DIY Jeweled Sunglasses

Ok, I'll admit it. I may be a little bit obsessed with sunglasses. Er, very obsessed. When I started to find some very kawaii cabochon charms on Etsy and Amazon last year, I knew I wanted to figure out a way to adhere the charms on to sunglasses.

E6000 to the rescue! E6000 is one of my very favorite industrial adhesives, it can bond lots of different kinds of materials and cures to a VERY PERMANENT, and slightly flexible bond.

For more super useful tips and project inspiration for this kind of glue, be sure to check out the Industrial Adhesives lesson in my Glue Class.

Get ready to test your steady hand with some super fun plastic gem setting.

• Glue syringe kit
• Gem Setting Tool
• Tweezers
• Masking Tape
• Craft Knife
• Sunglasses

I gave them a quick alcohol wipe to make sure there wasn't any grease or debris on the frames. Then I masked off the areas I didn't want glue getting on, just the lenses in this case.

Using a prepared glue syringe and a gem setting tool I got to work. Loading the syringe with a viscous glue like E6000 is not as simple as you may think. If you'd like to learn how to load a glue syringe, be sure to check out the Industrial Adhesives lesson in my Glue Class.

Depending on the surface area of the gem, I would either glue the back of the gem or the surface of the glasses frame. If you take on this project, just get a feel for the glue - other industrial glues may have a slightly different consistency and flow, just another reason for testing adhesives before applying. (I have heard some unfortunate stories of things being glued together that CANNOT be undone :( Worst.).

Waiting for the glue to set before moving on to the next area to work on is important. The gems start holding their place after about a minute, but you don't want to do any inversions or move it around too much. Remember, WORK WITH GRAVITY - science is your friend.

The glue takes 10 minutes to really set - if it is too cold or damp where you are trying to use glues, you can use a hair dryer on low to speed up the setting process.

After the glue has set for a full 24 hours, you can pull off any remaining masking tape or pesky glue strings quite easily with a pair of tweezers.

Get creative with the types of charms you're gluing, or ditch the sunglasses altogether and glue tiny resin charms on to cell phone cases, picture frames, whatever you like!

Etsy's cabochon section is AMAZING, and a great way to get inspired.

For more great tips on how to work with adhesive, be sure to check out my Glue Class!