Twinkle Toes

It's time for me to happily admit something....I was the girl in Jr. high & high school who wore glitter on my eyelids and would also dab some on my face for game day....oh yea, that was me, and those were the days! I have such a thing for glitter! So you can imagine how excited I have been as glitter shoes have been making their way into the fashion world. I have been looking for the perfect pair that I must take home to join my other shoes, but I have been a little disappointed with the prices.....Here are just a few pair that I have recently found...

With $80 being the cheapest, I still wasn't comfortable spending that much "on a trendy shoe" which might not even get worn that often. I stylistically love all of the $200-$300 pairs....of course...so I decided to make my own. I must say I went into it with low expectations because I wasn't sure if I could get the look I wanted (meaning not too homemade looking) as well as still functional. My biggest challenge was that I had to find a way to keep the glitter on while walking. The last thing I wanted was to walk down the street leaving a little fairy dust trail behind me, even though it would have been pretty ;.) However, even though this was a four day process (including curing time) I must say I have never been SO PLEASED with a homemade shoe project ;.) okay, okay, this way my first one...but it really did turn out well. Here are the shoes finished...

The best part was that I was able to get the style shoe & color I wanted. Here is how I did it...

Before getting started: Invest in some nice glitter & glue. (remember to use coupons because the glues can be pricey and I learned not to skimp on them). I used Recollections brand glitter in Champagne (but you can use any color) as well as Mod Podge sparkle glue and a matte finish sealer.

Also find a pair of old or new shoes you would like to use. I purchased some new black leather shoes from Target.

Step 1: I used clear packaging tape to seal off the soul from the rest of the boot & then I gave it a light coat of gold spray paint because I did not want the black to peek through the gold tinted glitter. Here is what it looked like after.

Step 2: A little bit of paint seeped through the tape and onto the top edge of the shoe. So I used a gold metallic paint pen to draw around the top edge to make it look even....like this

Step 3: Now here comes the fun part. I used a sponge brush to apply a coat of Mod Podge glue to the tip of the shoe to start out with, and then lightly covered it with the glitter. Tip: I found it helpful to use the lid to a shoe box to glitter over, in order to catch the extra glitter.

after I finished the front tip I just kept working my way up the shoe. However, I left the little dot & stitching un-glittered because I liked the style of that detail.

                    I also chose not to cover the back because that was my preference

Step 4: I then left the shoes to dry over night. The next day I shook off the excess. You can be creative ;.) I stomped around in them in the back yard as well as used a blow up mattress compressor to blow the excess off ;.) Surprisingly the glue was super strong and held most of the glitter.

Step 5: The last step is to spray the finishing sealer on them (read directions on the can) and let them cure for a few days. Then add which ever laces you would like. You can use the original laces or have fun with them with ribbon.....I tried this fun pink ribbon lace first but then chose to go with the more natural tan colored ribbon when all was said and done.

And BAM! You have custom glitter shoes, which for someone like me is too fun for words. I am now just a little worried I might find myself looking at them when I walk....yikes, that's an accident waiting to happen! The best part is the project cost me $45 and I got the look I wanted. Now, I am trying to figure out what color of glitter shoes I want to make next ;.) Maybe some orange ballet flats for Halloween....ahhh endless possibilities.

What do you think, were they worth the time? Finishing this project made my weekend. I hope you had a fantastic weekend too! See ya' back here tomorrow!

****POST UPDATE: Target actually has these shoes on sale this week for Five dollars cheeper....;.) Hey evey lil' penny counts to this gal ;.) So this project is now a little less than $40 dollars because I went back and got the difference hahah.....don't judge me, it bought me laundry detergent hahah ;.)