Two fast shoe makeovers!

I had a big writers conference a few weeks ago. Naturally, I don't have 51 other weeks of the year to prepare, so I found myself shopping & making over my wardrobe for those few days in a hurry.

Fortunately, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and was able to get the supplies together quickly, so I got them done in time.

Makeover 1
Before shot!

You might remember this picture from the last time I refashioned these shoes. The color did fade quite a bit when I finally rinsed them out, but I really decided to refashion them because I never wore them anymore.

First I painted the heels (fake cork) and the fabric under the toes with matte black spray paint. (Note the other pair of shoes waiting in the background.)

The uppers are fabric (most likely cotton) and I wanted to keep the fabric feel to them, so I hunted down glitter fabric paint. At first I planned to use this glitter spray fabric paint, but I decided to go with Tulip Soft Fabric Paint Glitter instead. It took five coats to get complete coverage, no joke. (Mod podge & glitter might have been better.)

The result's not bad, but there are 2 problems with this: when you turn the shoe at an angle, the blue shows through a lot, and that many layers of fabric paint make the shoe kind of . . . sticky. It doesn't stick to things as you wear them, but if you leave them touching in your closet or set them on, say, a pen, there's a sticking issue. It hasn't ripped off any paint yet, but it's a problem.

Makeover 2
Before!

When I originally dyed the first pair of shoes blue, I seriously debated making them yellow instead. It's been two years and I still wanted yellow shoes, so I decided to go for it. For these fake patent leather shoes, I picked up some glossy spray paint, Rust-Oleum American Accents Ultra Cover Gloss in Sun Yellow.

I'm so bad at spray painting, guys. It's not even funny. I tell myself, go easy, thin layers, you'll get good coverage. But then I push that button and I'm like COVER IT COVER IT COVER IT oh crap it's dripping—better make it drip everywhere MORE MORE MORE MORE and done.

Okay, it's kinda funny. Fortunately, you can't see the bubbles & unevenness in the paint unless you look closely.

To do it right, instead of how I did it:
1. DON'T PAINT ON A WINDY DAY. At the very least, it's aggravating. At the worst, you'll have vital supplies blow away and dirt and leaves stick to your wet paint.
2. Use gloves (I did do this).
3. Spray even, light layers.
4. Be sure to cover all parts of the shoes. You don't have to do the inside (I did anyway), but for open toed shoes, be sure to get the part under your toes. I also did the underside of the heels.
5. Turn the shoes to get all sides. I found holding the shoe by the inside of the heel gave a lot of control and mobility, and then I painted the heel last. While painting, keep the other shoe a safe distance away.
6. You may want to verrrry carefully move any pieces of the shoe that overlap or touch between coats so they don't get painted together.
7. Let dry an hour between coats.
8. Let dry several days to reduce the spray paint smell.
9. Keep the paint for touchups.

And after!

I love them!! The paint chipped a tiny bit and there are small drips and bubbles that *I* notice, but who is going to get down and examine my shoes that closely?

They were also a hit at the conference! I even made the #Storymakers14fashion feed with the conference co-chair:



The glitter shoes also made #storymakers14fashion, but they weren't the stars of the picture . . .

One last #storymakers14fashion post, because of the awesome. @JordanMcCollum #Storymakers14 #kilts pic.twitter.com/zoScKgoCPr
— Gina Denny (@ginad129) April 27, 2014

No-Slip Shoes

I have a problem! Many of my shoes slip off my heels. I am trying to look all professional and suddenly I walk right out of my shoes. Yikes!
I really liked these cute shoes, but I couldn't stay in them.

I have tried various things, including purchasing a product made for this, but hadn't found the best answer.UNTIL NOW!
Look what I did last week.

I already had these things on hand. The carpet tape is about 1.25" wide and has a strong double sided adhesive.

I got a piece of tape about 3" long and applied it firmly to the rubbering, no-slip shelve liner.

I cut the mat to fit, rounded the edges, and applied it to my shoes.

It worked. I stayed in my shoes all day, and the heel inserts were soft and comfy.

Dyeing Your Own Shoes

I want cute turquoise shoes. I found a bunch of cute turquoise sandals, but not "shoes." I knew I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.

At first, I planned to get patent leather shoes and spray paint them, remembering one of the Wayward Weekend shares of spray painted shoes. But I just couldn't find a patent pair I really liked.

And then I found these fabric shoes. I was still planning to spray paint them until I remember Jaime dyeing her own pants, so I picked up some teal Rit liquid dye.

I debated dipping them, but then I checked out Rit's website and found this dye-painting shoe project.

First I had to make sure the fabric would work for this. Synthetic fabrics (like polyester) won't take up dye, so I'd need paint of some kind. However, this fabric felt like cotton, so I took the chance--after a test.

First I mixed the dye: I used 4 tsp (or 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp) dye in 1 cup of hot (140 degree F) water. Then I tested the dye first in an inconspicuous place: under the toes. You're supposed to set dye with heat, but, um, without talking about why, just trust me when I say that microwaving your shoes is a bad idea. (They still smell really bad...)

Messy! Do this in a sink and rinse well afterwards--use rubber gloves and an apron. And then bleach.

Satisfied that the fabric would take up the dye, I reheated the dye and grabbed a foam brush. Interestingly, there was a lot of variation in the dye color.

I protected the wedge heels with duct tape, which pulled off a little bit of the faux cork finish. The plastic soles did get dyed, but the "cork" wedges didn't soak up the dye.

