Just because summer is technically over as of today doesn't mean we can't still channel those summer vibes! I found these amazing Mercura NYC shades in an issue of Marie Claire a bunch of months back and I knew I had to recreate!
Beachy shades come fall? Totally bring it.
I began with a pair of plastic Wayfarer-esque shades I picked up at SXSW when I was there in March. Free shades courtesy of YouTube are now becoming the main component of this copycat!
I popped out the lenses to avoid getting paint on the frames when I begin to change their color...
...gathered my sealife beads...
...and started crafting!
To match the metallic nature of the original shades, I grabbed some Krylon Brushed Metallic Spray Paint in Caramel Latté and sprayed the starfish, the tiny dolphins, and the glasses frames themselves!
I wanted to give the shades some color texture, so I sprayed the shell beads with Krylon's Metallic Spray Paint in Copper Metallic just to adjust the metallic color palette.
With my beads all sprayed...
...I let them dry and thought about placement on the frames.
I popped the lenses back in the glasses...
...grabbed my E6000 glue...
...and started to affix beads to the frames! I took some creative liberties with these. Aside from painting the frames gold instead of painting them black, I didn't want to completely cover all the open space on the frames. I thought for my taste and style, keeping the bead-work solely at the top of the shades would work best.
I added my starfish, dolphins, and shells, let the frames dry, and then took them for a test drive!
I LOVE these glasses!!
Chic without going overboard, no pun intended :)
With a little bit of spray paint, some plastic shades, and cheap plastic beads, I have a fun pair of sunnies that rival the $425 inspiration pair!
Happy Weekend Friends!
