applied Mod Podge. Press to make sure they're secure.

3. To ensure that the glue dries without the items moving, you may want to consider putting the sunglasses face down to dry on a paper towel. The pressure should keep the items where you intended as the glue dries.

Style 3: Patterns

Whether you want to draw tribal patterns, cool Native American designs, florals, stripes or any other pattern onto your sunglasses, you'll need a pair of sunglasses that you can draw on. If your sunglasses are light-colored like this featured pair, you can use any paint marker or colored Sharpie. If you have a black or tortoise shell pair of sunglasses, you may want to work with a metallic Sharpie or with a light-colored paint pen. Design is simple:

1. Decide what you're going to draw before you draw it, and you may want to practice the pattern on a piece of paper first. Nothing is worse than getting halfway through a design and realizing it doesn't work or that you don't like it after all.

2. Collect your materials.

3. Draw on your frames with a Sharpie or a paint pen, and then allow about 15 minutes for the whole project to dry.

About Guest Blogger:

Kristen Kauffman is fashion writer and blogger, and has written nationally-credited blogs on style trends, products, and weddings. Located in Prescott, Arizona, most blogs make fashion simple, affordable, and accessible.