Sara's Shoes

There once was a pair of black peep toe heels.
They were cheap ($8), they were comfy, they were patent,
and they were the perfect height for the almost-tall girl who wanted them.

So they were bought, they were loved, they were used,
and they were schmushed into suitcases and traveled across oceans and continents.
They ran, they walked, they danced, they fell; They were worn and worn and worn some more. And when the feet that bought them got sore, they were carried.

All of this wearing and all of this carrying
wore the traction right from the soles, scuffed the shiny surface,
and literally took chunks right out of the solid heel. The patent was not so patent and the black was not so black anymore. The once pretty black heels
had seen better days.

Just when the poor shoes thought they were doomed for garbage day...
The up-cycle fairies arrived and gave the shoes a new purpose!!

Shiny, silvery, glittery, New Years shoes--

and what was old became new.

THE END

So, I had the idea to paint my old heels... but wasn't sure it was feasible.
A few look-sees on pinterest told me that not only was it possible--it had been done before--like hundreds of times...not original at all. Bummer.

But, I did it anyways because I needed silver shoes for
New Years!

First, because the heels were shiny, I scuffed them up a bit with some sand paper.
Then I stuffed the shoes with newspaper so that all of the inside of the shoe was covered like this:

Look! there's an up-cycling fairy helper now! :)

A few good coats of spray paint later....

Up-cycling fairy helpers love helping to take pictures too...

Annnnddd Voila! An almost-new pair of shoes is born!

In retrospect: Listen to the other people who have done this--Use Modpodge after
painting to seal the color in!

I didn't even end up wearing these shoes...hah

But being squeezed into my duffle bag cracked some of the paint because the shoes are pretty bendy at this point in their life. If I were less lazy had more time, I definitely would have done that step. Now I will just have to respray them before I plan on wearing them. For now, I have a nice "new" pair of silver shoes in my closet waiting for a night out on the town.

And the project was not done in vain; I got to craft with my little fairy-helper.

Happy New Year!
May your shoes be silver and your projects plenty!