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Gather all of your materials and decorations together. I suggest that you lay down some paper towel or tissues to work on so you can see everything easily and you don’t get your work surface all glue-y.
The type of glue I am using is called “Epoxy”, it comes in 2 tubes one is resin and one is hardener. There are other types of glue available for deco but epoxy is the strongest and most hard wearing, if you use a decent amount your jewels won’t be going anywhere! Epoxy is good for rigid surfaces (like plastic), it is not good for things that need to bend (like fabric). It comes in different formulas which take different lengths of time to dry, for a project like this use the 5min one. Also unlike some other glues it doesn’t smell bad so you won’t pass out from the fumes ^_^
We need to start with the largest items we’re going to glue. That’s an important rule of paving deco, put the big pieces in and then fill the gaps with everything else.
So squeeze out an even amount of glue from each tube onto a piece of plastic. I just used the packet that some of my diamantes came in.
Using an orange stick mix the two bubbles of glue together. Make sure the consistency is even and it’s mixed well.
I’m going to put a bow on my pink headphone first so using the orange stick I apply a little glue to the back of the bow and also to the headphone where it’s going.
Hold it in place until the glue becomes tacky then allow it to dry completely.
Repeat the process on the other side. I decided to use a bead shaped like a heart on this one. Apply the glue…
Hold the jewel in place.
For paving you need a lot of jewels in different sizes. Rather than buying 1000 of each size if you are doing a small project like this check the scrapbooking section of your local craft store for pre-stuck designs like the photo below. It has many different sizes.
Because they already have a sticky backing on them, they’re fairly useless to glue, you’ll find that if you use the provided sticky back they will eventually slide off your item or if you glue them with the backing on they will still fall off because the glue isn’t touching the actual jewel. So you need to gently pull the sticky backing off… I stick it to my finger and use my nail to pry them free.
And you should be left with this:
Now for this project you need some larger coloured diamantes too..
To pick up the diamantes one by one I find the easiest way is using a match stick with a piece of blutac on the end. New blutac is too sticky so roll it on carpet or fabric first so it picks up some dust and isn’t as sticky ^_^ Other people I know use tweezers but I find that awkward.
Starting with the pink bud add glue to a small strip down the back.
Starting with the largest jewels again place a line of 3mm pink diamantes straight down the back.
While the glue around it is still wet fill in around the edges with tiny clear diamantes. The key to this looking good is to try to fill in every single little gap as much as you can. Wait for it to dry before continuing.
Once the back is dry continue on the side,place a row of large pink diamantes and fill in around it with clear. It’s kind of like making a mosaic, trying to find the right gems to fit the right spot.
When that side is dry continue around to the other side until the jewels meet in the middle, the entire thing should be covered. When you’re done it should look a little like this:
Now let’s start on the other side! The principle is the same, but this time use blue jewels instead of pink ^_^
Do the sides first and then keep going until the jewels meet in the middle.
Once everything is completely dry it’s time to tackle that last little white bit where the cord comes from…
Holding it by the ear piece cover that in clear diamantes.
So then leave it to dry! If you think it needs it, you can give the entire jeweled area a clear top coat. I don’t generally do it because if you are using acrylic jewels it can melt the top layer and make the facets of the jewel less obvious. If you decide to top coat then go with a quick dry clear nail polish. This is what you end up with when you’re done…
Haha you can tell that James can home and took these pictures because they’re so arty!
I think pastel blue and pink look so cute together ^_^
You can see the paving a little more clearly here…
I hope you enjoyed this and it helped! If you have any questions feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer :)
Now if you love the ones I made and can’t be bothered making your own you have a chance to win them! Click here to see for yourself how you can get your pretty hands on the deco headphones ^_^ |
OMG! Soooo cute! I just want to put them in a basket and feed them :D
Hahaha! Feed them more diamantes! Or maybe feed me more diamantes :D Either way… MORE DIAMANTES!
I’m thinking about deco-ing a cornr of my netbook. Not the whole thing, mind, but just something to make it pretty when it goes through security. So many people have the model I have now that it gets confusing!
That sounds great, one tip that I would give when doing laptops etc, cover the part you are going to do with clear book contact first! I did half my laptop and then decided I hated the design, instead of being stuck with it (epoxy doesn’t come off… ever) I just pulled up the contact and it was good as new. Epoxy can also melt some kinds of plastic so contact protects it. If you are just doing a corner then my suggestions is trace the area you want to work with onto the contact, deco the contact then cut it out and stick the whole thing on like a sticker, nice and easy :D
Good idea, especially with something as expensive as a computer. Plus, you can change the design again & again- always a good thing! :D
Exactly! Good luck and let me know how it turns out :D
Now I’ve seen your tutorial I want to decorate everything! XD
Just a question, what’s clear book contact?
I need to find some gems somewhere :)
Haha I am the same way about deco! I just love it and I want to do it to every single thing that I own XD Clear book contact is like see-through plastic that school children cover their work books with. It’s sticky on one side and costs around $2 a roll from newsagents. It’s very useful because you can glue things to one side and then stick it to whatever you like!
ooh that thing. I have that! I am soo going to try to decorate this evening (although I don’t have anything to use, I’ll find something!) First victim, my mobile phone :D
thanks!
Haha good luck! I can’t wait to see what you come up with :D
Very cute! I might try to do that with a pair of big, soundproof headphones I want to get!
I loooove big soundproof headphones! I’m ont really a fan of the little ear buds because they hurt my ears, I’ve deco’d my big ones too ^_^ I’d love to see what you do!
Wow, this tutorial is so useful~ I really want to try this but I wonder if I have the patience haha. Thank you for posting^^
Thanks Sara Mari! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Ah deco! I’ve never tried it because I think i’ll get bored of doing it halfway and i’ll end up with a huge pile of half deco-ed items! I’ve been thinking about doing a sweets deco for my jewellery findings box…
XD I think you would be great at deco Tiff!
I’ve decoed my earbuds ^^
My deco skills sucks, but it’s all shiny so its okey ♥ lol
http://xcutestuffx.blogspot.com/2010/03/bling-bling.html
Your tutorial is really great!
Those are adorable! You did a great job :D Thanks so much for showing me! Would you mind if I put the photo in my “Reader’s Gallery”?
Thanks a lot ^^
Of course, that would be great! ♥
Awesome! I’ll add them in!
Hi Violet! What a great blog (and home page) you have!! And you are so cute:)
I posted a comment a while ago but I guess it didn’t go trough. I was wondering where one can buy such caps as you used for this tutorial? I live in Sweden so if you know if they are available on ebay or online with shipment to Sweden/Europe it would be great!
thank you,
Klara H
Hey Klara! Thanks so much for commenting again :) You actually posted your comment here: http://violetlebeaux.com/2009/12/competition-win-deco-headphones-d/
I’ve replied there but here it is again in case you don’t see it:
Hi Klara! Headphone clips? You mean the base headphones? They were just ones I bought at an electronic store. You could find them online quite easily by searching for ear bud headphones. Hope that helps! If you need anything else just let me know ^_^
Aww they look so cute <3
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Thank you ^_^
Hi Violet,
I’ve been wanting to do deco for ages now but have no idea where to get the materials and especially a large amount of diamantes. I live in the Netherlands (although that probably won’t add much to the tips) and am wondering if there are any cheap net shops selling them and shipping to the Netherlands or if you have any tips on where to find good cute things that could possibly be used for deco.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Karoliina, I buy all of my supplies from ebay, The Sticker Monster and Full Moon Deco, they all ship worldwide as far as I know so hopefully you can find something ^_^