Mod Podge Shoes

Yes, you read that right - Mod Podge on shoes - I too thought I was crazy!  But here me out - my brother was getting married, and their color was green.  I found a cute gray dress and thought I'd accessorize with green jewelry and shoes.  The wedding was outside so I didn't want heels - but I'm short, so the solution was a wedge.  So, jewlery, check.  Green wedge shoes - nowhere to be found!

At a garage sale I came across some cute black and white wedges in my size, for only $1.  I thought, if only these were green, they'd be perfect.  Then I thought, why not try to make them green.  If the project failed I would only be out the $1 - worth the risk.  And so here you - how to mod podge shoes:
--Gather your supplies.  Shoes, mod podge, foam brush (mine should have been smaller), and some fabric (my mom was making the maid of honor dress so she has some scrap green fabric).

The shoes had a bow so I pulled that off and got to work.  There's no "right" way - I just cut the fabric to a shape that would kind of wrap around the shoe.  I did the right half and then the left half.  Where there was a seam at the toe I thought I'd cover with a fabric flower, but I liked them plain so I just left it.  Here you can see the look of crafting concentration:

It was a goey mess, but just keep going.  I couldn't get it to lay right around where it curves by the toes, so I folded in some pleats.  I would squeeze and hold areas until they stuck.

When it dried there were places on the inside of the shoe where the fabric wasn't staying down, so I glued those with that E6000 stuff and clamped it overnight.  That worked.  The mod podge made the shoes stiff and that made the buckle in the back stuck straight out - I just glued and clamped that as well.  I figured since they fit my foot I didn't need to buckle and unbuckle them.
Now, when the Mod Podge was wet, I knew it was see-through and darker green.  I thought as it dried that the green would turn opaque and lighter again.  But it didn't.  So it wasn't what I pictured, but I didn't mind the black flowers showing through - it added dimension to the shoes.  Here's the fabric, with and without mod podge:

I was worried that the shoes would be super uncomfortable because they were stiff, so I told myself that it was just for one night.  But they were great - no blisters, etc.  I even wore them to church the next day.  I was also afraid they might come apart somehow, but they're holding up great as well.

So don't be afraid to mod podge some cheap shoes - what have you got to loose?!  Go try it!!


Linking to some great link parties - check them out here!!
and hoping for a shout-out in the CSI Project: