Get kids outside with these adorable DIY statement sunglasses! Kids will love to help design their own pair of sunglasses and will be so excited to wear them outside. Try making this adorable outdoor accessory for kids today!
Ready for the cutest summer trend? Try making these adorable statement sunglasses! They are definite attention getters and people often stop me to ask where I got these sunglasses. Guess what?! I made them! People everywhere just love them so I thought I’d share the simple directions with you today.
Ready to make a pair? Here’s what you’ll need…
Supplies:
- Sunglasses- We tried these sunglasses– they fit both my 4 and 6 year old boys. We also tried these John Lennon style sunglasses– they were much smaller and barely fit my 4 (almost 5) year old. Or you can just use a pair you already have around the house!
- Letter beads– You can find smaller sets of beads that are more inexpensive, but I like that these are separated.
- Charms- I found this cute set with resin mushrooms and wooden ladybugs and bees. These flower charms are cute too! Maybe you can find some natural charms. Seashells or pebbles would be fun to try!
- Strong Glue- This is seriously strong glue and is only for adult use!! I tested out Aleene’s and E600 and they both worked well. Aleene’s was a little runnier/thinner and E600 was a little thicker. MAKE SURE TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR GLUE BOTTLE BEFORE USING IT.
- Tweezers- These are helpful when you put the beads on the glue. You don’t want to touch the glue with your fingers because the glue is too strong. I had these tweezers around the house and they worked well!
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Related: 100 low-prep activities you can do in your own backyard!
Here’s How We Made Our Sunglasses:
Step 1:
Make sure you protect your work surface! We used a small piece of cardboard to protect our counter from the glue.
Decide on a phrase and gather your charms that will be glued onto your sunglasses. Now it’s time to design your glasses! You’ll want to think ahead here and make sure the letters are centered and fit nicely on your sunglasses. I suggest you lay the beads out above the sunglasses before you glue them to give yourself an idea of where you want the beads and charms on the rim.
Step 2:
Glue the letter beads on to the sunglasses. You can squeeze some glue into a disposable container and use a toothpick to transport a little dot of glue onto the sunglasses or try to dab a little glue right on the bead. You don’t need a lot of glue or it will squeeze out of the sides of the beads. A little of this glue goes a long way!
DO NOT hold the beads in your fingers while you do this! Remember to use the tweezers when holding the beads because the glue is super strong! You might need to get used to holding the beads in the tweezers and a couple might pop out of the tweezers, but you will get the hang of it!
You can see below that I started gluing the letters in the middle of the word first. This helped me keep my words centered on the rim of the sunglasses.
Step 3:
Add charms to the sunglasses at this point! You can find so many fun charms on Amazon or at your local craft store. I added these cute wooden charms to our save the bee sunglasses. They came with a little adhesive on the back, so I just added a little dab of glue to the sticky area and they have stayed on nicely.
I suggest gently pressing down on the charms and letter beads with your tweezers to ensure that they set nicely in the glue. If you happen to get a little glue on the sunglasses, you can try to rub nail polish remover on the sunglasses to get it off. This worked on both of my pairs of sunglasses, but test a small area on your sunglasses first to make sure it doesn’t harm them in any way.
We had a lot of fun coming up with phrases. Here is a list of ideas for your sunglasses:
- Mushroom Hunter
- Sunset Chaser
- Cloud Gazer
- Save the Bees
- Flower Child
- Rock Hound
- Happy Camper
- Snow Angel (We need sunglasses in winter too!)
- Wild and Free
- Nurture Nature
The list goes on and on and you don’t need to have a nature phrase! Just think of something that your child loves and add a cute saying with sweet charms to a pair of sunglasses. Easy as that!
The smile says it all! He is already asking me to make more sunglasses:)
My boys beg to go outside so they can wear their “shades.”
Pin it and save it for later!
I hope you give this adorable activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.
∼Tara
