DIY: Gold Leaf Fringe Shoes

I promise, if you bear with all my random ramblings, I WILL actually get to the DIY portion of this blog. But...it might be a while. So sit back, put your gold-leafed feet up and read on, yo.

First of all, lemme just start by congratulating you on your Amazing Art-sy Pick-Up Lines. If you have no idea earthly idea what I'm talking about, don't you fret. I'll set the scene for you:

Imagine you are in your very first painting class full of the usual suspects: The Patchouli-Smellin' Hippie who will paint a sad parade of Grateful Dead dancing bears on each and every canvas *; The Deep Thinker that will spend days painting his canvas a dark depressing dirt color and title it something like Reflections of My Soul #51 **; The Guy Whose Brain Never Developed Beyond Age 15 whose canvas portrays candy colored sports cars *** and demands to know, "When are we gonna paint from live models so I can see some naked chicks?!" ****

When suddenly, in walks The One...

Who DOESN'T AT ALL look like the lady in the above photo. Naw, man. That's the rando crazy chic who spends more time worrying about her outfit than what she's painting on her canvas. I'm talking about the other one. That one perfect, artsy smartsy being that you just know is the one for you. But! What do you say? 

AND this is where my Artist Pick-Up Line contest left off. Ya'll have been coming up with the best lines. I'm still taking submissions (so hop to it!) and I'll be putting them together in a post at the end of next week. Thus far, here's some gems: 

I'm an artist, but... for you, Baby... I'LL GET A JOB!

At first I thought you were a little sketchy but now I'm really drawn to you.

Hey there, come to this EASEL often?

Are you Picasso? You're looking like you're going to pieces or falling apart over me!

I know, right?! Where were the lines when I was in art school? Don't forget to leave your best submissions in the comments, ya'll. You just might be a wiener. I mean a winner. Whatever, on with the DIY!

Okay, is it just me or are these not the ugliest-cute shoes you've ever seen in your life? I kinda feel about them like I did The Deep Thinker: I love/hate them. But at $198.00 (oh, my bad, now the low low price of 69.95, gee, thanks, Anthro!) I just hate/hate them. So  I decided to invest in a gold leafing kit (in craft stores for under $10) and make my own.

Over the Top Tacky Details: tacky Christmas sweater DIY: DIY from last year, featured here; Anthro-copy tulle skirt DIY: full story here

So I decided to gold leaf these fringe shoes that had been sitting unworn in my closet since I found them in a resale shop. They were just a little too Pocahontas for my taste and I never could seem to find the right outfit to pair them with. Being fringe like the Anthro shoes, I thought I could easily transform them into an Anthro copy.

The gold leafing kit I picked up came with a liquid adhesive, a sealer and some antiquing stuff. The directions said to paint on the adhesive, allow to dry and become tacky and then apply gold leaf. Since I was working with absorbent suede, I gave the fringe a couple of coats of adhesive before attempting the gold leaf.

Now, just a word to yo mother, gold leaf is one finicky b*tch. I thought for sure I'd be able to get my gold leaf on there perfectly as you see in the Anthro shoes...um, no. It's like working with paper that's thinner than tissue and with a mind of it's own. With that in mind, I just pressed the gold leafing to the fringe, gently lifted it and if it stuck, fantastic! If not, well, that part would be without. And, after wrestling with that leafy stuff, I was cool with that. 

Because there was a lot of fringe, this was actually a DIY that took much longer than expected. So I took frequent breaks (not "smoke" breaks, mind you. Chocolate breaks work for me) and ended up working on this over the course of several days. Once each fringe was complete, I sealed it with that sealer stuff. Which smelled like Mod-Podge but tasted like glue, baking soda and a dash of paprika. Just kidding. It didn't taste like glue.

I spy with my little eye a big toe that's busted out of hose. Nice.

And there you have it! Sparkly shoes that I actually think are cuter than those Anthro ones. But that may be all the sealer I consumed talking. 

Don't forget to submit you very best Artsy Pick-Up Lines! We'll vote on the best later next week. 

AND I've not forgotten that this is supposed to also be an art teacher blog...more news on art room happenings soon, I pinky-swear, spit-shake promise!

* Yes, all of these characters are based on Real Life Art Students. That hippie? She once invited me outside for a "smoke" during a break in class. I shoulda known we she dove behind a bush at the back of the art building just what kind of "smoke" she meant. I totally froze, made some excuse about not wanting the oil on my canvas to dry and ran back to class. Needless to say, I was forever more labeled the Class Square.

