Sparkly Shoes

My 3 year old daughter is very particular about what she wears--from her dresses to her socks, and especially her shoes.  Her favorite shoes of mine to try and wear around the house are the heels I wore for my wedding, or as she likes to call them, "the Cinderella shoes."

So, after getting very tired of fighting her non-stop about what shoes to wear, I decided to make her her very own pair of glittery Cinderella shoes that she couldn't pass up.  And here's how I did it:

Materials:

A pair of solid colored shoes that you don't mind experimenting with

Matching color glitter

Modge podge

Paintbrush

Clear acrylic coating spray

Here's a picture of one shoe's before and the other shoe's after.

First, use the paint brush to completely cover the outside of the shoe with modge podge.  If some of the glue gets on the sole of the shoe, that's ok, you can wipe it off now or later.

Next, cover with glitter!!!  Since these were old hand-me-down shoes I had to be sure to turn them over in order to get the sunken-down arches.  Since I got glue on some of the sole of the shoe, the glitter stuck there also.  It's very easy to just take your nail or finger and wipe it off at this point.

After glitterizing them if you can let them sit for a couple hours to dry, that would be best, but we were in a hurry to leave, so I got the clear spray out right away and sprayed them like crazy to try and keep the glitter staying on longer.  I chose this over hairspray because I figured it would last a little bit longer (if you let it dry all the way, which we didn't since we were in a hurry to leave).  Also, since I had the gloss spray I chose that, but I also have the matte finish, which would probably also work just as well.

Again, be sure to turn the shoe if you need to, to get the tricky places like the bottom side of the arch.  Right after spraying them wipe down the insides with a damp towel or paper towel so they won't be sticky on your child's feet.  Let them dry for a few more hours if you have the time to do so, and then...

...Let your very happy 3 year-old prima donna enjoy them!  

Disclosure: will the glitter end up coming off?  Absolutely, but it's worth the excitement for these sparkly beauties and the compliance of a determined toddler!  We are currently on day 3 of non-stop wearing these and there is still plenty of glitter on them.  Also, I'm sure if I had given them proper time to dry and set, then they would be much more durable.

Top Hat Lamp

My son's room is decorated with gentlemanly items like mustaches, top hats, "A Gentlemen's Guide" and so on.  Naturally I wanted a bedside lamp that matched, but I couldn't find a top hat lamp, or at least one that I loved for a reasonable price...so I made one.  Here's how:

(Finished product!)

Materials:

Hot glue gun

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Lamp base

Lamp shade that can fit inside your top hat

Spare piece of felt that matches the color of the top hat

Felt top hat (I got mine at a halloween costume store for about $5.  It's important to use a felt top hat, or a thicker top hat so that it won't melt from the heat of the lamp.  I originally wanted to do this with a cheepy top hat that I found at Hobby Lobby made for Christmas/snow man decorating, but it melted after only about a minute on the lamp shade.)

Place the top hat upside down on a cutting board, and place the lamp shade upside down inside the center of the top hat (or close anyway).  Being VERY careful, use the sharp knife to cut out a hole on the INSIDE of the lamp shade.

Take out the piece that you cut out so that you can see all the way through the top of the hat.

Next put hot glue around the top of the lamp shade.

Glue onto the top hat.  At first I thought that was the end of it, but I didn't like seeing the rough edges of the glue...

So thankfully I had a spare piece of felt--and I mean spare piece!

Cut out a strip long enough to fit around the inside of the hole, and thick enough to fold from the top down into the lamp shade.

After measuring it I cut slits to fit around the spokes of the lamp shade.

I glued all the way around the top side of the felt piece to give it a more even look and make sure it is more secure, but just tacked down the inside with little drops of glue.

    

And voila!  You now have a top hat gentleman's lamp!