GOLDEN BOOTIES

I don't have any shoes.

That is not completely true. It fact it is not true at all. But a sneaky little part of me of me feels so. Things are different from when I lived downtown and used to, well, I'm not even sure what I used to do before I had a child and combined it with working 24/, go out on town and such. Now I go out to the playground, to our studio and to work related meetings in the city and perhaps hang out a bit in the countryside as well all in one day and the weather is shit here most of the year and I can't wear my nice pretty heels when doing all that. So, at this point in life I need to work on the more practical side of my closet (blah). It needs some more boots.

So these little ones from Bait shall help me out from now on.

Very soft and with a polka dot lining.

Probably not that practical for when the weather is shit here, but hey, you can't have it all at once now can you.

BABY BLUE MIMMIS

Because it's snowy and wet outside and we are in the middle of winter I naturally got myself a pair of summer shoes!


Well, thinking in advance, thinking in advance.


I had been eyeing these for some time already and now that they were on super-duper sale I decided to strike and be prepared for blue skies, dry streets and a warm breeze, come the day. I have another pair of high heeled clogs that are very comfy and they will last a lifetime if properly taken care of. And you can wear them to the playground sandbox too.


Pupuppi-duu.

My mind is also set on a pair of red clog sandals for summer. And then I will never need to get another pair of shoes again. (Well, sort of.)

(Most clogs I've tried are true to size; so are these. I go for the smaller size since I am often in between.)

MAKING OLD SHOES SHINE: THE SPARKLY VERSION

Suitably for DIY-season of the year (yes,  Christmas time) I was asked to collaborate with Yahoo! and get acquainted with and inspired by their Yahoo!DIY digital magazine - and then come up with my very own little do-it-yourself.*

Yahoo!DIY has a fresh and easy-to-navigate-trough layout, and is now full of eye candy along with lots of tips and tricks to DIY during the Holidays; gift and wrapping ideas, recipes, different decorations and more. I came across a post that mentioned both bling and glitter in the headline (on how to add a little extra glitter here and there without any mess) and as you know, bling and glitter has -apart from checks- been a theme here lately, so that was my thing! And I intended to add a LOT of glitter.

Some time ago I made an old pair of shoes fancier by adding rhinestones to them, and last week I pimped up a plain shirt by embellishing it -now it was time to spice up another pair of shoes: to glitter them up!

Glitter is something that growns on you. There was a point in life that if asked, I would have said that there can be such a thing as too much glitter. But nowadays, and especially at this time of year, I would say No, there simply can not be any such thing as too much glitter or bling. This often from a burlesque point of view, which is slightly ironic and full of the love of all things camp and kitsch. (And if you haven't noticed, Christmas is a very kitschy holiday.) But glitter, even when there is a lot of it, can still be stylish and classy too. And depending on how you choose to style a pair of glitter shoes, the result can be either wonderfully over-the-top or then very elegant. Or maybe even both.

Some of you may recall that crafting and I are not total bff’s, but that is only goes for certain areas of crafting. As I have accepted a lot more glitter in everyday life, I have also come to enjoy the bling up’s a lot more, to the extent that I sometimes start new projects and choose items to bling up without having an actual reason for it. But in this case there is very much reason - to give old shoes a new life. I have glittered up several pairs before and am often asked about how they've done.
So, here’s how I do it:

First take note that this will require a day or two - the steps are rather quick to do but the waiting in between takes time. So if you want to wear your blingy shoes for  Christmas you might be in a bit of a hurry, unless you start in 1-2-3-NOW! and yo might be able to wear then for Christmas day (which is, as I remember from the days when I was young and out and about all the time, the day to part-ey out on town.) But, even better, and as you perhaps might have a few other things on your hands righ tnow, make them in time for New year’s eve to definitely out-sparkle all other shoes in the room!

So - take out an old pair of shoes -or new ones if you so please, but wear them in first - and clean them up if needed. I find this works best on satin (or canvas) shoes, but basically you can do the same on any kind of material - this is also how I made the glitter surface for the (plastic) soles on my red heels that I embellished some time ago.

The pair I’m working on are a pair of by now rather sad looking dancing shoes I use on stage, but as I’ve said before; dance shoes are the most comfortable of heels as they are soft tand flex. In other words, perfect for parties as well!

You will need fabric embellishment glue, one that dries see trough and elastic. I go for my old pal Jewel-It. Then you'll need a brush to paint it on.

And, glitter. Heaps of glitter.

But don’t be chocked by the size here! For someone that pours glitter on herself and throws it in the air for a living, this is standard size and I go trough several of these a year.