** Ugh, that guy. He was one of those dudes who spent more stirring his coffee, quoting Russian authors and perfecting his Jackson Pollock-esque appearance than actually hitting brush to canvas. I always considered that guy my nemesis. Mostly cuz he was way smarter than me.

*** Oh boy. And to think I dated that dude. Yeah, seriously. To my credit, I did dump him when I found out his favorite thing to paint was NASCAR. I was not about to compete with Earnhardt, ya'll.

**** My first college roommate just so happened to be a nude model for art classes. Her name was Star (surprised?) and she was just the sweetest naked chick you'd ever wanna meet. She did have this habit where she would "forget" my at-the-time boyfriend was in the room and suddenly drop clothes. Yeah. College. I do not miss thee.

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DIY: Shoes

This year's Back-to-School Shoes

Hi, guys! This is just an update...I recently created more DIY shoes, this time Platform Sandals (eep!), that you can read more about here.

I never really thought I had a thing for shoes. But the enormity of 'em in my closet (and under the bed, in the once-linen closet,  and stacked in the bathtub) begs to differ. So apparently I have a weak spot. Some people adopt little lost abandoned animals and give them a home...I like to think that I do the same. Just for shoes.

Now the prob with being a shoe hoarder is that it could easily become a costly venture. I found this out at the beginning of the school year when I saw the cutest pencil shoes at Modcloth...for about one hundred bucks. Being the thrift shopper that I am, I constantly experience sticker shock when shopping retail. After studying the pencil shoes, I realized that I just might be able to recreate them myself.

The kids love these shoes. Most frequently asked question: "How do you sharpen those?"

So off to the thrift store I went in search of a pair of shoes to use as my canvas. With a black pair of slip-ons, I drew out my design in white colored pencil. It was simple enough: a curved line for the lead, a scalloped line for the wooden part, a couple of straight lines for the end of the pencil. I used several coats of acrylic paint and covered the shoes in Modge Podge. 

Now, I'm not so sure acrylic paint is the best bet. I've worn these shoes a half dozen times (turns out pencil shoes don't  go with everything) and they have cracked at the crease of the shoe. I recently read that Martha Stuart makes an all-purpose paint (of course she does) that might have worked better. Any ideas? 

There's a reason I don't have many pairs of pointed shoes in my closet. Because putting my Big Foot-esque feet inside something dainty and small is like forcing my big bump-ited head into a hat: it's just not gonna happen.

After painting the pencil shoes, I was bitten by the shoe-painting bug. My next thrift store/shoe restore purchase was this pair of foot-torturing pointy black shoes. I went about painting them the same way I did the pencils: draw out design in white pencil, add coats of paint, seal in Modge Podge. Bind feet and wear.

My Crayola-inspired outfit: crayon barrette, made by me; thrifted shirt; skirt picked up off of etsy. Most frequently asked question: "Can you color with those?"

A couple of months ago, DIY glitter shoes seemed to be all over the blogs I frequent. And I just knew I had to have a pair for the countless Christmas parties I would attend (which was, like, two). Now, I have this inability to read directions. I see them, I understand their importance, my eyes glance over them and I think "oh, yeah. I got this." Well, before you follow suit, read these directions, friends: 

1. Spray paint any areas of your shoes (er, outside) that will be unglittered. I used high gloss spray paint over these once-gray thrift store shoes.
2. Use glitter dust (which I did not do) and Modge Podge
3. Mix a large amount of glitter with a small amount of 'Podge. Attack shoes with said Glitter Podge.
4. Allow to dry (duh) and wear.  

Notice the key words: glitter dust. Turns out regular ole glitter is just too big. After several wears, I've had to replace chunks of glitter that have fallen off. Being smaller, glitter dust seems to have a little more give.

My dear P.E. teacher friend had me glitterize her basketball shoes from high school!

I was attached several times while wearing these shoes...by my cat. The feather boas drove her nuts. And got her permanently placed on the Naughty List.

Okay, these are seriously cheesy. But I teach the littles, so I can get away with it. Using these thrifted never-worn red t-strap shoes, acrylic paint, Modge Podge, felt and boa, I Santa-ized these shoes. Because the design is on the toe of the shoe, these shoes have not had the design-cracking problem like the pencil and crayon shoes.

