Decoupaged Shoes Tutorial

A few months ago, I was in a decoupaging frenzy, but I was sick of doing vases, boxes, and jars. I was in a thrift store one day, looking at all those pairs of cast aside shoes, and it hit me. I could decoupage them and give them a new lease on life! Whether you wear these shoes or just keep them as a work of art, this project is a great way to spend an afternoon. For those of you who have decoupaged before, this will be a breeze. For those who have not, it will only be a minor challenge. First, let's talk materials. You will need a pair of either man-made or natural leather shoes, with minor wear-and-tear and no wrinkles. If the shoes are from a thrift store, you'll probably want to give them a good dose of disinfectant spray before you begin. You will need some decoupage medium (I prefer Royal Coat in Clear), acrylic gel medium (I like Liquitex Super Heavy in Gloss), and a sealer (my favorite is Delta Ceramcoat All-Purpose Sealer). You will also need patterned tissue paper or decoupage tissue, which you can find at most craft stores. Tear the tissue into strips that are about 3/4 in wide and 4 in long, give or take. You will need 3 or 4 small foam brushes and an exact-o knife to trim around the seams. If you'd like, you can use some embellishments for the finishing touches. Beads, buttons, fake flowers or whatever you like! Use your imagination. Start by applying a minimum coating of decoupage medium on the area where you will place the first strip. I like to start at the front toe and then work my way down the sides to the back of the heel. Don't over-do it with the medium here. Remember, you can always add more later. Too much medium will make the tissue paper tear very easily, and while you will get the occasional tear here and there, you don't want them all over the place! Take a strip of tissue paper and apply it to the area where the medium is. Leave a flap at the top to fold over into the shoe, and a flap at the bottom to tuck into the bottom seam. Pat the strip down and then add more medium on top; enough to make the tissue pliable. Continue "molding" the paper to fit the shoe's contours. You will have small wrinkles, and probably a tear or two (especially if this is your first time doing this). Flatten the wrinkles down, applying more medium with your fingertip if necessary. Do this until the strip is glued down. When you get to the bottom seam of the show, where the leather meets the sole, tuck the paper into the seam with your thumbnail Really get it in there good. Use a tiny bit of medium if you need to. Once you get it in there, DON'T trim it! I know it's tempting, but wait. Now brush some additional medium to the underside of the top flap and glue that down into the shoe. That should be easy, so I doubt you need a picture to help explain it. Continue gluing and tucking the strips all along the side of the shoe.

When you get to the back of the shoe, place the last strips of tissue so that they meet and overlap one another. If the shoe has a heel, it's up to you if you want to decoupage it as well, but I usually don't and I didn't on this pair of shoes. But if you decide to do it, I'm sure you can figure it out. Sometimes, I like to paint the heel and/or the straps with acrylic paint that matches the pattern. This is a quick and easy way to keep the design cohesive and to give your shoes a professionally finished look. OK, at this point wait until your shoe has dried completely. You should have a whole bunch of annoying flaps of paper sticking out of the bottom of the shoe. It will be really satisfying to get rid of these suckers, believe me, I enjoy it every time. Position your craft knife so that it is in the groove of the seam. You can start wherever you like. Now begin to trim around the shoe. Keep that blade in the seam. Take your time and go around the whole shoe 2 or 3 times before you begin to tear away the pieces. When you do tear the excess pieces off, do so gently so that if you run into a piece that's stuck, you can just use your blade to detach it. Time for some touch ups! Look for small tears and imperfections across the surface of the shoe. If you find any, cover them up with small pieces of tissue paper. Once you seal the shoe you'll never notice that they were there. Now coat your shoe with about 2 or 3 minimal layers of your acrylic gel medium. Let the shoe dry between each coating. Do the same with your sealer.

Repeat ALL steps on other shoe.

You're almost done and now you can really start to have some fun. Embellish your shoes with whatever you'd like. There is no limit to what you can do here. Go crazy! Glitter glue is especially pretty on this project. Rub some on, and then add an additional coat of sealer so that the shoe isn't sticky. Glue your adornments on with the acrylic gel medium, which by this point you know will dry completely clear. The shoes I show here have been adorned with those flat-sided marbles that are usually used in vases. They come in little netted bags at the craft store.

Congratulations! You're done. Hope you had a good time. :)