A smaller size (that some perhaps may still refer to as a big jar of glitter? Hard to say when you have caught what we call glitter-herpes) will do fine, because in the end you will not need that much to cover your shoes, although the process requires quite a bit. You can smarten things up, and in the same time get by with less of a mess if you grab a few papers along for your working surface and an extra jar for the glitter.

First, fill your shoes with newspaper (or a few rolled nylon socks) in order to keep their shape and to not get messy on the inside. Start by covering one side of the shoe with glue; paint on a rather thin layer (it will sink in fast). Apply a second layer after a about ten minutes. Try to paint the glue on as even as possible - don’t make the layer too thick as the glitter will not attach evenly then, but make it thick enough still not to be soaked in straight away. It should leave a visible surface. (If you are working on another kind of material that won’t soak up the glue one layer is enough).

Fold a paper in half and open it up so that you have a little crease in the middle. Place the shoe on the paper and pour glitter on it. And I mean pour! Pour glitter on it like there is no tomorrow! Make it pile up! Glitter it like it’s 1999!

The shoe will look a bit over glittery and fuzzy, but it will not remain that way. Wait for some ten minutes again, and carefully lift the shoe and let the excess glitter fall off on your paper. Tap the heel and the toe a few times on the paper to get all the extras off.

To re-use your sparkle, fold the paper in half and pour the glitter back in your jar.

Leave the shoe lying on the side to dry while you start with your other shoe.

You can do the other side after an hour or two, depending on how well the first side has dried. Let that side dry too and then glue and pour gitter on the back of the shoes, leave them standing to dry. The glitter surface may look a bit uneven and weird, but fear not, this is only the first round.

You can speed up the drying process by gently blowing the shoes with a hair dryer. And I really want to stress it when I say ‘gently’ -keep the hairdryer on a good distance and on low effect; too hard a blow can make an uneven result as the glue-glitter mass can move. Also, do this away from your crafting table, unless you want to cover your whole house in glitter (which, depending on a lot of things, may not necessarily be a bad idea. But it’s not what were after here).

Your shoes are ready for the next coating after a few hours, or the next day. Paint on a new layer of glue, thick enough to cover all the glitter. It may seem like you are ruining the fine sparkle, but don’t worry, they will improve! Pour on glitter en masse again, wait a while, tap it off and let dry. Repeat on the other side and in the back. Let dry properly.

Two layers will most like be enough, or then go for a third, your choice.
You can choose to finish your project here and strut along in super glittery shoes already. Give them a light fix with hairspray or fixative (for coal crayons) before you head out.


I like it with a little less crisp and more smooth finish, that also makes them last longer, so I paint on one last layer of glue, thick enough to cover all the glitter, on. Once again you might get sceptic and think that you’ll ruin them, but don’t worry, as the glue dries the shoes will sparkle like whoa! again!

Like this!
Now dance the night away in shoes that would make Dorothy and her ruby slippers  jealous.

Some small extra tips and trix:

- you can mix two shades of glitter for more ‘depth’ to your sparkle, like a more yellow and a more brownish gold for exampe. Or red and fuchsia. Mix them in the jar you work with before pouring on.

-Bling your heels to the max by adding a few chrystals or rhinestones on top afterwards., for example in the front on a pair of sandals.

-Glitter just a section of you shoe,  the back and heel for example. Make sure to draw an exakt line with the brush when you put the glue on for a neat and pretty result, or then place place a trim /ribbon or a row of rhinestones on the edge to cover it.

For more crafts inspired from the magazine search for, or for sharing your own creations inspired by the posts use #yahooDIY

*) to be clear, this post has been sponsored by Yahoo! and I give my sincerest thanks for sponsoring me in the making of my glittered shoes. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Yahoo!, the idea of the post, it’s content and opinions expressed here are, of course, my own.

MAKING OLD SHOES SHINE : THE BLINGY VERSION

It's the official party season. (Which for me is more of a work season; no time for parties.) All display windows ad billboards fill up with black and gold and red and glittery sparkly things for the season. Well, it's Christmas all year round in many ways for me (not just the lights here and there) as the amount of sparkly stuff  I nowadays have to drape myself in is, well, a lot. For all the obvious reasons.

I was blinging up an old pair of shoes for a show, but, this is of course something you can do without having to strut with them on stage in. You may remember my tip from some years back about attaching jewellery to a pair of heels? Another quick and easy way to bling a pair of shoes up is to use some rhinestones and glue and TA-DA, instant party shoes!

I normally use a fabric glue that is still elastic when it hardens but as the shoes I decided to pimp up are made of (faux) patent leather I used hot glue and pre-glued rhinestones instead. Because theses are for a themed act I put the bling on to resemble daisies. (I also made a glitter surface on the sole but we'll get back to that in another post.)



