All That Glitters - UPDATED FOR 2014

We're still in the process of packing up to move next week, so I haven't been glittering any shoes lately (and yes, this is hazardous for my mental health). I'm so glad there's only a week or two left standing between me and more sweet, sweet glittering. I have been stocking up on supplies and organizing my stash, so that's keeping me borderline sane.

One of the very first posts I did here was my summary of glitter options available to the casual shoe-glitterer: All That Glitters. A smidge over a year later I have learned a lot, and so I really wanted to do an update of that post. Since I've been reorganizing my stash and don't have any new shoes to post, now seems as good a time as any. Obviously, a lot of personal preference plays into glitter selection, but this is an overview of my relationship with various glitter options:

Some general observations:
- My rule of thumb is still to try and stay under $2/oz and to buy at least an ounce of any given color (though you can blend or mix)
- If you're getting supplies from Michael's, make sure you use coupons. Because I'm terrible at hanging on to actual hard copies of coupons, I go in with a coupon on my smart phone. I get my Michael's coupons online at (http://weeklyad.michaels.com/) or in my email. I'm signed up for the mailing list so I get a heads up on coupons/sales (like last weekend there was a 20% off entire purchase including sale items; this was a great time to pick over the sale Spring/Easter stuff for butterflies and flower and also a good time to stock up on bottles of 3D puff paint for glettering, which almost never go on sale but are pretty much a waste of a 40% coupon). If you're into that, by all means sign up. The most common coupon is a 40% off, so I've included that in my pricing chart (see below). Whenever we're in the neighborhood, I pop in to use a coupon...shopping year round rather than buying all my glitter in one trip means I rarely buy glitter from Michael's at full price: slow and steady wins the race.
- I haven't been to Joann's in forever, but I think if you sign up for their mailing list you get coupons in the mail (this used to be the case, maybe they've gone digital?).

(1) Martha Stewart Glitter - As I've pointed out before, this is the fanciest pants of the glitters and is nice and fine. You can buy it in big multipack (a selection of 0.37 oz tubes) are bigger bottles (see chart). You do usually have to pool or mix the 0.37 oz tubes, it's not quite enough to cover a whole shoe. The multipacks aren't a bad use of a coupon. Some of the iridescent Martha Stewart glitters are somewhat sheer. If you're working with a sheer iridescent glitter (especially pink, yellow, white or orange) you'll probably want to prime your shoe in a similar color of spray paint before glittering, mix some similarly colored opaque paint into your glue, consider some extra coats of glitter, layer these colors over a base coat of more opaque glitter (like so), or some combination of those options. The multipacks are a pretty good price on Amazon compared to Michael's, but the 1.5 oz bottles are way more expensive on Amazon. At my local Michael's, the 1.5 oz bottles are $4.99 or $5.99, depending on the color, so I wouldn't ever buy a bottle of MS glitter without using a coupon.

(2) Recollections - Still one of my favorite options: not too expensive if you use a coupon (especially on one of the larger 5 oz containers) and a nice range of colors that includes a shade of purple that's called "Muse" (love it). It's available at Michael's (I think Recollections might be Michael's store brand?) and comes in rectangular tubes. Product info here. The 1.5 oz tubes are $3.99 at my local Michael's, the 5 oz tubes are $8.99. You get more bang for your coupon buying the larger size, but it's only available in a few colors. I have noticed that the hues aren't totally consistent, so sometimes a particular color looks a little darker/brighter than you remember that color being (I've definitely seen this for "Marine" and "Muse").

(3) Jefferson Variety Crystallina Glitter - I blogged a little about Jefferson Variety in this post. If you've never been and you're into crafts/sparkle/glitter, you should really really go - it's magical. I don't get to go often as I don't live in NOLA, but it's one of my favorite glitter sources. It's utterly unlike anything else I've ever bought, and a really good price ($4.98 for 4 ounces). I have many little cups of it in my stash now. You do want to go wait in the line to have fabric cut even if you're only buying glitter and don't need anything measured, I think that's just their system and will probably result in the least annoyance for all parties concerned. It's become my "tradition" that I get lunch at Crabby Jack's after a pilgrimage to Jefferson Variety...that's not an essential component of the glitter purchasing process, but I nonetheless recommend it.

(4) ArtMinds Extra Fine Glitter - I also get this at Michael's. It comes in neat little 2 oz stackable containers, and is comparable price-wise with Recollection. Product info here. It doesn't come in a ton of colors, but the colors are nice and vivid and there's a shade of green in this line that has a little gold blended into it that I'm in love with. Also (and this isn't in my table, shame on me) my Michael's sells a double stack package of the silver and gold together, so that's a great potential use of a 40% off coupon, especially because those are two incredibly useful colors to glitter with.

