These are my daughter’s church shoes. She’s going through a glitter phase right now.  A biiiggg, happy glitter phase.

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She’s got a red Wizard of Oz pair that look just as bad. Time to send those shoes over the rainbow straight to the trash, right?

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Wait! Don’t toss those!

With a little spray paint love, those shoes may just have a few heel clicks left in them.

Enter Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint. Or as I like to call it, the Oh-My-Heck-This-Stuff-Is-Expensive-And-Better-Work-Miracles spray paint.

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(And no this isn’t a sponsored post. Bummer.)

I’ve seen the buzz all over blogland about this stuff and wondered if there was anyway it could save my girl’s shoes. 

I had serious reservations about buying a can since you guys know that spending money on crafts this year is a no-no in my house.  But I totally struck out at all FOUR of the thrift stores in my area … and I was staring down at least $12 for another cheapy Walmart pair with the same glitter ratio … so spending $6 after coupon {cough, choke} on a can of magic glitter might be the smart way to go after all.

So I did. And it worked!

A little painters tape around the inside and ribbons …

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… and a few squirts of paint over the whole thing …

… and a little black sharpie action on the vinyl bows …

… and voila!

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Rainbows appear, bird sing, shoes saved. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Even though this paint is a little touchy to use, it still worked great. I loved how the shoes turned out and am so glad I gave it a try.

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I only bought one can to start since it was so pricey, but  I can’t wait to grab a can of the red and get those Dorothy shoes back to their yellow-brick-road best.  And I love that I still have lots of paint left and can touch up her shoes whenever I need to.

And for those of you without glitter shoes, this technique will work for any pair of shoes.

That means you can rock cheap shoe refashions for everyday use, Halloween costumes, or even school dances.

Here’s a few Man-Behind-The-Curtain tips to save you a few headaches:

1. Use a coupon. {Oh good heavens use a coupon.} My can was $6 after the coupon and is only half the size of a regular can of spray paint.

2. Use short bursts. Long sprays will clog your nozzle in two seconds flat.

3. Watch the pressure. This stuff has a nasty habit of getting too much pressure built up and oozing glitter paint out the top. To stop that from happening, pull up lightly on the spray button whenever you hear a hissing noise. This seems to release the pressure kind of like the valve on a pressure cooker. My friend warned me about the oozing problem and recommended the pulling-up-on-the-cap trick. Worked great.

4. Use two light coats for the best coverage. As I’ve gone back through these pics I’ve liked the coverage, but think the toe area could use a touch more paint. I’m going to give them a quick recoat this afternoon.

5. Be sure to use the clear coat sealant. The paint will wear off very quickly without it.

So there you go.

Scuffed up shoes?

Sept 2011 BLOG4-8

It’s What Not To Toss this weekend!

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23 Comments

  1. Mackenzie

    Oh wow. I never would have thought of that. Cool!

  2. great makeover, Nike!! they look brand new! PS. I laughed out loud at time to send those shoes over the rainbow!!!!!

  3. Laura @ Laura's Crafty Life

    The shoes look like new again! Amazing!

  4. Great idea!! I never thought of spray painting shoes, now I know it's possible! 🙂
    Cecilia

  5. Tiffany @ As For My House

    That is GREAT!!

    It's a different "glitter" um, size, than the original stuff on the shoes, so it looks like it's important to cover the WHOLE shoe (as you did), rather than trying to just hit the scuffy part…

    But, once done, WOW!!

    Thanks so much for the thrifty tip — I, too, have a little glitter princess in the house.

  6. This is fabulous! Yet another shoe tutorial to bookmark!

  7. Nike@ChooseToThrive

    Tiffany,
    Good catch! Yes, the glitter spray is smaller than the original so I did cover the whole shoe. From then on scuffs can just get a quick touch up. I'll add that tip to the original post. Thanks!

  8. The mum of all trades

    fantastic idea. I'm not going to throw any more shoes away!

  9. Jayna Rae

    Wow! So it is pricey. They didn't have it at Walmart, where Krylon is cheapest. I had a feeling I'd have to grab a coupon and go to Michael's. The shoes look great!!!!

  10. That's an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  11. Yay for not throwing these away! They look even better than they did originally. Also, love your spooky header!

  12. Kelly Moore

    Thats amazing! (And you didn't use the whole can right? So that's more glitter to use on another project, so the price is even less than $6- where did you get the coupon??)

  13. JJ@SundayInTheCountry

    I love the convenience of spray paint! That said, I have seen crafters sparkle up shoes with Modpog and glitter, then seal with clear spray. I am sure the process is longer and messier, but cheaper. I love how your shoes turned out…they look better than new!

  14. Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft

    Whattt! Where were you months ago with this post when I threw out my daughters black glittery shoes that we all scuffed up?? 🙂 Awesome post!

  15. Stephanie

    where can you find the spray paint? I've been to 4 different stores and when I asked the employees, they looked at me as if I was speaking klingon. LOL!

  16. Bloggerina

    these shoes look amazing! Honestly I was like, no way is she going to be able to bring them back but wow the finished shoe looks brand new.

  17. Anonymous

    I tried this, and it worked.
    I didnt have the glitter paint, but I did have some red spray paint.
    The granddaughters red glitter slippers got a quick coat of cheap red spray paint, and I had some expensive high gloss red paint, that I just quickly sprayed over the cheapie paint, and VOILA!, Good as new. (Better actually, she didnt have to break them in)

  18. Anonymous

    You can do the same with leather shoes but you need leather spray dye which can be purchased from your local cobbler or shoe repair kiosk at a mall.

    The glitter is a great idea!

  19. Cindi Brooks

    Awesome! Never heard of that paint before…I try to stear clear of the craft stores too. I've tried to re-glitter several pairs of shoes with mod-podge and glitter, but this seems so much easier. Can't wait to pick up a can and see what I can do. Thanks for the tip! Your shoes turned out gorgeous. 🙂

  20. This paint is horrid to use. I have it in several colors and it is terrible. I have three cans I tried to return as they would not spray. I have to take them to the nice Michael's store and the mean one said too bad…we don't know that it does not work….grrrrr!
    We use leather spray dye from the shoe repair shop a lot! It covers scuffs on the Catholic School shoes…no tennis shoes or boots allowed. Fun as we waded our way through solid ice covered with snow last week…crying Mama and four big men later with 4 children barefooted with ice packed inside those cute shoes that are soooo expensive that are now ruined and two hours later to get back home! I am glad you made this work…it makes me feel better about mine working. Oh, also for dance recitals, we use paint-Krylon-to change colors of shoes. $1,000 for costumes-this Mama would not spend money on beige shoes for boys! It will crack eventually dancing in them but is good for an evening of entertainment. : )

  21. Michaels has it. It is with glitter paint…and if not try JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby.