DIY Rhinestone Sunglasses

Make your days even brighter with sparkly rhinestone sunglasses! Fun sunglasses are one of my favorite accessories. They make me feel cute and instantly lift my mood. They also hide my under eye circles from crafting all night!

I upped the fun factor on these heart sunglasses by adding iridescent rhinestones and flower charms using Aleene’s Liquid Fusion glue. This glue is non-toxic, waterproof and works on a variety of surfaces. It’s great on porous surfaces (wood, unglazed ceramics, stone, fabric) but works awesome on plastic sunglasses frames too. The best part is that this glue dries crystal clear and has a super strong bond so you can be assured your sunglasses will stay as sparkly as the day you made them! I’m sharing my step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own pair of rhinestone sunglasses below. Don’t forget to watch my short video too!

This rhinestone sunglasses project was created in partnership with Aleene’s Glues. As always, the concept and content are all my own. Some of the below links are affiliate links and if clicked, I may make a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Materials

–Aleene’s Liquid Fusion

-Sunglasses – I picked these heart shaped sunglasses with a translucent, gradient effect  

-Crystal rhinestones – I used this kit which comes with an assortment of iridescent rhinestones in different sizes. It has a green tint in the container, but once you add them to your sunglasses, it will pick up the color of your frames and lens. 

-Flower charms – These daisy charms are totally optional, but add a whimsical touch! The colors in this set perfectly complement the sunglasses.

-Rubbing alcohol

-Cotton balls

-Votive candle 

-Orange wood sticks

-Toothpicks

-Paper plate

Instructions

Watch my fun video tutorial below!

1. Clean sunglasses

Apply rubbing alcohol to a cotton ball and wipe over your sunglasses frames. Doing so will remove any oils and dust that could prevent the rhinestones from sticking properly.

2. Make your own rhinestone picker

Light the candle and allow wax to pool. Extinguish candle, then dip the pointed end of your orange wood stick into the wax. Slowly rotate in the wax then remove and allow to harden. This will form a wax tip that will allow you to pick up rhinestones with ease. The wax tip will wear down as you go, so consider making several rhinestone pickers ahead of time.

3. Select your charms and rhinestones

Choose the charms you want to use and test their placement. I decided to position the largest flower charms at the corners, followed by the medium size and smaller size charms. Choose rhinestones that will fit the thickness of your sunglasses frames and separate them by size into small dishes.

4. Attach flower charms

Squeeze the glue into a blob on a paper plate. Grab a small amount of glue with your toothpick and spread it onto the corner section of your sunglasses frames. Add the largest flower charm first, using your finger or your orange stick to adjust placement. Add the other charms next to it. Repeat this process on the opposite side. Make sure the right and left sides are symmetrical before proceeding.

5. Attach rhinestones

Apply glue to a small section adjacent to the flower charms you just applied. Using the waxed tip of your rhinestone picker (orange stick), tap a rhinestone and position it onto the glue beside the charm. When you lift up the picker, the rhinestone will be left behind on the glue. Adjust placement of the rhinestones as you go since the glue will begin to harden. Repeat this step with the other rhinestones until you completely cover your sunglasses frame. I used different sizes of rhinestones to create a multi-dimensional look.

6. Allow to dry

The Liquid Fusion glue will dry within 2-4 hours, however it is best to wait a full 24 hours before wearing your sunglasses to allow it to cure completely. 

Wear your rhinestone sunglasses with a smile!

Hope you feel inspired to add some sparkle to your sunglasses! If you end up making these or something similar, tag me on Instagram. I would love to see and share your creations. Happy crafting!

Head back to my blog for more DIY projects and inspiration!