Cooking my shoes.

I tried to be very liberal with the dye, especially in the knot. There were a few spots where glue or a fabric treatment got on the white fabric that didn't show up until after I'd dyed them. Once they were pretty soaked, I dried them in a 100 degree convection oven with the door cracked for about 5 minutes (then let them sit for a while, and repeated a few times. Yeah. STINK.)

You can see the color variation a little here, as well as some spots where the fabric treatment/glue blocked the dye (along the edge and a spot & line on the side).

And here's the result:

I really like how they turned out--but I still need to rinse out the excess dye. There's a handpainted, almost watercolor effect in the tone variation, which I like (and we'll see if that stays after the rinse). The thread is probably synthetic, and it absorbed the dye differently.

If I don't rinse them, if my feet sweat or my shoes get wet, I'll end up dying my toes (or worse, a carpet!)! Once I get a chance and get them dried again, I'll give you an update on the final color.

What do you think? What color would you dye your shoes?

Flower Shoe Clips

Want to update a pair of flats? This took me no time and cost less than $5. You probably have all the supplies on hand!

Materials:
Felt (I used stiffened)
Small flowers
Bling
Paperclips

Directions:

Cut two circles out of felt, a little bigger than a quarter. 

Pull the heads off the flowers. Glue bling in the center of the flower

Then take the bottom off the flower

So it looks like this: 

Then chop some of the plastic stem off, so it's not so tall

Smear glue all over the back, like so:

 Then stick 'em on the felt circle. I put three on each circle

 The top of one and bottom of the other:

Next stick a paperclip in there. YES, a paperclip. 

Finally slip them on your shoes for a new look and a little sparkle! I used smaller clips and couldn't feel them when I walked.

What kind of shoe clips do you want to make?

Back to School: DIY Command Center (for under $50!) & Organization

A couple Saturdays ago, I came across an awesome DIY command center on the wall beside a refrigerator on Landee See, Landee Do (pinned here). That wall was just dead space in my house--but by the next Wednesday I'd converted it into an awesome command center!

Following Landee's advice, I contacted local heating & A/C companies for estimates. I went with the company that quoted me $20 for a 2'x8' sheet of steel.

I asked the Original Wayward (aka DAD) for some tips on how to drill holes in the sheet metal. He said:

• You can use a regular drill bit as long as the hole is fairly small (I did 1/4") and the metal is not too heavyweight
• Make sure the metal is secure!
• Lubricate with some light oil 
• Back up the metal with a piece of scrap wood backstop
• Use a punch before drilling to keep the bit from wandering
• Wear eye and ear protection
• Remember the bit and the metal will be hot
• The burr (edge of the metal) will be sharp. You may want to deburr (file the edge with a metal file).

Drilling holes with a scrap wood backstop

The only problem I came across was when the drill bit sometimes got stuck on a lip of metal. I used my punch (which happened to be a circular nail punch) and poked it through the whole, bending down the lip. Then I moved the center of the drill bit over a little to finish the hole.

I brought the metal inside and held it against the wall to mark where the holes would be. I might recommend doing the top holes first and hanging the metal before doing the other holes--the bottom holes ended up not lining up at all (no big deal; I just didn't screw them in).

I'd also recommend using more than four holes in each side--that only left two screws in the middle to secure it, and the sheet metal has sagged in a few places. (Double sided foam tape is a big help though!)

I used regular 1/4" screws, washers and nuts.

The magnetic organization is probably my favorite part:

At the top, I have magnetic clips for the kids' artwork from school and church (and a family photo). Below that is a couple inches for me to write out the menu plans for the week--never again does my husband have to ask "What's for dinner?"

I have a magnetic, dry erase metal wall file (held up by 8 neodymium magnets) for incoming mail. On the front I've listed important phone numbers. Some locker organizers hold pens and dry erase markers, as well as Post-it notes, Sharpies, and stamps. I already had a magnetic note holder (gift) and magnetic calendar (free in the mail).

The rest of the area is for school papers/to dos/action items, held by photo clips of each of us, and the kids' chore charts. If I can find somewhere else to put my garbage, I'll leave the bottom few feet for the kids to play with magnets (they love it!).

Costs:

• sheet metal (from local heating & A/C company): $20
• magnetic & dry erase mail holder (Target, clearance): $6.38
• magnets (Walmart): $6
• hardware (Walmart): $2
• dry erase markers & magnetic eraser (Target): $7.50
• pencil cup/organizer (Target): $2
• basket for markers (Target): $2
• magnetic clips (Dollar Tree): $1
• magnetic photo holder clips (Dollar Tree; two sets of two): $2
• magnetic picture frame (Dollar Tree): $1

Total cost: $49.88

I also organized a few other areas for back to school. Tired of searching for shoes all the time (and not being able to find a single pair of Rebecca's shoes for over a month), I instituted something my mom has used forever: a shoe shelf.

I got a $14 stackable shoe shelf at Target and decorated it with a silver Sharpie. The kids love it! And more importantly--they use it!

I also typed up before and after school routines, chore lists, and before bed/in the morning routines. I illustrated them and laminated them, then hung them up. The chore lists are on the command center (awaiting only some smiley face magnets to check off the completed chores) and the routines hang on Command hooks in the kids' room and in the front closet (along with hooks for backpacks).

What do you think? How did you organize for back to school this year?