Pair Eyewear Toppers DIY
I have a different kind of tutorial for you today. It is a departure from my usual kind of craft, but I’ve spent several months trying to make it work, and I am at a point where I’m very happy with the results. So, naturally, I want to share. Ready?
**Today we’re going to make a custom frame topper for Pair Eyewear glasses.**
## What is Pair Eyewear?
Pair makes glasses, with interchangeable toppers that snap on through the wonder of magnets. The glasses come in several different frame shapes (I bought The Wanda) and a few standard colors (mine are Crystal Clear). The fun is in the wide selection of toppers you can add to your glasses to change up your look.
### The Toppers
When I ordered my frames, I also got a pair of “sun toppers” in a tortoiseshell pattern, and two regular toppers: a novelty design of mushrooms and other Autumnal things, and a navy blue polka dot.
The people at Pair are marketing geniuses, because it’s nearly impossible to just buy your frames and one or two toppers. Topper lust is real, my friends, and I can’t tell you how often I have to stop myself from sticking another $25 piece of plastic in my cart and emptying my Fun Fund for the month.
To my credit, I have only splurged once since the original purchase, and it was for a red plaid topper that was essential (_essential_ , I tell you) to maintaining my Christmas spirit. Otherwise, I’ve just put the ones I like into my Favorites and left them there. Financial crisis averted.
### A Tip and a Discount
**If you decide to get yourself a Pair after you’ve read this tutorial, please usemy link to purchase them. You will get $25 off your first purchase (of $60 or more), and I will get $25 in credit (yay!)**
Here’s that link: http://rwrd.io/ywesaqs?c
## Making your own Pair Eyewear toppers
At this point in my Pair journey, I can make my own toppers for roughly a dollar apiece (not including my time, of course). Your mileage may vary, depending on how you procure your topper blanks, and how you cut out your patterns. I’ll go into more detail about that after the materials list.
### Supplies and materials
* A 3D-printed blank in the correct shape
* A photograph of a pattern you like, cut into the correct shape
* Strong 5mmx1mm round magnets
* Cyanoacrylate glue
* Mod Podge or other white glue
* Small paint brush for brushing on the glue
* Spray on acrylic sealer
### A note about magnets
Originally, I made my blanks using the magnets in the supply list, but I find them to be on the weak side. Doubled up they are better. Lately I’ve been using these _very_ strong magnets from K&J Magnetics. They put the ones from Amazon to shame. My only complaint about them is that they are a bit thicker than I’d like. If I need to re-order at some point, I will probably try these. I can’t vouch for the thinner ones right now, but if I do order them, I’ll update this note.
### A note about 3D-printed blanks
There is a vibrant DIY community formed around DIY Pair toppers, and you can find all of the supplies you need on Etsy, as well as many finished third party designs.
I have bought blanks before from Brian’s 3D Basement. They run about $3/topper, if you go this route.
After doing this once, I decided I didn’t want to wait for Brian to print and ship my blanks (I’m impatient, and it can take a while), so I went looking for another solution, and I found one. A library about 30 minutes from here has a 3D printing service, and they will make your designs for 20 cents per gram. I got ten toppers for about the same price as _one_ Etsy topper, and I could pick them up the same day. (Prices will vary among different public libraries, but it’s worth looking into).
If you are going to have a library, or a friend, or yourself print toppers, you will need an STL file for the printer. I got this from Brian’s 3D Basement as well.
### A note about photographed patterns
My purpose here was to use my own polymer clay designs on my toppers. Originally, I used polymer itself. I tried several different techniques but they were all insufficient in some way, and eventually I lost patience. Luckily, I have digital repeating patterns of every polymer clay cane design I have made in the past decade or so. (If you want to know how to do this, too, I have a handy tutorial for you.)
I used Photoshop to fill a 4×6 canvas of each of the patterns I wanted to use, and then I had them printed as regular glossy photos at Walgreens.
**Tip: You don’t need repeating clay designs for this. You could use a photo of a granny square blanket, a Fair Isle sweater pattern, a few favorite plaids or florals. Whatever you like.** (You may have noticed in the photo above, I have a vintage granny square blanket and some polka dots in addition to my clay designs.)
