Females and Footwear

I don't know what it is about females and footwear but, shoes are just irresistible. It doesn't seem to matter if the female is 2 or 102. 

Perhaps just like I think males primitive urge to hunt has been channeled into endlessly changing the TV channel hunting for something to watch, so females primitive urge to gather has been redirected at gathering footwear...

Anyways, this summer I decided to switch it up a bit and instead ( okay, in addition to ) buying new shoes I would revamp a few old favorites to see if I could resuscitate their soles.

 LOL

BEFORE

AFTER

Add a Bloom to your Sole

It truly doesn't get any easier than this...

 BEFORE

One pair of un-inspired, semi pretty blue leather kitten heels

A flower clip set from H&M that cost $3.95. 

This type of clip works best.

AFTER

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

Belt your Shoes

A little effort adds a lot of look to cheap vinyl shoes.

BEFORE

I was going to glue a ribbon across these shoes but, I saw shoes with buckles and a light bulb went off...find some skinny belts and use the buckle for the embellishment.

First stop was a Salvation Army store and there I found the PERFECT belt. A double skinny belt for $1.50. Unbelievable!

AFTER

Carefully measure the length and after the belt is cut if you sand the edge on the back with a finger nail file it won't look like such a cut, harsh edge. I used Gorilla glue to attach the belts because I've used Gorilla glue for numerous shoe repairs and I've never had a problem.

Painting Leather Shoes

Next I decided to dabble in painting shoes.

BEFORE

This is a well loved, well worn asymetrical leather wedge that can be dressy or casual. 

Seriously I have taken just these shoes on various trips.

Anyways, I have worn the shoes so often they were on the edge of being boring. I had loved them plain so I decided to see if my love would be reignited with a change of appearance ( that happens with lots of old people things ).
My first thought was to go wild and try an animal motif but, then I remembered how much I liked these shoes and how good the chance was that the animal look would not turn out well so...

I finally went for a conservative stripe that I knew would work out.

 Maybe when I have shoes I don't like as much I'll try the animal thing.

AFTER

Now I love my shoes again and the best part is I don't think anyone will suspect that I painted them. 

The best compliment for a DIY project is NO ONE asking if you did it :)

It's a rather long story on selecting paint for "painting" my leather shoes. A leather shop in Jerome, Arizona uses Fiebings leather dye to paint its leather belts and purses. Fiebings can be found online BUT they will not deliver to a California address because of EPA regulations.
Also now unavailable in California is a leather spray paint that I had purchased over a decade ago to change pink leather ballet slippers into white for a competition.
Tandy leather sells nothing that will change the color of cured leather, only raw leather.
Sassyfeet ( sassyfeet.com ) recommends an acrylic fabric paint for leather AND synthetics; sealed with Future clear acrylic floor wax.
Told you this was a long story...
Anyways I was passing a dirty, old sketchy shoe repair that shall remain nameless and there was the banned Color Spray that I had used so long, long ago.
And it worked great.
I always seal new shoes and any surface treatment ( pen, paint, bleach, etc. ) with just a regular water and stain repellent available everywhere.

When using spray paint take the time to really over up what you don't want spray painted. Anyone that has ever used spray paint understands what a pain is over-spray
The spray worked great and I'm heading back to buy some more colors because I don't think I'll find this Color spray again soon.

BEFORE

AFTER

A subtle dash of color blocking that perked up my favorite leather sandals from last summer.