Be sure to clean the shoes before you start. The smaller rhinestones were pre-glued and came in lines (from Tiger)  which made this an easy task. Otherwise I use a chrystal pen or a pair of tweezers to grab and place the pieces.  Remember to be quick if you work with hot glue as it dries instantly - for bigger stones it's easy but for smaller ones that you might want to add in a formation (a line like here) I'd suggest another kind of glue that takes a little longer to dry. Haberdashery stores also sell rhinestones on a string, which would work nicely for this - the price per meter is high but you will not need so much for a pair of heels so it's doable.



And then it's just on with the heels and off to shine and sparkle!
(and yes I know, my working space is a mess as I, in my usual manner, am working on too many things at once...)

SHOE RAINBOW

I had one of those la-la-la moments when I should have been doing lots of other more useful tings than be arranging some of my shoes by color.

Well, this was not totally useless however as it looked nice there on the floor - I learned I have no less than three pair of shoes in the same bright red shade. (One pair is a tad too big and will thus have to go *wink wink*.) And, furthermore, I noticed I have no bright green shoes!  In fact, I have very few green anything, just the green dress I made myself last year. Grönt är skönt. I need more green! Oh, what a perfect reason...


No but really. Even if  may be feeling the greens now, I am actually trying to get rid of things. Clean some out, tuck some away for later, make some space. I am back to that usual when-will-I-ever-get-to-wear-anything- limbo of mine with little free space and lots of clothes that are waiting to be worn (vintage skirts and silk dresses don't hang out int he park with toddlers, and whenever I go somewhere without Dag it's mostly to work which I do in totally different garments...) but with nothing actual to wear.

But my shoe rainbow was cute anyway.
(Hmm hmm green...)

THE RED BOOTS THAT ARE EVEN MORE RED NOW

You may recall me mentioning red suede lace up boots on several occasions trough the years? The kind of shoes I liked the idea of but didn't necessarily want to own, as I didn't really wear boots for many years. But due to practical reasons and shorter hems of mine I've been digging out my old boots from their hideabouts during the year and some time ago decided was it was time to start the search for the red ones, if such were available. Well of course, the internet delivered after some time and now I can tick that off my list!

But, the heels on the boots were beige and for me heels in a different color than the shoe only works in certain cases, and this was not one of those cases. So I did not really come around wearing the shoes -the whole point was that they had to be red all over.  The next step was then to try and paint them! I once coloured a pair or rubber heels (and soles) with a random textile paint I had at home and it stayed on super well for years so I was rather positive about perhaps getting something to stay on these too, although this was riskier as the heels are plastic which is not the same since it won't absorb the paint. Heels take a lot of hits and most likely any added color might rub off easily.  But worth a try still -

Went over to the hardware store and decided on red spray paint (and a brown-red primer), hoping the difference in shades would not turn too bad.

Put some masking tape to cover the actual shoe and gave the heels a couple of round with primer and then paint. I filled in uncoloured areas close to the seam with a red marker  - I coloured a pair of satin dance shoes like that once, with a marker, and it turned out super - but thats for another post.

And it did not turn out that bad! Well, quite good actually. After a few days in action the color is still on, so so far so good...

TIGRESS SHOES

These are my favourite dance shoes for the moment, which I use for performing and teaching. (Or, for one performance, as most number have their own shoes, at least in cases like this, with a strong pattern or color shame). They originally came as zebra patterned shoes but I needed tiger stripes so I added the orange stripes myself by painting on stripes of glue (Jewel-it glue, which works best for these kinds of things) and them pour heaps of glitter on, two rounds, and one final round with painting a thin layer of Jewel-it on with a brush. (That works on big surfaces too, like glittering a whole shoe,  and it lasts well, but we can look into that some other time.)

Also, a little hint; if you have a hard time making it the whole night in heels, try it with a pair of dancing shoes. They are softer and flexible which makes them easy to move in (well yes, as they are indeed dancing shoes) and thus also easier to wear for a long time. I can wear a pair of dancing heels trough a whole day of teaching without any particular feet ache! (But, this trick mostly works for indoor parties, daning at clubs etc, as the sole soft and won'tt take bad weather). Which leads us to another little tip at the end - remember to stretch your feet (and calves) afterwards if you have had your heels on a lot and moved around! It is kind of an awkward muscle workout for your feet and calves to be placed in heels for along time so stretching them out afterwards helps you avoid aching sad feet the day after.

These dance shoes are from Light in The Box, where you can choose the shape of heel yourself!
(When it comes to sizing I am between sizes and I went for the smaller, which was the right choice.)

