Tuesday, July 28, 2015

DIY: How to Decorate and Paint Earphones

Back to School season is a great time to buy office supplies. It is also a tempting a time. Sometimes the logical The Greenest Thing is What You Already Own side of my brain and the computer IT geek I Don’t Care This One is So Much Cooler Than What I Have side of my brain do battle. Well, not exactly battle but more like I end up buying something cute that’s not on my shopping list just because it is a cuter version of what I already have.

Now in the case of something small like earphones, the purchase won’t break the bank or anything like that but it will clutter up my house. Especially when I found several pairs of very good ear buds while cleaning and organizing my desk. It was a good surprise because I can keep a pair in my gym and dance bag, in my purse, my desk, etc.

Keep reading for my step by step painted earphone tutorial!

So why am I tempted in the store while staring at a rack of cheapola 5 dollar ear buds that probably sound worse than the good ones I love and use?

I’ll tell you why. The cheapie headphones are in pretty and cute colors. The spendy and great sounding earphones are plain Jane black.

How to Make Cute Earphones

Pin me for reference!

I painted my ear phones to coordinate with the cover of my tablet. I added polka dots to mine but you can add stripes, color blocks, or solid colors to your ear phones if you like.

You will need:

Earbuds

120 grit sandpaper

Craft paint that works on plastic

Paint brush

Water

Optional: Straight pin and a pencil with an eraser

Make it:

1. Use the sandpaper to lightly sand and rough up the plastic surface of your headphones. You don’t need to deep sand for hours, just removing the glossy finish will be enough to allow the paint to stick to the plastic.

Sanding time!

2. Use the paint and paintbrush to paint a base coat on your earphones and allow the paint to dry. I used three coats of paint to cover my black ear buds. You might need more or less depending on the color you are covering and the color paint you want to use.