Adventures in Creativity ~ DIY Glittery Shoes

We are on a super tight budget for the upcoming nuptials. The husband-to-be has been there, done that before so he’s not too concerned about what we have and what we don’t. He just wants me to be happy. I vacillate between the “‘I’m almost 40, my friends are all in different states, there’s no reason to waste money on a big to-do” camp and the “I’ve waited 40 years for this! I want to go big” mentality. There are a few things I wasn’t willing to compromise on and a lot of things we are doing ourselves to keep it simple and as inexpensive as possible (though DIY doesn’t always necessarily guarantee either of those things!) 

But one of the things I figured I could do was make me a great pair of shoes. There are a ton of tutorials for this floating around on the web. I watched and read a bunch and then combined what I thought were the best tips from the two basic techniques and went to it.

Supplies:
Painter’s tape, sponge brush/applicator, Mod Podge, extra fine glitter (any color), newspaper, glossy acrylic spray, shoes

1. Lay down newspaper to protect your work surface.

2. Apply painter’s tape to any area of the shoes you don’t want glitter-fied.  Definitely use the painter’s tape. I taped up the soles really well but then just stuffed tissue inside to keep that area mostly glitter free. I would recommend doing at least a bit of tape right around the inside edge of the shoe to keep it clean. If you look closely you’ll notice a few of my edges are a little squidgy.

3. Mix your glitter directly into a small amount of Mod Podge (it dries out quickly so keep the lid on the bottle while it’s not in use and mix small batches to work with.) I used a paper bowl so I could just throw it away afterwards. There’s no exact science but I probably had 2-3 tablespoons of Mod Podge and 1-2 tablespoons of glitter. I also mixed my colors to get just what I wanted, so play around a little and don’t be afraid to use a lot of it! (I only used about ¼ of each container when all was said and done.)

4. Have at it! Paint the glue/glitter mixture all over your shoes in a nice even coat.

5. Let dry for at least 20 minutes in between coats. It’s sort of like applying nail polish. If you try to do the next coat before the first one is completely dry it will get tacky and lumpy rather than staying smooth and even.

6. Use as many coats as needed to cover the shoes evenly and completely. Some of the videos said as many as 5, which is what I ended up with, but I probably could have been fine with 2 or 3.  As long as things look even and you can’t see the original shoe color peeking through you should be okay.

**For your final coat though, I recommend the 2nd technique. Paint just the plain Mod Podge over the already glittered shoe and then pour your loose glitter over it. (This is where the newspaper comes in really handy. I poured the excess glitter right back into the container when I was done.) Tap off the excess and let it dry. You’ll get a little more flaking of the glitter this way but you’ll also get a much better shine. The glitter mixed in with the Mod Podge was sort of dull and textured rather than being super sparkly. So, once your coat is dry, check again for any missed spots and re-apply the Mod Podge followed by the glitter if needed.

7. When everything is covered thoroughly and to your liking let it dry before spraying it with the glossy acrylic spray to seal it. I ended up doing 2 coats just to help keep that top coat of glitter in place.

Results? Fabulously sparkly shoes that I can’t wait to wear!

Photos by me: glittery wedding shoes!