I love going shooting and I love crafting. Combined you get custom blinged out ear protection for the gun range!
I will say that I ABSOLUTELY love them but making them was a different story. It was tedious, took way more crystals than expected, and this project made me cuss. At one point I was thinking just the one side is pretty, right!? Lol! I painfully finished both sides and glad I did.
Swarovski crystal rhinestones (flat back)
Super glue
Tweezers
Patience
Lots of time
Tips before you start:
Be prepared to buy more packages than you think. I used Michael's coupons to purchase them one by one. Took forever to purchase but it saved a lot of money.
Use different size jewels for filling in gaps plus it's easier to purchase. I cleared out a few different Michael's finding the color I needed. It would've taken longer if only using one size.
Pre-place to few at at time to see how they look before gluing. So glad I did this extra step because sometimes they fit better with a different combo.
Use a TINY amount of super glue. It's weird but if you use too much it coats the crystal in a film that makes them dull and sometimes looks white around the base. I added the glue and dabbed some off before attaching.
One last thing before I started gluing (actually I decided after about 20 crystals were attached.) I taped around the padding and the crystals already placed and used spray paint. The ear protection I purchased had a logo and I wasn't sure the crystals would cover it completely. I used a pink spray paint that didn't exactly match but it covered the logo and the crystals covered the difference in color.
Best to start around the edges first and fill in the rest. This way you have a clean edge from the beginning.
The first side I started in the center and the edges didn't turn out as nice. I couldn't find the right combo to make them meet the edge exactly. Still bugs me.
Used a tiny drop of super glue and attached {{repeat a million times}}
In the end they turned out awesome and I get so many compliments.
Even for Halloween. You know how much I love my zombies and here I am AS a zombie taking out my own. :( Lol!
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How many crystals did you end up using roughly?
ReplyDeleteA ridiculous amount!!! I used 46 packages of a combo of 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm. Not sure if it would've taken less if I used only used the larger size. I purchased one or two packages at a time on sale and had no idea it would take so many. With that said, my ear protection broke last week and can't be fixed. I am going to make a new pair the same way but with a different color. Expensive and time consuming but the end result was worth it. I think I'm going to search online for bulk to maybe save some money. I have seen another pair where someone spread them out a little more to use less crystals but I like mine better. Hope this helps.
DeleteUpdate: I made another pair and ordered bulk crystals online in two different sizes and it was so much cheaper.
DeleteSo what size did you use on this last pair?
DeleteBoth pairs I used 5mm, 4mm and 3mm sizes. I ordered bulk in 4mm and 3mm when I made the second pair and it was so much cheaper. http://www.craftibilities.com/2019/02/custom-bling-ear-protection.html
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