6/15/12

Craft It - Give old shoes a Neon Pop DIY



 In one of my 'cleaning out my closet' posts, I mentioned a pair of shoes that weren't worth keeping in the condition they were in, but were too perfectly good to throw away. The best thing to do in that case?
DIY it!

This pair of shoes has been fantastic. Honestly, i've only worn them a small handful of times. 
I tend to wear more blacks than I do browns. Somehow while tucked away somewhere this lovely pair started to discolor in the front rubber piece. The color difference is enough that you can tell from pretty far away that one shoe is much more faded than the other.
Can you tell how dark the right one is compared to the left?

Things you need to fix this:
Nail polish

That's it! I could use paint, but I wanted something I already had on hand. You could use spray paint, but it would take a bit longer since you'd have to tape off the rest of the shoe. Most acrylics aren't as shiny as nail polish, and I wanted this pair to really POP by the time I was done with them.

The nail polish is a clearanced bottle from Hottopic. I need to remind myself why they clearance things sometimes... this stuff really isn't a long lasting nail polish. (plus, it's a little goopy. Ick).

I went around the top and outside of one shoe, then the other... then went back for the other side and back. This gave one side a little bit extra time to dry. I would recommend this as I learned the hard way, and rested a shoe on my leg as I was painting the other side. Ooops! 
This was a pretty thick coverage polish, so I only used two coats. Grab a few Q-tips and soak them in nail polish remover before you start so that you can quickly remove any mistakes or drips from other areas.
I finished mine off with a coat of bright yellow from a paint marker on the outside edges. 

Get creative. You can go with one color, or use a mix of a few different ones.
Try different shades of the same color for a nice ombre effect.

 


3 comments:

  1. Awesome idea! Wonder how long it will last before it needs a touch up, though? Even still, it's a great way to make something new and fun!
    ~Kim
    from Blogging Buddies
    http://2justByou.blogspot.com

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