Once you have the photos, you’ll need to cut out the topper shapes from them. You should be able to get two toppers per photo. Now, I will fully admit here that I may have gone a little bit overboard, and purchased myself a cutting machine.
I bought a Cricut Joy, and it’s been perfect. But maybe you know someone who will let you borrow theirs. Or again, check with your library. If they have a Maker Space, you could be lucky enough to use a 3d printer and a cutting machine for free.
You will need an SVG file for the cutting machine. Again, Brain’s 3D Basement comes through.
### How to make toppers
There are three steps to making your own topper:
1. Glue the magnets into the back of the blank
2. Glue the photo cutout onto the front of the blank
3. Seal the blank with spray adhesive
#### Glue the magnets into the blank
The 3D printed blank should have indentations in the back that are just the right size for the magnets I linked to in the supply list. Dab some super glue into the indentations, and drop your magnets in.
**TIP: Make sure the magnets are facing the right direction**. I usually test the magnets on an existing topper before I add them to a new one, so I know which side of the magnet needs to be facing up.
Let the glue dry for 15 minutes or so.
#### Glue the photo cutout onto the blank
Paint the Mod Podge glue onto the front of the topper blank, wiping off any excess glue that gets around the edges of the blank. Place the printed cutout on top of the blank, and press it down all over to make sure it adheres to the blank. Again, you may need to wipe off some glue from the edges.
**TIP: Be careful not to get any glue onto the photo** , or it may be visible after the glue dries. I find a damp paper towel is helpful for cleaning up any glue that isn’t where you want it to be.
Let your project dry for 15 minutes or so.
#### Seal the project
Bring your topper outside, or to a room with good ventilation. You might want to wear a mask, too, since this stuff is not good to breathe. Follow the instructions on the can, and spray the sealer onto the front of the topper. You’ll want to have a light touch with this. If you let the sealer pool on the photo, the colors could run.
I usually only do a single light coat, but if you want more, then multiple light coats are better than one heavy coat. Let the topper dry for 15 minutes between coats.
**OPTIONAL** : If you like a raised glossy look, you might want to add a resin top coat to your topper. Personally, I like my toppers to be flat. I think they look more like the official toppers that way. But the glossy raised resin look is very popular in the Pair DIY community, so you might want to try it. Unfortunately, I can’t really help you with that, because I’m terrible with resin on anything larger than a stud earring 😁
## Gallery
Solid color, purchased from JWCraftRoom at Etsy
Highlander Blanket DIY
Plum Jubilee polymer pattern DIY
Collegiate Plaid, purchased from Pair Eyewear
Solid color, purchased from SLMCollection on Etsy
Knit Fade, purchased from Pair Eyewear
Navy Pindot, purchased from Pair Eyewear
Family Room Squircleghan DIY
Lapis Jubilee polymer pattern DIY
Winter Plaid, purchased from Pair Eyewear
Plasmatic Jubilee polymer pattern DIY
Forbes Scottish tartan DIY
Solid color, purchased from JWCraftRoom on Etsy
Vintage Blanket fade DIY
As I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve spent about four months on this quest, and in that time I’ve made a lot of these toppers. Here are some examples of ones that I made and ones that I purchased. Hover or click to see where I got each look.
I definitely like the darker designs the best, though the bright and colorful ones are nice when I am feeling artsy and flamboyant 😁
## Disclaimer
I had hoped, originally, to make these to sell, but as much as I really like the ones I’ve made for myself, I’m not comfortable selling them. I can’t be sure that they will stand the test of time. The toppers that I purchased from Pair Eyewear are of decidedly superior quality to my own. My toppers are well-made, and I love them, but you’d never mistake them for being from the Pair factory, upon close inspection.
To me, the value of this technique is in being able to put your own artwork on your face. To that end, I’d rather show you how to do it with your own designs than sell you a finished topper. This is such a fun technique for polymer artists who work in repeating patterns, but it can easily be adapted to other types of art or craft. The sky is the limit!
**Thinking you might want to get in on the fun? Don’t forget you can usemy link to get $25 off your first purchase of $60 or more at Pair!**
Happy topper-making!
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