Today is my birthday!! I woke up this morning to a voicemail left by my Dad, singing Happy Birthday to me. Best Dad ever! :) I will officially be 26 at 5:21pm. So, when my Alt For Everyone goodie box came in the mail a few days ago, it felt like a birthday present:

If you saw my teaser Monday on Instagram or Facebook, you might have guessed that I made these fancy shoes over the weekend! Inspired by this glitter shoe tutorial found on Love & Lace, I added a little glitter to a pair of my favorite (but [Read on...] ]]>

If you saw my teaser Monday on Instagram or Facebook, you might have guessed that I made these fancy shoes over the weekend! Inspired by this glitter shoe tutorial found on Love & Lace, I added a little glitter to a pair of my favorite (but deteriorating) flats:

They’re cheap flats from Forever 21, so naturally, they’re breaking down a bit. Scuffing I expected, but not paint chipping off…

The backs weren’t too bad, but I thought they could use some covering-up, too:

First things first: get your supplies!

You will need:

• a pair of shoes, of course!
• Mod Podge with gloss finish
• a stiff, small, angled brush
• a small foam brush
• a throwaway paper or plastic bowl or cup
• glitter – I used Martha Stewart’s fine glitters in Florentine Gold and Smoky Quartz
• paper towels or newspaper
• masking/painter’s tape {optional, not pictured}

Step One: Before you get your craft on, lay down some paper towels or newspaper so you don’t get glittery glue on your boyfriend’s bathroom floor. I also recommend taking a wet cloth and wiping down your shoes to get rid of any dust or dirt that may have accumulated since you last wore them.

Step Two: If you are using tape, tape around the areas you’d like to paint with glitter glue. Note: there are pros and cons of using tape. When you peel it off, it could take some of the glitter with it, which means extra work for you to touch it up (see Step 9), and you may also want to paint over it again with just Mod Podge to make sure the glitter portion is “sealed.” If you have a pretty steady hand, I recommend not using it. However, I do not have a steady artistic hand, so I chose to use a little masking tape.

Step Three: Pour your glitter and Mod Podge into your throwaway bowl/cup & mix it up.

Step Four: Mix, mix, mix until the glitter and Mod Podge are incorporated nicely. If you can still see a lot of white, glitter-less streaks of Mod Podge, add more glitter.

Step Five: Paint the edges of your shoes with the angled brush.

Step Six: Paint on your first layer of glitter glue with the foam brush. Let dry. (If you’re impatient like me, use a box fan ;)

Step Seven: Paint on your second layer of glitter glue. Let dry. If you’ve mixed enough glitter into your Mod Podge, you only need 1 or 2 layers. The more layers you have, the easier it will be for the glitter to peel off, which you do not want (like with painting your nails).

Step Eight: When you are satisfied that your new glitter spots are fully covered (and when they have fully dried), carefully peel off the masking tape.

See how the glitter is a bit jagged on the left? That’s because the masking tape ate some of it :( So, Stan helped me fix it up:

Step Nine: Very, very carefully use a new razor blade to straighten out any lines the masking tape may have messed up. Slowly use the blade to draw a line in the glitter where you’d like to trim, then scrape off excess glitter. It’s very important that you do this slowly, and press the blade down carefully – you don’t want to puncture your shoe! I also recommend adding on a coat of just Mod Podge after you fix up the glitter, to help seal it in.

I also decided to add some glitter to the bow knots after the masking tape took off some of the red paint there.

And voilà! Ruby slippers even Dorothy would be jealous of! :)

I’d love to see how you glitterify your shoes ~ upload your photos to the Poor & Pretty Facebook page! Happy crafting!

I’m excited to announce that I will be vending at the SoWa (South of Washington Street) Open Market in Boston for a few Sundays this Summer! Catch me 6/2, 7/7, 7/21, 8/11, and 8/18 sharing a tent with my friends Krissy & Dennis Maksymiw of Kleiner Eisbär, purveyors of lovely handbound journals [Read on...] ]]>

I’m excited to announce that I will be vending at the SoWa (South of Washington Street) Open Market in Boston for a few Sundays this Summer! Catch me 6/2, 7/7, 7/21, 8/11, and 8/18 sharing a tent with my friends Krissy & Dennis Maksymiw of Kleiner Eisbär, purveyors of lovely handbound journals and felted trinkets.

In their 10th anniversary year, SoWa is located outdoors in Boston’s South End and has an extensive arts/crafts section with a rotating group of indie makers and designers, an award winning farmer’s market and a collection of the yummiest food trucks around. Within walking distance, you’ll find a vintage market, artist studios, galleries, shops and many of Boston’s best restaurants. It runs every Sunday from May through October. Learn more about SoWa here.

I’ve been working on these new hangtags for my cupcake soaps for a few months, and I’m so happy with them! They’re professionally printed by 4over4, so I no longer have to print them at home, cut them out individually, handwrite the names on them… yeah, [Read on...] ]]>

I’ve been working on these new hangtags for my cupcake soaps for a few months, and I’m so happy with them! They’re professionally printed by 4over4, so I no longer have to print them at home, cut them out individually, handwrite the names on them… yeah, it’s saving me a good amount of time ;)

Here’s a closeup of my Plumeria cupcake soap tag:

They’re printed on 100% postconsumer waste paper with eco-friendly/vegetable-based inks, and I only use one tag per soap now, so they’re much more sustainable. What do you think?