DIY Old Shoe = Brand New! + (another) Christmas Tradition

I can tell this is going to be a great week. I have an interview for a nanny position tomorrow which I'm really excited about, Christmas is in full swing and life just seems so sweet.
I can hardly believe it's Monday again already, though. The weekends seem to buzz right by! Saturday John and I went Christmas shopping and knocked out the vast majority of our list. The only two people who still need presents are our dads. Dads are impossible, though. If anyone has great dad suggestions (including you, pops!), please let me know! I also got to do one of my *very* favorite things this weekend. My mom and I have gone to the Nutcracker since I was a little tiny girl every year. The past several years have been even more fun because now my brother's wife comes with us. I basically adore her. She sent me the sweetest picture of us at the ballet with a lovely note. I'm posting it :) We had a great time at the ballet and then had dinner and went shopping afterwards. I got *the* cutest set of Christmas dessert plates that I want to show you, but that may have to be a separate blog. The ballet was gorgeous. I'm inspired to work ten times harder in class now!

from my sweet sister

While I was visiting my parents this weekend, I meant to bring home a certain bottle of oil I left there for a blog this week. I've decided to share my DIY hair oil recipe with you all. However, we were running late so I called John and asked him to pack up my things for me. I left the oil by my bag as a reminder for myself, but forgot to tell John about it so it didn't come home with us. That means hair oil is on the agenda for next week :( But- I busted out something from my 'la vie' archives for today instead. I keep a bunch of back up DIYs just in case something like today happens!

Before

SO, I'm going to show you what I did to a pair of old high heels. As you can see from the 'before' picture, the high heels were really ratty. They're super old and the heels are starting to show serious wear. I also didn't like them because brown heels on a black shoe never appealed to me. I think it works for a more casual shoe, but not on a high heel. So, I decided I wanted to cover that up in general and then add some more spice. These are going to now be my Holiday Heels. I'm doing the exact same pair in red as well ;) I have another pair of shoes that I'm working on, too. They're a bit more complicated and based off of an actual pair of shoes, but once they're complete they'll be posted!

Mod Podge brushed on

(1) The first thing I did was apply mod podge to the heel using an old paint brush. I used DIY mod podge from this blog, though there are several other versions of mod podge floating around. I don't know that I *loved* this version. It was a bit too runny in my opinion, but it was also extremely cheap and easy.

First glitter application

(2) The next step was to dust the glitter on. It honestly took such a tiny amount to do this! I used little 4-pack mini jars from Michael's that cost $1 for the entire pack. It probably took half of a jar. I poured it on, let it set, shook off the extra and scooped it back into my jar for the next shoe. If you notice a spot that hasn't been coated, just brush some more mod podge on and reapply the glitter to that section. 

The finished product- ta da!

(3) Thirdly, I tied little bows out of extremely thick ribbon. Seriously. It was almost impossible to do, that stuff was like working with sheet metal! I hot glued them to the tops of the shoes and called it good. I also put some hot glue in the center of the bow so that it wouldn't come apart.
This whole process took about 15 minutes (including making the mod podge!). I think that makes it a pretty simple way to make old shoes brand new again! I've read that mod podge doesn't hold glitter too well long term. If that's the case, you can always coat it with clear krylon according to this blog. I really like updating my shoes, because I don't feel like buying any new pairs right now, and I haven't got anywhere else to put them either! I'm working on covering a pair in fabric. I'll let you know how that goes. So far, not as easy as the other 3 pairs I've got going on.
Now it's time to clean the apartment! I have big plans for Christmas music dance parties while I do that. I hope you have a glorious day and as always, thanks for reading! Pin It