I have become rather addicted to my Pair Eyewear glasses, and that includes making my own DIY Pair Eyewear toppers. When I started doing homemade glasses toppers, I was surprised at how little there is out there in terms of instruction on how to make homemade toppers. It seriously is a craft lovers dream because you can get very creative with it.
This post is an overview of different ways that you can make your own Pair glasses custom eyeglass toppers. It is not a complete tutorial on each method, but should be enough to get many people started. I plan to add some complete tutorials too and I will link to them here when I do so.
Looking for supply recommendations? I link some throughout, but also scroll to the bottom, where I link my favorites all in one place.
What is Pair Eyewear?
Quickly for those not familiar with them, Pair Eyewear (referral link) features glasses with interchangeable magnetic frames for both adults and children. They offer multiple styles of frames and numerous toppers, including limited editions, that you can purchase. The toppers attach with magnets.
Below are some of my toppers. All but the gold ones of these are from Pair Brand.
Pair can add your prescription to their glasses, and they offer all of the traditional add on features such as transition lenses, blue light blocking, thin lenses, and progressives. I have progressive thin lenses with blue light blocking in the Larkin style, and my prescription was spot on. In fact, I like the quality better than the more expensive glasses that I got at Lenscrafters.
I will write a full Pair Eyewear review down the road. For now, just know that I love them.
I love their both Pair toppers AND I love making my own. Pair is great for crafters and DIY types because making your own DIY toppers is fun and fairly easy with the right tools.
Want to Find Buy/Sell/Trade groups? Here is a link to a search for them on Facebook. There are quite a few! People also post their own creations and tips for crafting in some of these groups, especially in Custom Handcrafted Toppers.
Five Ways to Make DIY Pair Eyewear Toppers
Here is an overview of five popular ways to make custom glasses toppers. I give the basics here and will start working on more in depth tutorials. Warning! If I have any Pair Eyewear complaints it would be that making these things is addictive! I just can’t stop, lol!
It also can get pricey if you are like me and love to collect crafting supplies. But then, my addiction to buying toppers directly from Pair is a bit expensive too. I just love them so much!
These are all some toppers that I made myself. In fact these were some of the very first ones that I made.
In this article, I link to various materials. In the case of Amazon, these are referral links and I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.
I am putting a section with links to favorite supplies at the bottom of this post.
About Sealing Toppers
First, let’s talk topper sealers because those will be the same for many methods.
You can seal your DIY topper with a clear protective spray, clear nail polish, UV nail gel finish, UV resin, or a dimensional adhesive such as Diamond Glaze or Modge Podge Dimensional magic. UV resin is the most durable, but requires the most work and equipment. Dimensional adhesives work well as a substitute.
UV resin and Dimensional adhesives give a nice coated and glossy look to the toppers. If you are a beginner without a UV light, try a dimensional adhesive. If you have a UV light, I like using UV resin the best. Work in a well ventilated area and wear gloves when working with resin!
I use the little bottle pictured above for greater control when applying resin.
I own a UV light that is a box because I already owned it for nail art, but many makers like lights that can be set over the toppers. It is worth the extra money for a bit higher power light. Some UV resin wont cure well with a low power one.
Important: Resin can sometime discolor printed paper, especially if you printed your own on an ink jet printer and/or printed onto very porous paper. To avoid that, apply a layer of Modge Podge or spray sealant to your paper before you add the resin. I have been fine using UV resin directly on photo prints, most purchased cardstock prints, and washi tape without problems. When in doubt, do a test on a piece of scrap and see if the resin affects your paper.
(1) Nail Polish or Paint on Blanks
The easiest way to make DIY toppers is to use nail polish or paint on a blank. You can buy acrylic or 3D-printed blanks from various sellers on Etsy or in various Facebook Pair Eyewear buy/sell/trade groups. I also link to a few at the end of this post.
Below are two different 3d-printed blanks and an acrylic blank.
I’m currently primarily using acrylic blanks from Wishing Garden on Etsy. I often buy mine with the magnets already added. Otherwise you can buy magnets to add to them on Amazon. I use these.
