DIY Shoe Makeover: Sweet Cupcake-Inspired Girls Shoes

When I was really, really little and my grandfather needed to get me ready to go get my grandmother I thought it was about the greatest thing in the world. Even though my clothes didn’t technically match (hello pink sweatpants, Permian Panthers tee shirt, and red cowboy boots) he really went to a lot of effort picking out my clothes. He’d very carefully brush my hair into a ponytail, and as the finale, he would say, bring me those “sweet feet” and on would go said red cowboy boots.

It is definitely because of this that I use the phrase “sweet feet” often. I also tend to use the phrase when dealing with children, especially little girls. So when Amy asked that I work on a shoe makeover for children, I was more than excited to make a pair of kicks for a little sweetie I know. I messaged her mom and got the shoe size and promptly went online to order some “classic canvas shoes” from eBay.  On the menu? Some drippy icing sprinkled up little sweet feet!

Before we go on, I’m gonna give you the bad news. The first bit is that the shoes arrived in the mail 13 days late. In fact, they just arrived late yesterday… talk about cutting it close! The second bit of bad news is that they are the wrong color. I ordered white. What I got was khaki. Not even beige but dark, dark tan. When I contacted the seller I was informed that “white comes in many shades”. Harumph.

So while the plan envisioned in my head would have been so much easier with white shoes, I went ahead with it even though it took considerably more work than it should have. You’ll have a much easier time if you start out with white shoes but it isn’t 100% necessary.

For this project you will need:

• White canvas shoes (or another color plus white paint)
• Hot pink or red paint
• Glass bugle beads (the long skinny, sprinkle shaped ones)
• Tweezers
• Strong adhesive (I recommend E6000)
• Paintbrush
• Disappearing ink fabric pen

First, take your shoes and draw a cloud-like shape over the toe portion to about the middle of the inside and outside. They don’t have to be exactly the same, but if you’re really into symmetry you can work it that way, also.

Take your shoes and paint the area toward the soles of shoes as cleanly as possible.

My initial plan had been for the shoes to be hotter pink and white but I wound up going red to cover the khaki with a single coat.

If your shoes aren’t already white, you’re going to need to paint your cloud-like sections. I went ahead and threw in some drippy icing globs simply because I absolutely love decorated drippy cakes!

If you also need to paint your shoes while I’m going to recommend you use Martha Stewart brand in satin. It costs a bit more but it is the thickest and smoothest acrylic I have come across. While I was worried that it would take forever, the white only wound up using 2 coats because the paint I used was good quality enough that 4 or 5 passes were just an unwarranted concern.

So now for the last bit of bad news. I purchased some fun and colorful bugle beads and heart-shaped sequins from a craft store but apparently didn’t make it home with them. So I ran around town this afternoon looking for more colorful bugle beads and sequins but was only successful in locating clear beads and no heart sequins. But the beads shown are fun colors, right? Yeah – I hand-painted those suckers and honestly, I would NOT recommend it!

Up close the “sprinkles” aren’t perfect, but they work out in the end.

These shoes were initially meant to be Valentine’s Day themed and honestly, with a little change in the color of toppings, it would be super easy. Use beads that are all reds and pinks and when you find some heart-shaped sequins, hang on to them!

Take your beads and put a small amount of your strong glue on a piece of scrap paper. Only squeeze out a small bit at a time because it will dry faster than you can use it… Take your bead and drop it into your pile of glue. Grab it with your tweezers and place it onto the “frosted” areas of the shoes. Allow sitting several hours to allow to dry, then run your hand over the shoes. Any beads that aren’t stuck down can be reattached firmly.

It’s so easy to make these cupcake-inspired babies. Will you be making a pair for the sweeties in your life?

Allison

A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.