The Jewel Box Shoe

Stanley: What’s a rhinestone? 
Stella: Next door to glass

 - A Streetcar Named Desire

NOLA recently held the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, and as I've always loved that quote about rhinestones, it seemed a good time to post this particular shoe (which I've been calling the Jewel Box Shoe).

I've been looking at various totally rhinestone-covered shoe designs (for example, these boots, these heels on etsy, and any number of the shoes in this etsy shop) for a while, and I wanted to try a shoe that was semi-covered in rhinestones, but not entirely (so the glitter could still show through).

I started out glittering a pretty classic pump. All the glitter here was Recollections (the exterior purple is "Muse," the interior and heel are "Gold" and the sole is "Raspberry"). I lined the edges (around the top and sole of the shoe and along the seam at the back) with gold sequins.

A terrible picture, but the only one of have of the glittered shoe before it got covered in rhinestones

Once the shoe was totally glittered, I started gluing on a mix of random rhinestones I had in my stash using E6000. It would've been tough to apply all the rhinestones with hot glue, but I did notice the silver paint backing on some of the lower quality rhinestones reacted with the solvent in the E6000 and re-solubilized a smidge.

Pink sole, gold sequin edge around the sole.

The rhinestones remind me a bit of the Flying Horses at City Park (I remember being just fascinated by those big glass stones inset in the horses). Very happy with it overall, bagging for now (more details to add later).

3/30 to 3/31 saving some receipt details

Happy Easter y'all!

I was in NOLA for Easter weekend and have many updates to write up (including a trip to Jefferson Variety and my experience with Krylon Glitter Blast), but for now I wanted to get some boring details saved so I can throw out a few receipts:

Jefferson Variety Store (Mar. 30): $22.59 ($0.50 = sequins, 3 x $4.98 = three 4 oz tubes of crystalline glitter, $2.39 = sequin shrimp applique, 3 x $0.98 = little sequin Fleur de Lis appliques).

Gordon's of Metairie (Mar. 30): $8.68 ($6.99 = purple spray paint, $0.99 = styrofoam ball)

Joann (Mar. 30):  $4.99 = 16 oz Mod Podge Gloss (originally $9.99 with a 50% off coupon), $2.99 = Geranium bush on sale (regular price $5.99, spring flowers were on sale)

Some older receipts:
Michael's (Mar. 21): $2.39 = Eiffel Tower stickers, $4.79 = Krylon Glitter Blast (originally $7.99 bought with a 40% coupon)

Michael's (Mar. 14): $1.99 = Fish stickers, $1.00 = 5 yd roll of turquoise sequin trim, $1.00 = glitter butterfly, $1.00 = paper butterflies, $5.39 = Recollections "Peacock" Extra Fine Glitter (originally $8.99, with a 40% off coupon)

Goodwill (Mar. 9): $24.05 for five pairs of shoes = $1.99, $9.99, $6.99, $3.49, $3.49, minus $3.89 discount (average = approx. $4 per pair)

Repeat Shoes - Zebra Diva Shoe version 2.0

Another repeat shoe, this time the mate of the Zebra Diva Shoe

Essentially the same as the first one, with a slightly coppery-er gold on the interior and sole. Tons of pictures because I love this one so much:

The copper and hot pink are both Recollections, the pale pink and black stripes are both Martha Stewart. Again, existing stripes traced rather than free-handed. I've added the hot pink sequins, but haven't added any other embellishments yet.

Article on Jezebel about a shoe art exhibit...

The Art of Footwear: 31 Weird Shoes You Won't Believe

Glitters, Paints and Techniques to Try - Part 1

My resources are limited when it comes to Muses shoes, partly by design. The saying goes: "Do it fast, do it cheap, do it well...you only get to pick two." The challenge of trying to maximize the quality of the end product while minimizing cost is a big part of the fun for me. I like to think that trying to push my boundaries of patience and creativity from time to time is good for me mentally.

The trouble with this approach is, I tend to not want to "waste" any time or resources on trying new things. My general approach of combining Mod Podge with a combination of any of my "go to" glitters usually works beautifully, so despite the embarrassment of craft product riches out there, I don't really stray from my process.

But if my exposure to the pharmaceutical industry has taught me nothing, it's the value of investing in R&D, so I'm going to keep a list of New Stuff to Try, and make an effort to give new things a whirl as well.

(1) Krylon Glitter Blast spray glitter
I talked about my concerns with Krylon Glitter Blast a little here, but in spite of all the abysmal reviews, I do still want to try it myself. Mom had a coupon to burn at Michael's and procured this fabulous shade of purple (Glitter Glitz):

So we're gonna take that for a spin. Reading the reviews on using the spray suggest you want to (a) base coat your shoes with a similar color before glittering (which I think is a good idea anyhow) and (b) get everything lined up and ready to glitter in case you can't stop once you press the nozzle.