Tip for getting the magnets right: Put a set of Pair brand toppers underneath your creation and add a dot of glue or resin to your DIY topper. Drop the magnets onto the glue. They will end up in the correct location with the correct side out!
Using blanks in your topper style, you can simply paint the blank and finish it with a top coat of sealant and easily have new toppers!
I love nail polish for this. A great way to get beautiful glitter toppers is to buy a chunky glitter polish or polish topper and apply it to blanks. I like to use a solid base color, let it dry, and then add a glitter topper. If you have a UV light and gel polish, all the better! It will be quicker to make, more durable, and allow you to also use UV resin.
With that said, I also use regular nail polish all the time, such as for the toppers shown below. These still have UV resin floated on top though.
(2) Cardstock or Photo Paper Toppers
Making printable paper glasses is probably the next easiest way to make your own frame toppers. You can make these with out without blanks!
While you can use a template and cut by hand, that is quite time consuming and tedious. If you have a cutting machine, that makes it much easier. You can also sometimes buy precut cardstock from various crafters. I bought some once from here, which also sells 3D Blanks.
Here is a great Etsy shop for all sorts of trusted cut files, including some fun shapes, like cat eyes and such. I have purchased from this shop and been very happy with the files: As You Wish Craft Shop on Etsy.
Here is a Dropbox link for SVG file templates of all of the Pair brand toppers. NOTE! I did not make these files. They came from shared files from this tutorial from another blogger. (A good tutorial on making magnetic sheet toppers) It is important to check the read me files for the dimensions and set that before cutting and also be prepared to have to tinker with the files. For example, I had to change the dimensions for Larkins to 5.24 x 1.56 inches instead of using what is in readme file.
These are toppers made from cut preprinted cut cardstock.
I have a Cricuit Joy, which is an affordable little cutter that does the job quite well. If you own a higher level Cricut or Sillohuette, you can also make your own acrylic blanks. The joy can’t quite handle that.
To make paper toppers, find a print that you like on cardstock, paper, or photopaper, and use a template file to cut it. Then you glue it to a blank and finish, or simply finish both sides with resin or dimensional adhesive, adding magnets,. Then you can skip the blank.
Important: If you are gluing paper to acrylic or 3D blanks, I find that regular glue is not very durable. I use Gorilla Super Glue Gel formulated for use on plastic.
You can also use magnetic sheets or adhesive vinyl instead of cardstock or photo paper. I find that adhesive vinyl stays stuck to a blank nicely, but it is a bit difficult to work with at times. I haven’t done much with magnetic toppers, but I have bought some from other crafters and they tend to come out nice. Here is a magnetic sheet topper tutorial from A Big Red Bow blog.
I love to order 4×6 prints of digital papers on photo paper at Walgreens for same day pickup. That gives a nice glossy finish and is thick enough that I don’t need a blank if I finish it with resin on both sides. I will often do cardstock and photo paper without blanks. I also sometimes use a layer of cardstock as a blank for thin paper or nail polish.
Below is a set of photo paper toppers and the little test scrap that I used to see if the resin would discolor the paper (it didn’t).
(3) Washi Tape DIY Pair Toppers
One of my favorite ways to make toppers in to use washi tape. I already had quite a collection of washi masking tape when I got my Pair eyeglasses, and sometimes this is the best way to find tiny prints that look good on toppers. You can buy washi tape on places like Etsy and Amazon.
If you do not have a cutting machine, the more tedious way to use tape is to carefully cut and wrap it to a blank. The far easier way though is to lay the tape out on a piece of cardstock, press it firmly and then cut it. From there, attach to a blank and finish as usual.
Below is van Gogh Starry Night washi tape. I did not worry about matching this one up perfectly. With some patterns you will want to be more careful.
Here is the finished product.
With these Totoro toppers, I hand cut out some of elements from pieces of the tape and stuck them on before adding resin in order to get the design more to my liking.
People also use nail wraps and nail foil to make toppers in a similar fashion. I have not done that yet, so I’ll leave instruction on that to others!
(4) Making Pair Toppers with Silicone Molds
This type of DIY eyeglass topper requires the use of resin. You can buy molds on Etsy or from creators in the various Facebook Groups. There is also this video on how to make your own molds, but it can be a pretty expensive process. I chose to just buy a couple of molds. Each mold is good for around 30 toppers before it starts wearing out.
With a mold, you can mix glitter, resin ink, objects, dried flowers, etc. with resin and make some pretty spiffy looking toppers. You can also make your own resin blanks this way, but I prefer to buy acrylic or 3d-printed blanks.
Becasue I used to make nail polish and mineral makeup, I have a TON of mineral pigments, inks, and glitter. So, for me, trying molds was a no brainer. I just got my molds, so I’ll update when I make a set of toppers in them.
(5) Multi-Media Toppers
My absolute favorite toppers are those that I make with multi-media. Multi-Media is basically anything that mixes different materials.
For example, you can buy nail stickers or charms and add those to your painted blanks. I love to find an interesting digital paper, have it printed on photo paper, and then add a combination of stickers, charms, paint, rhinestones, glitter etc. to it.
This is where you can get very creative. It also can get expensive as the materials can add up. But if you area already a crafter, you probably have a lot of things that you could get creative with already.
I buy a lot of crafting supplies and nail art supplies on Amazon. You can find them on Etsy too but often Amazon has the same items for cheaper.
If you are patient, you can get things very cheap on Alliexpress, but expect to wait weeks (or sometimes months) for it to ship from China. Shein is another good source for cheap nail art items with a bit quicker shipping. But I find Amazon to be pretty darn affordable by comparison.
The below toppers were made with a combination of photo paper (a print of a pink brick wall), and luminous nail stickers that have a clear background. I finished them on both sides with UV resin and did not use a blank.
These Steampunk toppers were made with a photo print and then a combination of nail charms and real watch pieces were added. I also made a separate set of magnetic charms to stick to them if desired. I’ll do a tutorial on that too at some point.
Fitting and Caring for Your Pair Eyewear Toppers
Homemade toppers tend to have a few disadvantages over the ones that you buy from Pair. They are not often as durable, and they usually don’t fit quite as well. But here are some ways to avoid problems.
Fitting Toppers
This applies to both DIY glasses toppers and the ones that you buy from Pair. If your toppers do not fit well, use a hair dryer to lightly heat them, then gently bend them to shape. I like to put the DIY toppers on top of a set of regular ones and the set the bottom edge under a book while they cool. That usually fits them quite well.
3D topper blanks in particular seem to often need to be fitted. If you buy from a vendor, don’t freak out if they don’t fit without shaping first! I recently bought some that initially were not even close to sticking to my glasses, but a hit with the hair dryer fixed it right away.
When making toppers, I often attach them to a set of Pair toppers with glue dots at the bottom when curing the resin (use a set that you don’t mind accidentally getting resin on). Then I let them cool that way. That process also shapes them.
Using Glue Dots
Have you ever pulled a shirt over you hear or brushed hair out of your face and had your toppers go flying off? It happens to me all the time, even with the official Pair brand toppers.
Glue dots are wonderful for anyone that uses Pair Eyewear. These tiny adhesive dots do a great job of sticking the bottom part of a topper to your frames and I often use them both with DIY toppers and with official Pair Eyewear toppers.
Simply adhere a couple of dots to each side and go. The dots scrape off easily when you remove your glasses
Eyeglass Topper Craft Supplies
Here is a list of some of my favorite supplies or links to search pages for items. Links to Amazon and Etsy are affiliate links.
All sorts of trusted cut files
3D-Toppers (this place also sells precut cardstock)
Molds (I got mine from Joy Bentley who runs the linked to Facebook group)
Cricut Amazon Store (I have the joy)
UV Resin (this one is particularly popular among topper makers)
KB Shimmer Nail Polish (They have some great chunky glitter polishes, plus holographic polishes)
Rhinestone Kits (this can be a great way to get a selection of decorations and they often include tweezers or other useful tools)
Craft Carts (I got mine at Ikea, but the link is results for a bunch of similar ones on Amazon)
How to Make Pair Eyewear Toppers, Conclusion
Ok, so there is a basic overview of different popular ways to make toppers. For those wanting step-by-step tutorials, I am going to work on some and will link to them when I get that done.
Let me know in the comments your favorite ways to make toppers and your tips and tricks! I love learning from others and trying new techniques!
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I am new to pair eyewear and waiting for my Ella glasses to arrive. Iam a crafter and wanted to make my own toppers without spending a lot of money using the supplies I have on hand. I did order the Joy Cricut from Amazon which I love and a set of the blanks from etsy. Your info on making the toppers without using the blanks made my day! I can see lots of toppers in my future!
Glad this is helpful! For basic toppers without adding embellishments, I love to not use blanks. The toppers come out lighter. I have recently done quite a few with just photo paper. You can also use a cardstock cutout as a blank if you want it a bit heavier.
Im just learning about toppers. Are they clear glasses you put over your own framed glasses? So basically you’re wearing 2 pair at once?
They are base pair of glasses that you put a magnetic topper on so you can change out the look. It is not two full pairs of glasses at once.
Thank you for this information – it’s great! I’m new to Pair but I’ve been a crafter for a very long time and own a Cricut. I am going to have fun making toppers for myself.
You will love it! It is really addictive!
Thank you for sharing your talent with beginners. I learned quite a bit.
The ONLY thing I would ask is that you do your instructing in a video. It would be awesome to watch as you teach us.
Again thank you.
I CANNOT WAIT TO GET STARTED! I have been researching how in the world to do this for many days now and your site has been the holy grail. I would absolutely love to see a video of you creating a topper with the cricut joy. I am getting ready to purchase one probably within the next five minutes 🙂 As a matter of fact, any visual tutorial would be great! I appreciate you taking the time to do explain these methods; it’s going to be a great project for my daughter and me to do!
Thanks for the great overview! I am new to both Paireywear and Cricut. I have just just retired and have been looking for directions. I would love a tutorial on step-by-step finishing.
I was wondering if anyone has stl file for 3d printer…I have one but I don’t think it is that great…Hope someone can help me..ty in advance Tracey
Ok I want to make glitter ones. So what’s the best way? Do you just plop resin in and sprinkle in glitter? Or how the heck do you do it?
If using a mold, most people mix the glitter with the resin. It does not take much glitter! too much and the resin won’t set. I like to do glitter by using glitter nail polish and then resin over the top when it dries. You could also apply resin or a glue, add glitter on top, let it set, and then resin over that. There are multiple ways to do it.
I am so excited to get started making my toppers! I just randomly bought a bunch of scrapbook paper and the files for Cricut and 3D printing. After reading through your tutorial, I’m on a search for digital prints that I can print out at Walgreens because I love the idea of not using a base. Also, the scrapbook paper designs are really too big for the toppers most of the time. I am not sure what everybody else’s libraries are like, but ours does have a cricket machine for use for free. I just bring my file and paper. They also have a glow forge, and a couple of different 3D printers. The 3D printers are 5 cents per gram cost of your finished product and that’s it. And for people like me who have no clue what we’re doing, they are very helpful.
My library has those things too. I keep meaning to go give making my own blanks a try! I have been getting some good patterns for photos from stock photo sites. Some sites, like deposit photos or pixabay, have a decent selection of free images too.
I can’t find a topper mold anywhere. Do you have a link?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a specific link. I got mine from a person in one of the facebook groups. I’m pretty sure it was the custom handcrafted toppers group, which is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/928747317861869
Hi! If you join this group on Facebook, there are several people in the group that make and sell molds. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1412395739192607
Hi. IF YU KNEW ANYONE THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SILICONE TOPPER MOLDS. IM LOOKING FOR ELLA. i LOVE TO PLAY WITH CRAFTS. IM DISABLED AND WOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO KEEP MY MIND OCCUPIEDD.
i AM STRIKING OUT LEFT AND RIGHT.
THANKS,
JOYCE LYDICK
LYDICKJOYCE@GMAIL.COM
Hi! If you join this group on Facebook, there are several people in the group that make and sell molds. Post there asking and I’m sure you will find someone. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1412395739192607 If you are not on Facebook and/or don’t want to join, reply to this comment to let me know and I’ll see if I can get someone in there to email you.
Hi! Do you by chance have the cut out download for the finley?
Hi! I don’t and it looks like they were removed from the dropbox files I posted? However, this shop on Etsy does a good job with cut files and also has some fun alternate shapes too. I have purchased a bunch of Larkin files from there: https://tidd.ly/3Zu3mNo
With the dimensional sealer over the nail Polish, does the paint ever crack, or peel, on an acrylic blank?
I haven’t had issues other than I do find if you bend the topper too much for shaping or if you drop it on a hard surface the paint will crack.
What is the name of the blue & purple topper from Pair in your first photo? It’s gorgeous!
It is The Turquoise Geode.
Thanks so much for this tutorial. I started making my own from your directions and it’s been such a fun craft. Now I can less guiltily have a ridiculous collection of toppers without the price.
Some of your links, such as for the magnets, don’t go to the magnets. I do get to see a cute dog though. Any way you could fix that for us? My friend shared this with me AFTER telling me I couldn’t have another hobby! LOL!
I’ll take a look for a replacement link. Amazon does that when an item sells out. Here is a link for similar magnets. I use 5x1mm size. https://www.amazon.com/VSKIZ-Magnets-Neodymium-Durable-Whiteboard/dp/B0BWD7H7Z9/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=snackrules-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=5525e2a25289300c33e928df4224d13a&camp=1789&creative=9325
I’m trying to use the Dimensional Magic on the acrylic blanks but it tends to run off and pool around the edge of the frames or like a raindrop adhered under the frame. Any tips on applying the DM by Mod Podge
You could try putting it in the little bottles I linked to that I use for UV Resin. Those put out a very fine line of resin. I have also seen some people put their blanks on a rack of some sort so that drips fall off below.
PLEASE make a tutorial using acrylic blanks and nail wraps and one using washi tape. I have searched for these on the internet and have found nothing. I am not sure when to use mod podge acrylic sealer and uv resin!! Do you need both or do you pick 1 and use it?
Some people use modge podge to seal and then resin after. Resin sometimes discolors paper, so the modge podge prevents that.
I like to use Modge Podge over anything I think the color will bleed. Then when it dries, I do the resin over that.
Thank you for the Tut.
I would like to learn how to make the metal toppers does anyone know how to do this?
Wow this is great information I’m excited to try the different ways you informed us about. I’m also disabled and want to keep busy and try some different things I’m also a big craft person so I just ordered all kinds of things to try. You did an amazing job of providing the information in a way that is easy to understand I’m so glad I found this site. I will be back to use your links to get the products you use. Thanks again for this great info
I’m glad it was helpful!
When you use photo paper to make the toppers, do you need to seal with modge podge (like the spray can) before you put the resin on?
I print on glossy paper through a high quality service (I order glossy prints at Walgreens which is good paper and laser) and do not seal first. But if I were printing on an inkjet at home I would seal it first. Basically, if you think the print might run when wet, then sealing first is a good idea.
When you say you use Walgreens, do you take the print to them and have them print it out? I think I am confused about digital prints.
Hi! Walgreens online allows you to upload digital images and order physical prints of them. So, I like to find stock photos of patterns that I like, upload these, and then order the print of them on photo paper. You then pick them up at your local store. Look here for details. https://photo.walgreens.com/store/home
I just found you on Pinterest. This is a very informative tutorial. Are you still doing these?
I am still making toppers when I have time, which I never seem to have enough of unfortunately! I have started to experiment with hand painting blanks and with using jelly nail polish on blanks and then adding decorations.
When adding resin onto a photo do you use a mold to retain the shape or just apply resin without a mold?
I use the little bottle shown part way down the post to carefully add the resin without using a mold. It actually is pretty easy to apply, just go slow and use the tip of the bottle to smooth out any air bubbles.