My favorite thing about these shoes? Being able to say, "Are you making good choices? Because," with a glance down at my feet,"Santa is watching." Worked better than Elf on a Shelf.

My Valentine's Day Shoes...you can read the complete, unabridged how-to here:http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2012/02/glitter-leopard-true-love-story.html

My latest, and easiest, DIY involved thrifted shoes, broken clip-on earrings and a hot glue gun. I betcha can guess how I did it.

Not sure what's up next on my shoe DIY list...I contemplated leprechaun shoes for St. Patty's Day...but now I'm leaning more toward bunny shoes for spring. Oh, the thoughts that fill my head. It's like a look inside Einstein's brain, isn't it?

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DIY: Glitter & Leopard Print

I have settled upon a new life mantra: All things are better covered in leopard print and pink glitter. It's true. I sprinkled some glitter on the dirty dishes in the sink and, for once, they sparkled! I'm heading to the bathroom with my gallon o' glitter next.

Well, hello there! If you are reading this here blog on Valentine's Day, I thank you! It means you are not unlike this girl. I love the decorations, the candy, the flowers (I hear people give flowers on this day...is that true? Would you mind letting my husband know?) but I think the whole idea is kinda silly. We all know it's just a big fat hairy way for Hallmark to make a couple extra bucks. But I'll take any ole excuse to get tacky and girly, thank you very much.

You don't have to say it. I know what you're thinking: daaaaang does that girl have big feets! Yes, I do. Thanks for noticing. Jerk.

 I began with these shoes. I've had these thrifted Nine West shoes in my closet for a couple of years and, while I love the wing-tipped retro look, I could never seem to find a way to make them work. The weird silly-putty tan just never appealed to me. So in my closet they sat.

The idea for covering the shoe in fabric came from this fab website: http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Until this weekend. I took a little trip to the craft store and picked up some hot pink glitter dust, an Exacto knife, Modge Podge (for whom I should totally be an endorser) and Aleene's Tacky Glue. I painted the glue on to the shoe and covered it in some leopard print from my stash.

Silly Putty Tan, goodbye. Me-Yeow, Leopard Print!

 After the glued dried, I used an Exacto knife to cut off the excess fabric. I was really nervous about this as I thought it might be tricky, but it was a piece of cake. To prevent the fabric from fraying, I used a little brush and scrubbed some matte Modge Podge along the edge of the fabric. The extra fabric along the top was trimmed down, folded under and Modge-Podged. See, I even verbified their product name. I should so totally be an endorser!

Not all glitter is created equally. You must use glitter dust for this. Now I feel just like Edward, sparkling in the sunlight...

 Next came the glitterization of the shoes. In a small throw-away dish, I mixed a small amount of glossy Modge Podge with a ton of glitter. I painted a thick coat of said concoction onto the shoes. Once that was dry, I sealed it again with another coat of Modge Podge.

What's better than glitter shoes? Why, glitter fishnets, of course!

 And my shoes were complete! When I was making them, I actually thought I should stop after just covering them in leopard print. "Show a little restraint for once, Cassie. For the sake of all things non-tacky and civilized." Ha! Thankfully that was just a fleeting thought. Me, civilized? I don't think so.

My completed Valentine's Day look.

After completing the shoes I realized I had no other plans for my Valentine's Day outfit. So yesterday, Lauren (the cute girl you see featured in the weekly outfit posts) and I went to Goodwill after school in search of Valentine's Day attire. She spotted this leopard print skirt. What luck! And then I started noticing a ton of leopard print and I said, "Oh...maybe this is too in style right now...?" I pride myself on being very out-of-style, you see. However, as soon as I said those words, I realized my silliness: I was shopping at the place where people sent their unwanted wares! Whew! No worries, I'm wearing the most unwanted of clothing. Perfect!

Oh those bangs. Some days they just look so Squiggy (of Lenny and Squiggy fame...you Laverne and Shirley fans know what I'm talking about). And that crooked collar/bib. Oui.

The collar is one I made based off of the same idea I used for this outfit post...http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-dress-like-kindergartener.html 
I happened to have a bit of pink glitter leftover from my shoes. So I cut out some cardboard hearts, glittered them and glued them to a barrette. And, viola! Happy Valentine's Day all. Now, if you'll pardon me, hubs just walked in with a ton of chocolates and trashy magazines. Oh, forget those flowers. This man knows me too well!

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