My 3 Monsters: Mod Podge Shoe Makeover

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5.16.2012

Mod Podge Shoe Makeover

Today's project was the result of an odd sequence of events, but it couldn't be any more perfect if I had set out to do it on purpose.  I love it when that happens!  

Our daughter, Sis, has her 8th grade promotion dance coming up on Friday night.  Contrary to what you might think, it's a very big deal.  We've been thinking about what she would wear for months now.  {I'm using the term "we" very loosely here.}  After going through two or three very nice options, we have finally settled on a dark grayish blue dress with a pretty mustard yellow sash from Downeast Basic.  It is by far the least formal of all the dresses we have tried to work with, but also by far the most practical.  She can wear it all summer to church and stuff.  

I'm happy with my daughter's choice,  but it was still a pretty casual dress and other girls are going to be dressed like it's the prom.  Now, let me say right now that we do not feel pressure to "fit in" with all the fads and fashions of the day.  Far from it.  I LOVE that my daughter chose a very modest, very pretty, very age appropriate dress.  And, if I can vent for a moment, I think it's ridiculous for people to treat 8th grade promotion like a formal event.  It's a special occasion and can be celebrated as such, without going over the top.  My concern was that Sis wouldn't feel "special" enough on this special occasion.  She puts a pretty dress on for church every Sunday.  She wants this night to be something out of the ordinary, and she should.

Because we spent a little bit of money on the dress, she was just going to borrow a pair of my shoes to go with it.  That would have been fine, really.  They aren't really special and they kind of pinch your toes, but they look alright with the dress.  So, in the back of my mind I've been trying to think of a way to make her outfit a little bit more special.

I've also been thinking about giving my kids' bathroom a makeover and trying to do it on a next-to-zero budget. {I told you this was an odd sequence of events -- I promise I'm getting to the point . . .}  Yesterday, while I was at JoAnn's getting some stuff for Girls Camp I found the fabric of my dreams for their shower curtain.  And it was ON SALE!!!!  I had just been paid for something I had written so I decided to splurge and spend the $20 to buy it.  It's a beautiful mustard-y yellow background with sprigs of white berries.  Perfection.  I am so excited about it.

THEN, last night Brent went to hang out with his friends -- guy's night -- and I was doing some research for a project that I have coming up.  I came across this picture on Pinterest:


And the clouds parted, the heavens opened and a choir of angels sang.  I had a plain old pair of shoes in my closet that I could fix up to go with Sis's dress and I could use a little bit of the shower curtain fabric to make them really beautiful and special.  It was PERFECT!!  I set right to work so I could surprise her when she woke up this morning.

She and I both LOVE the way they came out!  I followed the tutorial from The Diary of Dave's Wife {watch the clip of her on the Valley Dish show -- it's helpful} and it was really pretty easy.  The shoes I picked were probably not ideal -- they have a little ridge across the toe part that looks like a weird crease or bubble in the picture, but doesn't look bad in real life, and the straps and cutouts at the ankle were a little weird to work with -- but I ADORE them.
So much cuter than the boring brown leather I started with.  I swear one of these days I'm going to start remembering to take before pictures of my makeover projects.  I only had gloss-finish Mod Podge on hand so they have a sheen to them, which makes the cotton fabric look like a fancy silk or something.
And look how perfect they are with that dress!  It's like that fabric was made to go with it.  I also dug out a cute bracelet from my jewelry box that she might want to borrow and {shhhh! don't tell} I'm going to make her a fabric flower corsage to wear.  We're figuring out what {if anything} we can do with her hair to make it different and fancy.  She got a pixie cut a few weeks ago, which is too cute for words on her, but doesn't provide a ton of styling options.  I think I have an idea I want to play with though. 

I had a design professor at BYU who taught us that if we had a dilemma and just couldn't find a solution in the moment we should walk away from it and do something else.  She said your subconscious will continue to puzzle it out and then, all at once, the solution will come to you, seemingly out of nowhere.  She taught us that a creative mind can't be forced.  It's so true!  What do you think?




The 36th AVENUE

16 comments:

  1. Wow. Ummmm, wow. Will you be my mom? I need some cute shoes, too! :-)

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  2. I agree with the above comment....can you just do lots of cute projects for my daughter? I am completely un-talented and un-creative! I could give you a list a mile long! Bibs, headbands, socks, LOL!!! Love the shoes and proud of your daughter for standing up for her values! Thats awesome as can be!!

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  3. I have been dying to do this to a pair of shoes! They turned out beautiful! I would love to have you link them at our party.

    http://www.ourdiydiaries.com/2012/05/fab-not-drab-friday_10.html

    Jen

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  4. OMGsh! These are absolutely amazing! That fabric IS to die for! What oh what could I do with that fabric.... Maybe something adorbs in the new house???
    Sis will be amazing tomorrow night - she is so stinkin' cute with that hair cut (although it makes her look sooo much older and I'm not sure how I feel about that).

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    Replies
    1. I am IN LOVE with that fabric. I want to go back and buy the whole bolt and cover everything in my house with it!

      I don't know how I feel about her looking so grown up, either. I refuse to believe that she is starting high school in the fall. Won't admit it until I absolutely have to...

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  5. LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!!!!!I adore the fabric you chose! And thanks for the shout-out♥

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    1. Thank YOU for the great idea and tutorial!! I couldn't have done it without 'ya. In fact, I would never have ever though of it. You saved the day for my daughter's dance tonight.

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  6. LOVE! I'm pinning these adorable shoes.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! They're soooo easy and fun to make.

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  7. Gotta love pintrest and all those creative people. Amy they turned out so fabulous!Love!

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  8. The shoes are adorable! The "pixie cut" may need just a tiny touch of bling. Gluing rhinestones (perhaps a tiny flower like the shoe print)to a snap can be "snapped" into Sis's hair, no matter what length.

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    Replies
    1. That's a really fun idea! I'm going to have to give it a try. Thanks for the great idea.

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  9. Oh, I just loved this blog post for SO MANY reasons: darling DIY project, fabulous writing, great photos, wonderful insights. It reminded me of when my daughter (now 30!) was in 8th grade and I made her dance dress because we couldn't find one that was fancy enough but modest...we like to look back on that picture with her friends at her home-made dress(and be still shocked at what junior high girls were wearing even back then).

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  10. I used the same fabric to make curtains! So amazing!

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