HEART BREAKERS

With the dark and wet weather that's been going on for some time I have to confess I really start longing for colder days, frozen streets and snow.

But most of all I'm longing for dry streets and warm sunny days again so I can strut around outside in my Heartbreakers shoes I got from Frollein von Sofa!

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR, WELL; WALKING I GUESS

...and keeping my feet warm and posing in and all such other necessities.

I have sort of re-found boots. After many autumns and winters of many boots I had a time when I somehow found it hard to wear and pair them, as boots in general do not go that well with the styles of forties and fifties fashion. So I got a bit stuck on that and didn't want to mess styles up. But there are of course no rules of what to wear and what to combine and, style goes back and forth and develops all the time; I have less long and wide hems for the moment, plus I have also notice I have become a bit more practical with time*. So I got over it and the boots are back so to say!

Last year I dug out my cognac colored heeled ones and they have been walking me around a lot since. This fall I got myself a pair of grey blue suede boots online that went back once and now finally arrived in a one size smaller version. Yey.

*(Yes yes, some people would think of sneakers or something else when saying they got practical shoes but we have to remember who we are dealing with her. And these are in fact rather comfy aand not that high, but naah yes I know, the playground and sand box on a rainy days will require something else. Good thing I still have my old workwear boots borrowed from the harbour around!)

The boots are Pier One / Zalando and the bag is from Accessorize, the latest one in my quest for that perfect day bag. But that quest is for another time to go on about.

BRING IT ON

Bring it on!-autumn, part one.

Well you know, the change of season is just around the doorstep and soon everyone will be blogging autumn this and autumn that. Well, except for those blogging from down under who will go on about spring. Feeling wise spring is bigger for me -the clod and dark finally being over- but when it comes to the material side it's all about autumn, preparing oneself for what is to come by stocking up; warm items, warm colors, a new range. 

Going trough my closet I noticed any practical mid season shoe I had was worn out or in a desperate need to see a cobbler. I sometimes have issues pairing certain clothing with suitable shoes during the colder season; the fuller the hem the less good they (in my opinion) look with anything else than heels (or ballerinas) -wearing boots with circle skirts for example most often just makes me feel like I'm on my way to sing at a rodeo or so (nothing wrong with that would that actually be the case). But other suitable options often gives me rather heavy granny-vibes. Which will have to do in this case.

We still have summer, sunshine and above twenty plus for now, but I stumbled across a pair of purple walking shoes at the supermarket and got them now already, deciding they'll help me and certain skirts trough autumn

...But a pair of rubber boots wouldn't of course hurt either...

LULUS IN AZUR BLUE

So, whatever was in the bag peeping in one picture from a few days back?

These ones! Azur blue Lulu-heels from Minna Parikka.

Some may recall me saying that I'd get a pair of Parikkas after giving birth. And I got a little gift card to the Parikka shop from my sister last Christmas. So now almost one year later I kept the promise to myself and settled for these true blue ones. 

And, more on the shoe front still: the Reina Muerte wedges that Freestyle Xtreme was giving away has found an owner!
Dum di dum...

In the drawing luck was on Dita von Grué's side! So off we send a pair to France then :)

SUPER HIGH AND ADORABLY TINY REINA MUERTE WEDGES (FOR ME AND FOR YOU)

I have a new pair of yummy summer wedges that are a bit over the top (they way some things should be sometimes), super high and makes my feet seem oh so tiny.

As they are rather light they are pretty easy to walk in regardless of their height which also makes them surprisingly comfy. At least for a while, if you intend to wear them a whole evening out after a very warm day filled with dancing and workshops your feet might get a little, well, painfully tired (of course...).

The wedges are by Iron Fist and I got the from FreestyleXtreme, with whom I am doing a little collaboration.

So, how would you like to win yourself a pair  for yourself?



Yup that's right, it's give away time!

Freestyle Xtreme is a family run business with a huge selection of clothing from action sports through to lifestyle (and as you can see even with something for me too :) - you can read more here- and they are now giving away one pair of Black Reina Muerte wedges to one of you!

(Fashion blogger posing photo totally being owned by sudden cats and babies.)

To enter the giveaway (hands up if you've read this before...) :
Leave me a comment on this post. Easy.
But, make sure I can reach you via that comment either by a (visible, available; as in non-private. Seriously.) profile of some sort or, link or an email. (Apparently not always so easy, but please try :)
I will draw the winner randomly so leave one comment per person only, as that equals one entry!
And per usual you get another comment for each share+link that you make out there.

The give away is open to anyone, anywhere and will run for ten days, until June 8!
Good luck :)