How do you make sun toppers?
I have not tried making pair sun toppers. It would require finding a UV protective material and then attaching that to a blank. I have seen some people in various Facebook Groups try some so you might find some ideas there. Something I have done though is put a homemade topper on top of a pair brand topper. Thin photo paper ones work well for that, using glue dots to keep them flush.
Hi Carlene
Awesome info.! Topper addiction in full force. Pair and creator made toppers.
Wondered about square magnets vs round. I found toppers I get from creators often have round ones. What is your suggested size for using square shaped magnets instead?
Also if you don’t mind me asking rough start up cost ya figure two years ago in 2022 compared to now. Have to sell making my own topper addiction to my hubby… lol (haven’t yet clicked on all your helpful links). I love that library machines can be used but if I’m a novice rather not take up too much time using any machines they may have either.
I haven’t seen square magnets, so I don’t have a suggested size. I’m thinking they are not easy to come by which is why everyone uses round ones. It is hard to come up with a starter cost, but I will say it doesn’t have to be really expensive. The cricut joy that I use to cut photos is around $110. After that a uv nail lamp can usually be found for as little as $15.i print photos at Walgreens for pretty cheap and uv resin is not overly pricey. However, I do like to collect nail stickers and things to add to the toppers and while those are individually cheap, it is easy to become a collector of them, which adds up!
Hello, I am starting out and I’m trying to learn how to specifically place certain parts of the print on the frames themselves so if you’re doing say a print of moon and stars, and you specifically want to put a moon in a star in the corners of the glasses if you have any ideas or recommendations on how to do that I don’t know if you’ve done any videos or have any information on that it would be great if you could share it with me.
I haven’t done anything on placement of patterns. I tend to say just place things as you find personally pleasing. I would personally try to get stars in the corners. How to do that depends on how you are making the toppers. If using cricut there are ways to line up patterns, but I am not an expert at it. I tend to do a lot by trial and error when cutting preprinted photos.
Did you ever make the more in depth videos that you mentioned? I got a circut joy and was going to use vinyl and cardstock…..but I’m kinda lost, lol
Hi! No I have not been able to get that done. Sorry!
Thank you so very much for the info of the glue dots. I experience the same things you do by knocking them off. I will definitely try these. Can you give me some advice on putting magnets on my toppers? What is the best technique?
I put a set of Pair brand toppers underneath my DIY toppers and add a dot of glue or resin (I prefer resin). Then I drop the magnets onto the glue or resin. They will end up in the correct location with the correct side out.
Thank you so much for the detailed information. I have created a number of 12 x 12 digital papers and I think they would be amazing for my own toppers. However, I am struggling with getting them to be small enough. Do you have any suggestions? Also, have you ever tried print then cut with your Cricut instead of cutting from a photo from Walgreens?
How sturdy are your toppers that are only photo paper or cardstock? Does the resin or other sealer make them less fragile?
Thanks so much!
I have not tried print then cut. I use photos mainly because the quality laser printing works best with the resin. I’m guessing there is a way to minimize the print with cut and print, but I definitely lack knowledge on that. As for sturdiness, they are sturdy enough on photo paper that I can wear them quite a bit for a good length of time. Cardstock has been slightly less sturdy for me, but still decent. However, either way, they are not nearly as stiff or sturdy as toppers that are placed on plastic blanks. I also usually have to use glue dots to make them adhere evenly. I have had a few wear out and either break or get scuffed. When it has been one that I liked a lot, I simply made a new one.
Thank you so much for the prompt response! I think I figured out how to shrink the pictures so that they are small enough to show up.
Using the photo idea is really smart … not at all expensive especially if I just want something fun, like for Halloween.
I also ordered some sublimation blanks from an Etsy seller. That should be interesting.
Thank you so much for this. I’m relatively new to Pair and have Ellas. I love the idea of making my own toppers and I saw a few comments about using a Cricut. Does anyone have any recommendations about the models that can be used for this please?
Any model should work. I use a Cricut Joy.