For the next installment of Wedding Wednesday I’m talking about wedding shoes. Shoes don’t have to be white or ivory; (of course they can if you want them to be) they can be as bonkers and as personalised as you want.
I have recently started decoupaging shoes and I’m going to show you how to make your own shoes or indeed shoes for your bridesmaids. Decoupage is basically small bits of paper or tissue paper stuck to another surface as a collage. There are a couple of ways of doing it. I have made three pairs so far: Disney Princesses, Beauty and the Beast and Batman. The princesses and Batman were made out of wrapping paper and the Beauty and the Beast were made out of tissue paper with printed designs. These were a lot more work so for today I’ll show you the wrapping paper method.
The Batman shoes were my most recent creation so I’ll use them as my example. Firstly find shoes that are comfortable and that you like. They need to have a smooth surface so that the glue will stick. You can use any colour or style as they will be completely covered. I bought a few pairs of shoes on clearance in Penneys for €5 and used them for all of my decoupage designs.
You will need:
- wrapping paper
- shoes
- scissors
- pva glue
- Mod Podge
- some paint brushes
- a paper cup
- hair dryer
- glitter (optional)
- Cut out the shapes from wrapping paper that you like
2. Use a brush and apply pva glue where you want to apply the paper. You will probably need a few coats of this over the paper to help it stick.
3. Continue all over the shoe in an arrangement of your choice and make sure that the pieces are free of air bubbles and are very firmly stuck in place.
4. I tend not to go to the bottom platform of the shoe with the paper but this is your choice, similarly you can heel the back of the heel or the whole heel. I usually concentrate on the back only.
5. Dry with the hair dryer.
6. If you want to add glitter to the front platform and inner heel, apply Mod Podge to both areas and shake the glitter on. It will dry pretty quickly.
7. Use another brush and apply Mod Podge all over the shoe. This is a sealant and will also make the shoes water proof.
8. Dry with hair dryer and repeat two or three more times.
That’s it. You’ll have a perfectly tailored to your taste pair of shoes for your big day in a few easy steps.
