According to a recent optometry survey, approximately 30.8 million people purchase a new pair of eyeglasses annually. So, what can you do with the old eyeglasses? Particularly, what can you do with those that are too battered or worn to be recycled or donated to charity? If you’ve got a pair or two of old, useless eyeglasses you are thinking about tossing into the trash, perhaps you may want to consider one of the following fun crafts that can easily be created from old eyeglass parts.
Things You’ll Need:
Eyeglasses
Magazines
Greeting cards
Scissors
Transparent glue
Epoxy cement
Pin backs or clasps
Plant pot
1 Create a novelty plant holder. Dab a couple drops of glue on the inside of the earpieces on a pair of old eyeglasses. Attach the eyeglasses to a plant pot. Find photographs of a nose and a mouth in a magazine. Use scissors to cut the images from the magazine. Glue them onto the pot beneath the eyeglasses to create a face.
2 Make broaches or pins using eyeglass lenses. Pop the lenses out of the frames. Find images in old magazines or used greeting cards that can be cut to fit inside the lenses. Spread glue that will dry to be transparent on the backs of the lenses, and attach the image face down, so that it can be viewed through the lens. When the glue dries, attach a pin back or clasp to the back of the image using epoxy cement. Rhinestones or beads can be attached to the front of the lens for added decoration.
3 Make a pair of fun novelty eyeglasses to add whimsy to the ordinary. Find images of eyes in old magazines that can be cut to fit the lenses of the eyeglasses. Spread glue that will dry to be transparent on the back of the lens and attach the image of the eyes, with the image facing the glue. Eyebrows can be created by cutting images of eyebrows from a magazine, or by using construction paper. Glue the eyebrows to the eyeglass frames, above the lenses. Place the eyeglasses anywhere you may want to add a bit of playful humor—perhaps put them on a cactus, or fit them over a pineapple or a pumpkin or squash.