Sunday, March 4, 2012

DIY- Spray Paint: Sunglasses Re-do

When we were checking Peter out of the hospital we had to go through a bunch of informative documents and notes from the doctor telling you what to do, and not do with your baby. Such as: your baby must always be in a car seat. This car seat must be correctly installed. Baby walker and bouncers are bad for your baby's muscle development, etc. One that stuck out to me was that babies and toddlers should wear sunglasses. 

Huh. I hadn't really thought about it before, but it made sense. We have Lucy wear a hat for sun protection when she goes outside, which is even more important here because we live in scorching west Texas. I've had "Lucy Sunglasses" in the back of my mind and finally decided to add it to my grocery list so I would remember to look for some. 

I finally remembered to look for some shades for Lucy this week. As we was heading towards the baby section of the grocery store, I noticed a spinning display stand at the head of the aisle full of kiddy sunglasses. Lucy tried on a few pairs and we finally decided on these. 

She loved them and wore them for the rest of the shopping trip and on the way home, even though there was a huge plastic tag attached in the middle that stuck out from her face. Why don't they have scissors at the check out counters?

Here is the re-do!


Before: I'm not really into the whole Tinkerbell thing, but I liked the shape, and they were small enough to fit Lucy's face.



Carefully pop lenses out and set aside. These were incredibly difficult to get out. I ran the glasses under super hot water to loosen the frames and eventually got them out without breaking them!



Spray with paint color of your choice. Let dry between coats, and flip frames over to fully cover all sides. I used a matte black because that's what I had on hand, I think these would look great with a shiny finish too.



After: 50's glam! I used nail polish remover and a Q-tip to rub the Tinkerbell icon off of the lens before putting them back in the frames. I had no idea if it would work, but was pleasantly surprised when it started rubbing off! Wash with water to remove any residual nail polish remover before re-inserting into frames.



Lucy loves her new glasses!



Home Girl.



No autographs, please.



Being a giggler.



Pointing out her new shades.




Modeling the "hair-fling" pose



Lucy's new favorite hobby: chewing on her fingers



I was afraid that the black spray paint wouldn't stay on the frames very well, but they seem to be holding up despite not having sanding them or priming them before painting them. I love spray paint!

8 comments:

  1. She is WAY too cute for her own good! I can't help but get a big grin on my face whenever I see pictures of Lucy :)

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    1. Aw, thanks, B! :D She makes me laugh. I can't wait for you to meet her someday!

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  2. Oh my goodness, those (and SHE) are so stinkin' cute!! (and as a side note: I know the dentist said she had all her teeth for now, but I've found that chomping on fingers is a sure sign of an incoming molar or two)

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    1. Thanks, Susie! :D I think you might be right- maybe they had erupted, but the teeth are coming up still? Hopefully my happy girl will be back soon. :)

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  3. What a fun idea! I'll have to remember spray paint next time I can't find sunglasses in the kids' favorite colors! Thanks for sharing such cute pictures of your daughter! She's adorable!

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  4. Hi! I found your blog by searching for "spray paint sunglasses"! I recently tried to paint a pair of mine, but had a problem with chipping off some of the paint when I tried to get the lenses back in. Do you have any suggestions on how to best do this?

    Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Hey Veronica!
      Thanks for the question. I think spray painting sunglasses is only a temporary solution at it's best. That being said, I would recommend trying a sealant spray after the normal paint had dried (or as instructed on the sealant can.)

      Another idea would be to warm the frames under hot water or a hair dryer after spraying and drying, but before re-inserting the lenses so that the lenses slide in easier. Obviously, you would want to be gentle, as this might damage your spray job as well.

      Those are my only ideas! Good luck! I hope one of these ideas work for you!

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  5. Wow. You made an excellent job, really. Maybe, you can make a video about this on youtube because nobody has one and it can help somebody else. Saludos desde Chile. :D

    ReplyDelete

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