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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

{Tutorial} Glittery Shoes


My daughter's shoes were getting a bit roughed up and I really had to stop filling in the scuffs with my Sharpie as she left for school in the morning.  I had two ideas:  spray paint and glitter!

Oh did she looooove both ideas as much as I did!

I had seen glitter shoe tutorials before, and I knew the basics: Mod Podge and glitter.  But I wasn't sure about the order in which to apply them and what do I do about things like straps and buckles and cute flowers on the shoes?  I mean do I mix the Mod Podge and glitter together and paint it on?  Or should I paint on the Mod Podge and sprinkle the glitter on?  Here is what I found that worked best for me!

I started with these...

and turned them into these...

and it was pretty easy!

{Tutorial} for Glittery Shoes (with straps and stuff)

1.  Prep your shoes by stuffing with plastic bags and taping off parts you don't want glittered.  I unbuckled the strap and let it hang out.  I taped off the velcro on the straps, too!
2.  Put about a tablespoon of glitter in a plastic cup or something you can pitch when you are done.  I mixed three colors of glitter here- all Martha Stewart glitters.
3.  Add a blob of Mod Podge to the glitter and mix with paint brush until is it a thick mixture of the two.  At first it will be dry but keep adding small blobs of the glue until it is a paintable glitter.  When you paint it on the shoe, work in small areas at a time.  **I found this works better than adding the glitter to the glue because I couldn't estimate the glue and had to dump a ton of glitter in or paint on a bunch of coats to get it as glittery as I wanted.  And I wasted a lot of glitter by painting Mod Podge on first then sprinkling glitter on it.
I started at the toe and worked back.  I glittered the strap last.  And don't get any glue on the flower, if you have one.
4.  As they are drying you can add more glitter to any spots you missed.  For touch ups on the toes, I painted on only Mod Podge and then sprinkled glitter to really get them sparkly!  Repeat the layers until they look glittery enough for you.
5.  When the main color was dry, I smothered the flower with Mod Podge and poured silver glitter in every nook and cranny.  I let it set up just a minute then shook off the glitter.


6.  After they are dry...Lastly, I added two thin coats of just Mod Podge over the entire shoe.

When they are completely dry (patience...) carefully remove the stuffing and the tape.  I had to use my fingernail to keep the tape from pulling off the good stuff.  Just go slowly.  Trust me.


I think these shoes are pretty durable.  The Mod Podge kept them flexible enough for a five-year old to run around in them.   I think the thin layers of the glue helped also.

Have you glittered any shoes for yourself or kids?  I would like some glitter just on the toes of shoes for me.

ALSO,  this is My entry into Thrifty Thursday is sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines.

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Linking to these fabulous parties:
Somewhat SimplePhotobucketA Crafty Soiree Transformation ThursdayThriftyThursdayModernButton1 SBLC ButtonsThe 36th AVENUE
Catch a Glimpse ButtonPhotobucketBWS tips buttoncraft MakingThe Girl CreativeKeeping It Simple

9 comments:

  1. Love them, Kate! My daughter would flip for these! Great job and I just shared on my FB page! https://www.facebook.com/TheThriftyTurtle

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  2. Oh gosh! these are really cute! I "pinned" them to make for my grand-daughter. Thanks for sharing your idea (and saving us from the experimentation). I saw your post over at "The Girl Creative".

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  3. What a sweet way to revitalize shoes! I'm wondering if this would work on Ballet flats... as I tend to wear them out pretty quickly. I would love it if you would link up to my debut Sweet Sharing Monday! http://saynotsweetanne.com/2012/sweet-sharing-monday/

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  4. These are so cute! I love how they turned out. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. This is awesome! I hate throwing away shoes where the toe is ran down to the nothing but still perfectly fit and are in good shape! I blame breaking on the bike with our shoe fronts... Anyway - I think this may have saved a number of shoes that are in the process of going to the heap! Great idea! You could also do this before giving them to goodwill! so awesome! Thanks for sharing! found you on sew-a-do link party and if you have a link followers, I'll follow!

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  6. So cute! My daughter trashed her dress shoes the other day. They need a makeover and will now be going glitter! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Wow what an amazing transformation! They are so adorable and it's such a great idea to save a pair of shoes. Love it :)

    Christine @ Projectsaroundthehouse.blogspot.com

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