(2) Oriental Trading glitter assortments:
I've never tried them before, but oriental trading has some glitter assortments with 4 to 5 tubes (that are 2.5 ox each) grouped by a theme, like the Springtime assortment (pastels) and Halloween assortment (purple, green, black and orange). The five or four tube assortments are both $8.50, and the glitter is described as "very fine" (too chunky = no good for Muses shoes, in my experience). If this glitter is suitable (sparkly/fine enough), you'd be getting 10-12.5 ounces of glitter for $8.50, plus shipping ($0.85-$0.68 an ounce, before shipping). If you were already placing an order for something else at Oriental Trading, that could be a mighty fine glitter deal (on par with some of the best deals at Michael's or Joann's).

(3) Glitter Paint
There are a lot of paints with glitter built into them, and I've never really investigated them much because I assumed they couldn't achieve as much sparkle as the pure, uncut glitter (Wow, I really do sound like a glitter addict). I've been thinking I should try some out, because the potential reduction in glittery/glue-y messiness cannot be discounted (I'll be better able to estimate the sparkle-for-mess trade off when I actually evaluate the alternative).

Some specific options:
Martha Stewart glitter paint (I think Joann's and Michael's carry this line)
Folk Art Extreme Glitter paint by Plaid: product info here, interesting Craft Test Dummies product review here

A Few Muses-Themed Fashions

Like any homesick transplant, from time to time I do a little online window shopping: the NOLA t-shirts at Dirty Coast and Storyville, the NOLA jewelry at Mignon Faget and the various awesome accessories at Fleurty Girl. Here are some fashion selections that might be particularly appropriate to wear that special Thursday evening.

T-shirts:

Dirty Coast "Throw Me Sumthin' Sista" shirt

Etsy seller inexplicableconfetti's "Shoe Dat" t-shirt

It's not actually available as a shirt per se, but I love this and this entry in the Storyville Mardi Gras shirt contest (Contest #19)

And here's a pretty extensive collection of shoe-themed t-shirts

Accessories:

The most glamorous Muses accessories are certainly the ones the ladies throw (oh, how I adore those shoe bracelets and flashing rings!), but since those are more of a privilege than a right, exploring other options is worthwhile. Etsy has some great Barbie shoe jewelry that I think would be fun to wear to Muses (or, maybe make your own Barbie shoe earrings or bracelets?)

A brightly colored wig (maybe from Fifi Mahony's?) would certainly be eye-catching.

Of course, this article suggests that the ultimate accessory for viewing Muses is a sign...

Footwear:

If you want to wear sparkly heels while trying to catch glittery heels, they're relatively easy to track down right now due to the wild popularity of the sparkly shoe trend.

If you're a more practical gal but still want some sparkle on your feet, you could get some glittery sneakers or flats, either from standard commercial sources or on etsy. A few examples follow:
   Sequined converses
   Sequined dance lowtop sneakers (those are really cheap, so they may not be super substantial)

Etsy seller Princess Pumps has great sequin sneakers (and many neat riffs on the classic ruby slipper)

Or you could really get into the spirit and make your own

Maybe you even snagged some Muses shoelaces in 2013 to add to your pair?

Sucre Shoe (work in progress)

New Orleans natives have a tendency to place a lot of cultural emphasis on tradition, and we can sometimes take it to impressive extremes. Just consider the intense level of attachment New Orleanians express for things which do not actually exist any more. Consider exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C, exhibit D ..and I could go on. I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with this approach, and certainly count myself in that number, but seriously...New Orleanians publish and read books about restaurants that you cannot patronize without a time machine.

Considering our fondness for things that have been in NOLA forever, the degree to which Sucre has become iconic in a relatively short time is pretty remarkable. Everything at Sucre is ludicrously delicious, they make the prettiest King Cakes of all time and even if you don't have a sweet tooth the distinctive designs of their products, packaging and shops are treats in and of themselves. That being said, my favorite thing about Sucre is that it symbolizes, in my mind at least, New Orleanians' capacity to make room in our hearts to love new things too.

I was so pleased with the Muse-ified logo/packaging I did for the Hubig's shoe that I wanted to try it again with some other beloved (and recognizable) NOLA brands and cultural landmarks. I hunted for a while for glitter that reasonably represented the signature Sucre colors (a distinctive combination of intense seafoam green with accents of rich chocolate brown) and set to work on a pair of open toe pumps that had the right retro Hollywood feel. It's still got a ways to go, but here are a couple of shots of the Sucre shoe starting to take shape: