Don't step on my gold sprayed shoes (uh huh huh)
April 21, 2016
One of my new best mates is my chiropractor. Seriously, I've started seeing him on the regs recently as a belly full of babies and an already slightly wonky spine don't appear to mix.
While recent years haven't seen me living and dying in high heels, there are occasions when throwing on a killer pair of shoes are just what a fancy outfit calls for. Unfortunately my new and ever changing center of gravity, and my pretzel backbone, make even a special occasion pair of heels a no go.
My fabulous friend Brittanny Taylor, Fashion and Lifestyle Photographer, Blogger and Small Business Consultant (check out her blog for examples of her beautiful work- she took our amazing baby announcement pics!), celebrated her birthday last week with the incredibly fashionable theme of 'Black & Gold'.
Knowing I'd be in the presence of some incredibly stylish people, pregnancy was not going to be a legit excuse for rocking up in ugg boots.
To protect the inside of the shoes and save you having to fiddle with taping up the awkward space, scrunch up a carrier bag and stuff it in the shoes. Pull it so that between the masking tape on the inner edge and the bag, the inside is completely covered.
Place the shoes on a surface you don't mind getting sprayed, and be sure to do the painting in a well ventilated area, preferably one you can leave the shoes out to dry in rather than having to move them and possibly smudging them.
Now get to spraying! Use even, thin coats across the whole shoe until you get the desired depth of colour. You don't want to spray it on too thick or you'll end up with drips and blobs that will crack when they dry.
Let the shoes dry for the amount of time your spray can suggests... and then let it dry a bit longer. I'm so impatient when it comes to things like this, but I'm also learning my disappointment at cocked up DIYs because of my own impatience is pretty mammoth.
Knowing I'd be in the presence of some incredibly stylish people, pregnancy was not going to be a legit excuse for rocking up in ugg boots.
I've lusted after gold sneakers in the past but a severely raised eyebrow from Charlie as I pranced around the shop in my sparkly kicks put me off the actual purchase of them lest he made me walk a few paces behind him on outings together.
But now comfort is key, I've got carte blanche on weird and wonderful fashion choices (or at least the eyebrow has been tamed for a nine month period).
Being impatient and not immediately finding the exact shoes I wanted at my normal shopping destinations I though it'd be a great opportunity for a little DIY.
What you'll need:
White canvas sneakers- Mine were from Target
Gold spray paint- I used Rust-oleum American Accents in METALLIC bright gold
Masking tape
White/mineral spirits
Cloth or rag
I purchased a pair of simple white canvas sneakers from Target (I found some similar ones online at Matalan for those in the UK!) .
Using a wide masking tape, I covered all the parts of the shoes I didn't want to spray. My shoes had rubber toe caps as well as a rubber trim around the sides of the shoe from the sole up. Although pretty durable, the spray paint would chip off the rubber quite quickly and I though a white and gold contrast would look pretty awesome.
I also masked around the inner, upper edge of the shoes so that I wouldn't end up with gold feet or socks as the paint rubbed against me when I wore them.
It's really worth spending time getting the masking tape right as a clean, neat finish will make the shoes look less like a dodgy DIY and more like the super awesome gold shoes of your dreams (or my dreams).
To protect the inside of the shoes and save you having to fiddle with taping up the awkward space, scrunch up a carrier bag and stuff it in the shoes. Pull it so that between the masking tape on the inner edge and the bag, the inside is completely covered.
Place the shoes on a surface you don't mind getting sprayed, and be sure to do the painting in a well ventilated area, preferably one you can leave the shoes out to dry in rather than having to move them and possibly smudging them.
Now get to spraying! Use even, thin coats across the whole shoe until you get the desired depth of colour. You don't want to spray it on too thick or you'll end up with drips and blobs that will crack when they dry.
Let the shoes dry for the amount of time your spray can suggests... and then let it dry a bit longer. I'm so impatient when it comes to things like this, but I'm also learning my disappointment at cocked up DIYs because of my own impatience is pretty mammoth.
When the shoes are dry (ACTUALLY dry) peel off all the masking tape. Use a rag or cloth dipped in white/mineral spirits to clean off any sticky residue from the tape. My tape left behind a right old mess but the spirits made short work of it and left me with amazingly clean white lines against the gold canvas.
Now go out into the wider world and life you best, gold shoed existence!
If you try this DIY, show me! Tag me on instagram (@hollylikestocook), twitter (@hollylikes2cook) or on facebook (/hollylikestocook).
I only mention the products and shops I bought my items from so you can recreate the DIY as I did. This post is not sponsored by any of the mentioned brands, and I do not earn anything from links I've posted.
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