Thursday, August 4, 2011

Give Some Old Shoes a Makeover!

Do you have some old shoes that aren’t looking so good anymore, but you just can’t bring yourself to get rid of them? Why not give them a makeover? I saw this post made on the La Sophia blog for some fabulously fun sequined shoes! Check out her project here. Too cute, so I decided to give this project a try. I found a pair of fabric shoes that had water stains on them, so they were perfect candidates for this project. I love how they turned out!

Supplies Needed:
• A pair of shoes to recycle
• Modge Podge
• Sequins & plastic gems (in various shapes)
• Confetti (I used paper & mylar)
• Glitter (I used a fine cut glitter that had stars in it.)
• Seed beads
• Jewel It glue (for the sequins & gems)
• Paint brush
• Newspaper or freezer paper

Start by spreading out some paper to cover your work area. I use freezer paper so that I can pour the Modge Podge and all my decorations out on my work surface. I began by applying large pieces of the mylar confetti that I bought at my local dollar store. This will be the base layer. Then I added pieces of the paper confetti, from the same store, and also a few sequins with the Jewel It glue. The paper confetti will add some dimension to your layers. For a smoother look, only use the larger, flat pieces. I decided that I was going to go for a dimensional and layered look.

After that dried a bit I could see areas that I had missed and added more confetti. Then more sequins. Next I added some of the plastic gems. I would leave no space unadorned.

After the glue on the gems had dried I added some of the glitter by brushing it on with the Modge Podge. I brushed the glitter over some of the sequins and it really made them sparkle! After the glitter dried I added more sequins and a few more gems. I noticed that there were some areas around the foot opening that needed attention, so I added some seed beads to fill in the gaps. Take a break and let it all dry overnight.

The next day you can look at your project with “fresh eyes” and see if you think you need to add anything more. If not, then you are done with decorating and ready to apply an even top coat of Modge Podge over the entire surface. You don’t have to cover the gems if you don’t want to. They should hold just fine. I recommend letting the shoes dry for a couple of days before wearing. That will give you time to put together the perfect outfit to show off your latest creation!

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