Hey you all, if anyone’s reading this that is!
Gave an old, cheap, rubber shoe that is specifically made for the rains and muck a new life and that is what I am going to talk about today. If you are a shoe lover and own like 39 pairs of it (that’s 10 pair more than me), if you buy shoes and stilettos just because you can’t stop buying them, if you love comfortable shoes and hate to throw them away when they are worn- this post is for you.
Non-shoe lovers, enjoy the power of recycling; enjoy some self-proclaimed good photographs. Stay on my blog and contribute to this higher good called “traffic” that apparently rules the world. Like just open it and watch “Grey’s Anatomy” or something! Seriously, no, gimme some love 🙂
In Bombay, monsoons are really bad. We need to buy separate shoes to deal with the rains like you need to buy furry boots to deal with the harsh winter. Point being, I had to buy the cheapest I could find because I was quite certain after the monsoons I’d throw them away. Now, who knew that they’d be so comfortable that I’d be wearing them day in day out even after the monsoons?
Made with rubber like stuff, the shoe is as comfortable as your old blanket but continuously wearing it for 3 months rendered it rather awful and colorless. So, I decided to give it some love…like you are giving me as you read! By the way I am calling them shoes and not ballet flats because they are not. They are rain shoes.
I nicked Rohan’s auto paints, ripped off an old pocket (Only Lord knows why I was saving it…maybe for this day), hounded down some beads and made a complete new shoe out of it. From pale and anemic to bright boho-chic!
Here’s How
Let’s give the dope to you in 1-2-3 format. Easier to follow and no faff is the key.
Directions
1. If you have a rubber shoe, wash it with soap water and let it dry
2. Spray paint them with the color of your choice and let them dry for about a couple of hours
3. Add embellishments with fabric glue
My embellishments
I ripped off a pocket from an old trouser which had lovely hippie thread work.
I cut strips of it and hemmed the edges. (Each about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide)
Once the hemming was done I attached it on top of the shoe with fabric glue and cut the extras (keeping with the sole symmetry) from the sides with a scissor. Dabbed glue at the cut ends to stop it from laddering. This blasted cloth ladders at any given opportunity.
Once the cloth was attached, I made two tiny pipes (as you can see in the picture) with a cloth I thought might go with the base. Just hem the sides and roll it. Attach the overlapping free end to the body with glue. I know Im a sticky person 😛
Attach it with more glue (aaaaaaa…glue galore) and pop a turquoise stone on top. (This is semi precious…for me to feel like a bloody princess)
That’s it folks. No biggie. Peace!
Sharin’ at:
Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Tuesday’s Treasures
Coastal Charm – Nifty Thrifty
Vintage Wanna Bee – Talent Tuesday
Great post and an excellent tutorial as always!
Great Idea, nice with leggings, I love the photo staging.
I find it interesting to hear about Monsoon foot wear.
You should see my shoes, I have about 4 pairs of Mickey Mouse boots just to walk in snow and for the cold 😉
Yup! This will go fantastic with leggings. Never had mickey mouse boots though! Intrigued 😛
They are a size larger than a normal boot as the liner is so thick.
http://www.sorel.com/Women%27s-Glacier%E2%84%A2-Boot/NL1042,default,pd.html
ooooooo! This is Nyce. Wish I could wear them 🙁 Here, my feet would boil if I wear them.
we do love paint, don’t we? these are precious and one of a kind. and def deserving of this fun photo shoot.
hope you’ll stop by…i am now happily sharing photos and info about my paris trip (but none of the ‘croissant-top’ i earned)!
smiles to you.
michele
We do darling, we do!
Glad to have you back….hopping on over to yours now. Thanks for letting me know coz I was missing dope: lovely
Fun idea. I haven’t really thought about recycling shoes before and pity I didn’t see this before a recent closet clean out. I am getting to a stage where I only wear comfy shoes.
Oh, I think I have reached that stage already. Been to a music festival recently and found out that 2 hours in this shoe can give you shoe bites for life 🙁 Not so comfy anymore…tch..
Too too cute! Thanx for partying at THT.http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com/2012/10/treasure-hunt-thursday-80-highlights.html
Too kind Pam. 🙂
Your shoes look awesome, Rukmini! What a great idea 🙂
Yes it is Es. Wonder why I didn’t think of it before.
But found out that in dry climes this shoe is not a good thing to wear anyhow…got shoe bites the size of gashes.