Shoe Recovery - How to recover your shoes

I decided to do a little tutorial on my experience with recovering shoes. I attempted a couple different methods and found this one to work best so far. Here are the things you will need;

- 1 Pair of  flats, or heels if you should so desire

- 1 pair trimming shears

- 1 pair regular shears

- Hot glue gun

- Super 77 multipurpose adhesive spray

- 2 plastic bags

- Material of choice ( I used an old shirt for this project with plenty of left over material for another project)

Step 1) Alright. First things first. You will want to  choose a pair of shoes that have a fairly sturdy backing. If they are too flimsy they will last as long as the shoes they were before, which is not very long.I chose a pair that I liked, but that didn't really go with anything I own. If  they have any embellishments, like beads and bows, you will want to remove them before you start your process

Steps 2 and 3) You will want to take your selected material and drape it in the desired configuration over your shoe. Make sure that it covers the entire shoe from toe to back and either side, with about a 1" extra edge to it. Once you have your rectangle of fabric, slit it down the center with about 2" left uncut for the toe ( length will differ depending on your shoes. Just leave enough space to cover entire tip and leave an edge to work with).

Step 4) This is where it gets fun. You're going to want to get your  plastic  bags and super 77  ready for this.  I learned the hard way that you should do this outside and never leave it uncovered. It will stick to everything and anything for years( might be a slight exaggeration) if left bare, so have your material ready.

- Slip the plastic bag over your foot and tie off.  And then put on your shoe. ( I learned it's easier and less messy to wear the shoe while spraying and applying so your hands wont get sticky )

- Spray your shoe from about 6" away until it is lightly coated with an even white mist, maneuvering your foot as needed

DON'T PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN - unless you want dirt, debris or whatever is beneath you on your shoe. It WILL stick and create puckering on your shoe.

Step 5) Grab your pre-cut material and begin to apply at toe.  Smooth  out creases and folds as you go, and pull  strips along sides to adhere. Make sure not too pull too tight on your material or you will get strange warping. Try to let it fall as naturally as possible. 

Step 6 and 7)  -Trim  away excess material leaving 1/4" - 1/2" edge for  finishing.  

- Then cut  slit into edges to create tabs. Follow natural curves of the shoe to determine where to cut.

-Grab your glue gun and apply light coating to edge of your tabs and fold in to adhere. Continue process around the edges of the base of shoe, and instead of applying the glue to your tabs, apply it directly to the shoe. 

DO NOT trim away excess material from base of shoe or rear seam  just yet. Wait until it is base is glued and then trim that edge to desired length and then we will approach the rear seam.

  You can see the edge in this picture, to get this seam I  kept my trimming shears against the sole of the shoe and cut at the existing angle of the sole. This will give and even edge.
Step 8) once you have glued down the base edges and inner tabs you will come to the rear seam. I left about a 1/2" seam and folded the material in on itself and simply glued it down.

Here's the end result! Hope you have fun recovering some of your own shoes!

Hey! I got my new shoes on!

- - - - SHOES - - - -

Ok, so they're not exactly new. In fact, they were hand-me-down-and-arounds from my sister. We did a shoes swap once a few years back and these were the ones I got from it. They got a lot of good wearing, BUT, they are a crafting jack pot!

After - Red satin

Before - Navy and white polka dots

Ok, I realize this is not the most attractive angle in which to showcase the shoes, but here they are

I should actually probably attribute the entire project to my lovely sister. The material I used for the shoes is actually the hem from the dress she wore to our wedding as well. So basically this project cost me absolutely nothing. Ok maybe the .30 cents it cost for the glue stick. But all in all I would say that is a pretty good price for shoes that I practically sleep in.  I will probably post a full on how-to, as I intend to do a couple more pairs. In round two I will be sure to take better pictures too.

Disclaimer - I got the idea from pinterest. Yes, that magical place of ideas. I did do it a bit differently than the tutorial shows though. I didn't have any luck with the mod-podge. Probably because I attempted to make my own from another tutorial... Just don't do it. It's worth the $5.00 you would spend to get the real stuff. Anyhow, I found the method I used to be more effective anyways, and I will soon post the steps with another pair of lovely, thrifty, craftiness. 

The Big Move

So I know this is late in the making...approximately 4 months old, so it's nothing new, but this is our new home! And it certainly still brings us as much joy as it did on the first day.

We are currently renting a lovely townhome from a lovely lady  here in Orem Utah. We were so excited when a friend told us they were moving out and were letting people know that is was available. It's twice as big as our last place and less in rent. Crazy, right?! And we love everything about it. We love our ward, we love the place, we love the fact that when we have company we no longer need to worry about walking in on our company changing in the front room. We no longer have to be concerned about what parents might think if there are two voices coming from the single bathroom anymore, because we no longer have to share a lone restroom with them! No more washing dishes by hand! There is a whole room for me to keep my crafting clutter in, and did I mention we don't have to share a bathroom with guests? Oh it is a wonderful little home.

This is our kitchen and eating area. Very cute. I like having a red kitchen.

This is our entry/ living room. Yes, that is Doctor Who on the television. A house is not a home without the Who. HA! 

I would add some pictures of the up-stairs, but it was messy at the time and while it is much roomier than our last place, there still isn't much room to get a good picture. So we shall leave that to the imagination, yeah? Very good. Well this is our new home! Hope you all can come enjoy it with us at some point or another. Our   door is always open! Just call first :)