Our beading toolboxes often hold the key to solving problems
not related to beading, as I found out last week when I accidentally snapped my glasses in half at the bridge.
Fortunately, I'm nearsighted so I don't need my glasses to bead. Unfortunately,
I do need them to drive. I've had my glasses for five years (which reads: no current
prescription on file) and my back-ups are contacts that irritate my eyes and
interfere with my beading. To top it off, I couldn't get an appointment to see the
ophthalmologist for four days! What's a beader to do?
After trying several different glues to no avail, I finally
gave up and had to put in my contacts to be able to see well enough to drive to
work. Because my contacts correct for nearsightedness, I had to wear readers to be able to see close-up things
like beads and my computer. By the end of the day, my eyes were sore and I had a
raging headache. I had to find another solution.
I'd worked with Crystal Clay and DeCoRé for the Beautiful
Jewelry special issue and knew it to be a strong, permanent bond. I
couldn't find either of those in our bead studio, so I asked the other editors if anyone had anything like them. Julia offered me some black
Apoxie Sculpt. My glasses were sort of a reddish-brown color and I was afraid the black would look like a huge wad of tape between my
eyes. I was discouraged until I decided maybe I could offset the black with some crystals. As
luck would have it, Preciosa had sent us some samples of their new Pantone
color palettes, and I had the Spring/Summer 2013 on my desk. The smallest rose chatons
were the perfect color and size for what I had planned.
I followed the instructions on the package for mixing the Apoxie Sculpt and
let it sit for 30 minutes while I cut a small strip of duct tape (red zebra
patterned) and wrapped it around the bridge of the glasses to temporarily hold the two sides together. Then I squished the Apoxie Sculpt
into a flat strip and wrapped it around the nose piece of my glasses. I fiddled with it a bit to make sure it wasn't too thick on the back and then put the glasses on and pressed the clay into my nose for a custom fit. I took the glasses off very carefully and, using an eyedropper,
I pressed the small flat-back crystals into the Apoxie Sculpt in a random pattern. I set the whole thing aside
for 24 hours to cure.
The next day, I tried on my new sparkly, designer (me!) eyeglasses and wore them for my run and when I went to the store. Even the ophthalmologist was impressed with the bling on my glasses when I finally got in to see her a few days later. Unfortunately,
my prescription had changed and I needed new glasses anyway. However, I will
keep these as my back-ups in case my new glasses meet with a mishap!
Since then, I've thought of several other uses for Apoxie Sculpt, like a custom handle for my crochet hook -- a chunky one that would fit perfectly -- so maybe my hand wouldn't get so tired when I crochet. Now that I think about it, the cup holder in the back seat of my car is broken and I have a dent in the bumper by the taillight from being rear-ended by another driver who decided it would be a good idea to take his T-shirt off over his head while he was driving. Hmmm...
