For our first trip to Disneyland (yes, ever) I knew I wanted to do something Classically Disney (& super cute) so there was no debate about putting together a red, white, black & yellow themed outfit. If you don't know me personally, this is probably a good time to mention that I enjoy themed outfits. For everything. So anyways.. seemed simple enough - white shorts, a red shirt, & a matching hairbow.. the only thing missing were the shoes.
I found this pair of white tennies at Walmart for a whopping $5. Now, I will tell you.. I had to go a size down in them because they ran a bit big (& still could've stood to go down another half size) so make sure you try them on before putting in all the hard work to make them beautiful & not being able to wear them.
I drew my circles on the shoes with a mechanical pencil. Try to draw lightly because the pencil may still show through in some spots if you aren't careful. The circles were really difficult to get down at first. You don't initially consider things like making them all the same size, & distances, & what kind of pattern they'll be in.. yikes! I started at the very center at the bottom of the circle.. hole.. thingies. You know, where the aglets go (thank you Phineas & Ferb) and worked from there. The toes of the shoes. I used my engagement ring to gauge a general circle size. I have baby fingers & my ring is only a size 4 (still too big), so a baptismal ring may work just the same for you! Just kidding! But a key ring would work nicely! Or a quarter! The important thing is to use your own judgement on how you want them to look. I'm sure great big circles would look just as great as tiny, baby circles. Do your own thing.
The paint I got is just simple craft acrylic paint from Pat Catan's. I'm sure there's probably a better fabric specific paint you could use - but the $0.50 plain acrylic worked just fine for me. I got red, white & black. I also got a red glitter - but I ended up not using it. Though I'm sure it would've been cute. Whether you start with red or white paint is totally up to you. I personally found it easiest to start with the white & paint in the circles first. You may want to start with the aglet holes (that's going to be my official name for them) with a tiny brush to get that out of the way. Let me tell you, painting is NOT as easy as it's made out to be. Those intricate, cute character shoes you see on Etsy - yea! Totally worth the $50 pricetag!
The MOST important thing to remember is to BE PATIENT!! Take your time, don't rush your work, & keep your hands steady. Walk away for a break if you need to. A five minute breather will work wonders for you, I promise. You're also going to need at least two, if not three or four coats of paint. Now mind you, this could very well just be because I used $0.50 paint - so it was necessary, but I ended up doing two solid coats and then having to touch up other areas at least two more times. It's also important to know that if you're doing something like I did with the white circles, even if the shoes are white (they aren't actually) paint the white in the circle. You don't want it to just be an empty space.
Originally I considered using puffy paint to outline the shoes or draw designs, but as I got going I decided to forgo that idea. Play around with it. Switch it up. I did red all over with white circles and painted the heels and the tongues black. But that's just what was in MY head at the time.
When I was certain the paint was all dried, I followed the outline of the heel with a thin line of Aleen's Tacky Glue. I don't know what the magic ingredient is in this stuff - but my mama used it for (I swear) every craft while I was growing up.. so it's my go-to. I placed the little jewels all the way around the outline of the heel.
This is where I faced another debate with myself. Was I going to put the yellow bows on the back of the heels, or the top of the shoes where they tied? What yellow bows you ask!? Ohhhhhh! Don't get me started! I found one of these little yellow bows (Expressions Brand for $2) in the little girls hair section of Pat Catan's when I was picking up the paint. They had ONE yellow one. So I didn't get it. The next day I was kicking myself & went back for it. The story of my life - it was gone. Long story short, after countless phone calls & hours of driving to FIVE, yes five, area Pat Catan's in search of these 2 yellow bows (for $2 each) I finally found them. I EASILY could've made them myself, but that would've been too stubborn of me. So yea,.. I got the bows & took the hairclips off the back.
So anyways, I sent pictures with bows on the back & bows on the front to my princess partner Natalie & took her opinion of putting them on the front. I also sent her this picture wondering whether or not the bows should go at the top of the laces, or the bottom toward the toe. I opted for the bows on the top (the shoe on the right). I laced a thin yellow ribbon through the aglet holes, tied them in a knot under the tongue of the shoe and tucked them down the side so they would be hidden. Then I put a dab of hot glue on the top ribbon and held the bows til they dried. Beautiful.
Voila. My Disneyland shoes!! For about a whopping $10! Here's the layout of all my shoes with their matching hairbows the night before hitting the parks!
David suggested a white Mickey head on the back part of the heel after the fact. Next time definitely - I thought that would've been a great idea!
Let me tell you how much of a hit these were in Disneyland. CRAZINESS!! From cast members to guests, everyone was complimenting me left & right & taking pictures of my shoes.
"Yeaaa,.. but they aren't nearly as cool as YOURS!" - my conversation with Cinderella.
.PNG){kind=link}
