Embellished Sunglasses

I don't really use sunglasses all the time but I think I will be using this one quite often:

Ta-dah!!!

I got the idea to embellish a pair of sunglasses when I was browsing through craft books at a used-books store at the mall and saw this book:

I browsed through the pages and her projects are beautiful... but a little too frilly and lacy for me. I was about to put the book back when I came upon this page:

I had to do a double take...

Yep, I was right, those are small flowers on her sunglasses. The style fit the overall theme of the book but my initial reaction was "some people take embellishing too far...". I put the book and back and started looking at other books. But somehow, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. The more I thought about it, the prettier it gets. My husband was rushing me at this point so I took pictures of the cover and the page using my phone and left the store. I returned to buy the book a few days later and it was gone :-/

Since I didn't have the book... I didn't get to read the instructions. But it seemed easy enough. So I decided to try it! When I started, I wasn't sure the finished product is something I can actually wear, but I figured, if it ended up a bit too much, I can hang it in the middle of an empty frame for some curio decor ;)


It turned out well, in my opinion. Here's a very simple how-to:

When I work on projects, I usually don't like buying the materials (except fabric for sewing projects because I those I don't have much of). I just make do with what I already have. So for this project I used:

• Old sunglasses ( I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out when I started so I used a pair I didn't mind losing)
• Embellishment... a few pewter connector charms and bead caps made of thin metal that looks like filigree (please ignore the pearls... I thought I was going to use them when I took the photo but I didn't get a chance to). I did a little trial and error when selecting my embellishments and for me, the small and delicate looking ones will look best (they should also be light since you don't want your sunglasses to end up heavy).
• Nail polish ;) 
• Super glue (use one that dries clear).
• Jewelry pliers and cutters, when needed.

Step 1: Prep your embellishment. The steps will vary based on the type of your embellishment. But for me, this is where my nail polish came in. See the flowers used on my inspiration photo were enamel-coated. I didn't have those. I only had pewter charms without any color. I also didn't have any other type of paint on hand at the time. They also come in frosted colors, which is perfect for my project.

First, I removed the loops from my pewter charms, and then dabbed a little polish on the edges.

My sunglasses have silver-tone metal parts so I want my embellishment to match those. I wanted to keep the silver-tone on my embellishments.

Next, I flattened my bead caps using flat-nosed pliers. See how delicate they are?

And then I cut off each branch using cutters.

Step 2: Attach your embellishment to your sunglasses using glue. I was wearing my sunglasses and facing the mirror when I attached the flower bead. I wanted to make sure they were positioned just right. And then I added the little branches.

And here's a closer look at my design:

I wore it yesterday afternoon in the car when we went to take Andrea to the park for a stroll.

Hmmm... maybe I should have put on make up for a more dramatic effect...

Not related to this post but I just want to share... Andrea had fun during our afternoon stroll :)

I linked up to the following parties:

Free for All at Young and Crafty | Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings | Sew Crafty Saturday at Wildflowers and Whimsy | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | K.I.S.S. at The Tattered Tag | Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | CraftOManiac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | Craft Couture Monday at Craft Couture | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | The DIY Showoff | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Made With Love Monday at Sew Chatty | Made by You Mondays at  Skip to My Lou | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios | Make It For Less Mondays at Simply Cadence |  Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Wednesday Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage | Thrifty Thursday at Saved By Love Creations | Catch a Glimpse Thursday at A Glimpse Inside | I Thrilled on Thursday at Paisley Passions | Linking Party at Passionately Artistic | Finished on the 15th at Favecrafts |