So, I decided that I would go ahead and give y'all my directions for how I went about making an amazingly sparkly and fabulous shoe for my wedding day. Please make sure you go ahead and read the entire blog before you get started. I always find that helpful when I am trying something new. And please, PLEASE don't hesitate to ask me any questions you might have.
So, without further ado- I give you "how to strass your shoes"
Any "side notes" and things like that will be posted in RED so that you can choose to read it or not.
The little details you definitely should take note on will be in BLUE so that you can see how and where I added special little details.
Tools/Supplies Needed:
1. Rhinestones (I can give you an exact estimate once I am finished with both- but for one shoe I think it's
about 5,000 stones) I used HotFix rhinestones. They have a glue substance on one side (not sticky until
heated) and then the rhinestone on the other. This is important because you want to make sure that the
glue side goes onto the shoe and your rhinestone is facing the correct way! One big thing to keep in
mind-- my shoes are a size 9.5-- your shoe size will definitely determine how many rhinestones
you will end up needing :-)
-Rhinestone sizes: I used 3 different sizes.
* 6ss (2 mm in size) I used these to line the entire shoe- approximately 1440 stones for one
shoe
* 10 ss (3 mm in size) These cover the majority of the shoe. I used approximately 3,000
stones for one shoe.
* 16 ss (4 mm in size) I used these as a "filler". They are slightly bigger and I wanted to give
some dimension to the stones and not have all one size. I used probably
about 100 of these. (you will be able to see photos of this later)
2. E6000 glue (readily available at any craft store. I used almost one full tube of it for one shoe)
3. A pair of tweezers (I used these to position the stones once I had the glue on my shoe)
4. A small paintbrush (To brush on the paint in small sections)
5. A pair of shoes (I got mine from shoebuy.com for about $40. AND they were free shipping!!)
6. Paper plate (to hold your rhinestones)
The How To:
1. Gather all the supplies that you will need.
This is a photo of the paintbrush and tweezers I used. |
I just set some rhinestones on a paper plate and used this as my working surface. You will see later in the process that I found it easiest to pick up the rhinestones with my fingers. With them on the plate like this, you can pick up a few at a time and place them into your glued area. (Again, you'll see this a few steps from now.)
The easiest way I found to do this is to take your paintbrush and brush a small area of glue in your working area. For the lining of the shoes, I would not paint more than one inch of glue at a time. Once the glue is on, pick up your rhinestones off of the plate with your finger, and place them on the glue. At this point, take the tweezers and arrange the rhinestones where you want them.
You also want to use the 2mm stones on the heel of the shoe as you are lining it. You will be filling it in the same way as the rest of the shoe. |
**a couple of side notes**
Don't worry about dried glue. You will be covering the entire shoe in rhinestones. You won't be able to see any of the glue. It's okay if it dries. You'll just be painting more glue over it when you move to the next sized rhinestones.
Also, for the "lining" of the shoe, I put two 6ss (2 mm) rhinestones right next to each other. This is the ONLY time I worried about something being uniform as far as a rhinestone pattern is concerned. I wanted to make sure they were even and looked good.
3. The next step is to go ahead and put your rhinestones inside your lined area (essentially the rest of the shoe). For this, I have captions under each photo so you can see the process. This is the process you should use for the ENTIRE shoe (including the lining)...
I used the majority of the 10ss (3mm) rhinestones, as well as SOME 16ss (4mm) stones for more depth on the shoe, You will be able to see the difference in some up close shots later on.
Your first step is to add a drop of glue onto your shoe. To do this, I used the paintbrush and took a drop of glue off of the tube. |
And that's it!! Makes it seem super easy, huh? Besides the ten hours of time, it really is easy. I watched a lot of basketball and football and Gilmore Girls. I didn't do it all in one day, and instead did it little by little.
Take a look at the final product! I added one 3mm red stone (our colors are scarlet and grey) to symoblize the "last stone" put on the shoe. It's a neat little detail and everyone I have shown it to likes it!!
And like I said earlier, PLEASE comment or email me (ashley@ohsomagical.com) if you have any questions! I don't mind helping anyone willing to take on this project!!
Now-- show off time!!
heel view |
full view! |
back of the shoe. Can you spot the red rhinestone?? |
kinda like a "before and afer" photo |
modeling them! |