(5) Tulip Glitter - I used to use more Tulip because I liked how bright the colors were, but I've realized Tulip's a little pricier because it's machine washable. Since that's not a feature you need in a Muse shoe, I don't think it's worth the increase in price for shoe glittering purposes. Recollections or ArtMinds would be a perfectly reasonable substitute brightness-wise and are cheaper, particularly with a coupon.

(6) Oriental Trading - I blogged about OT glitter in this post, but to summarize Oriental Trading sells packs of 2.5 oz bottles of fine glitter in 4 or 5 bottle sets (including the Fall Glitter assortment, the Springtime Glitter assortment, the Halloween Glitter assortment, and the Bright Glitter assortment). It's about $0.85/ounce (the cheapest option I've ever found), but that's not including shipping costs AND assumes you'll use all the colors in the set. I can tell you from experience that the orange in the Fall and Halloween assortments isn't really very sparkly and since it's not a color I need all that often (perhaps you're more creative than I am with orange), and I haven't been able to use very much of it. I also want to point out that the black in the Halloween assortment isn't as sparkly as the one you'd get from Recollections or ArtMinds, but is fine for a first coat. The green, purple and red glitters are all awesome. Regarding OT glitter, a reader (Melissa Lee) kindly left a comment that reminded me to include a recommendation that y'all sign up for the Oriental Trading mailing list to get announcements of when they have free shipping deals going on (which, in my experience, is pretty often). They also have other craft supplies that I bet would be great for shoe embellishment, though I've only ever bought their glitter.

Here's my new and improved detailed price chart of glitter options. I did the research so you don't have to! The updated version includes a heat map comparing price per ounce (red = more expensive per ounce, green = cheaper by the ounce):

Happy glittering to all, and to all a good night!

New Orleans: Proud to kale it home 2015 Muses Shoe

I know I just got finished saying I wouldn't be glittering until after my April move, but it turns out I'm a big liar (whoops).

I really was all packed up, but then Kale-Gate happened (see also here, here and a ton of other places...just google "new york times new orleans kale"). I knew a glittery, ruffly, leafy kale shoe needed to be my first shoe for the 2015 season, and once I mapped it out in my head I wanted to make it ASAP.

I started by mixing three glitters (approx. equal parts of forest green Jefferson Variety glitter, kelly green from Oriental Trading and Martha Stewart iridescent onyx which has a slight green tint) and glittering a nice little pump in my stash:

Glittered, but not embellished yet

The shoe is entirely covered in my custom "kale green" glitter mix, except the sole which is OT kelly green to match the ruffle.

I bought a roll of green glittery tulle from Michael's and make a nice leafy looking ruffle by folding it in half and running a needle and thread through the middle of the halved tulle to gather it. Tulle ruffles are super easy to make by hand and there was a ton of tulle on the roll. If it's still on sale when I next hit up Michael's (it's in the bridal section of my Michael's in Memphis), I will definitely get some more colors.

Turning a roll of tulle into my kale ruffle

When my ruffle was about the right length, I hot-glued it around the exterior edge of the shoe to kale it up. When I reached the end I adjusted the length and tied off the black thread so it would fit perfectly.

Shoe and ruffle ready to be joined

Lastly, I printed and re-sized the old "New Orleans Proud to call it home" bumper sticker so I could match the font and traced, changing "call' to "kale." I used lighter colors than the original (silver instead of black, lighter purple instead of dark purple) so the contrast would be a little better on the dark green base of the shoe.

"New Orleans" on one side

"Proud to kale it home" on the other side of the shoe.

Here are some pictures of the finished shoe:

Some pictures with flash to show the sparkle a little better:

Of course the drawback to working year round and starting this early on shoes is that the joke won't be as fresh in anyone's mind a year from now...but I have faith that New Orleaneans are have long memories and that Kale-Gate will survive.

2014 Shoes - Lessons Learned

My sister's shoes bagged and ready to pack up for her 2014 ride.

My 2014 batch represented my third year of working on Muses Shoes (and of course, the first year I started actually keeping notes in blog/Pinterest form). It was certainly my most prolific year, both because I worked on them year round and because it's great stress relief and, for a whole  host of reasons, this past year was one where I needed a lot of that (though this year's going great so far). For Muses 2013, I only did 10 shoes. For 2012 I worked on a bunch, but didn't really do that many on my own (we sort of tag-teamed for 2012).

I can't really compare anything to that first year learning curve (which was INTENSE), but I think this was probably the year where I learned the most: I got to pick up some amazing tips from other ladies who work on Muses Shoes, I had a life-changing visit to The Glitter-age, and I got insights from my sister riding as a sub that had just never clicked for me before. In no particularly order, these were some of my takeaways from this year's shoes:

(1) I had never actually bagged and packed shoes before this year. I'd been keeping them in big ziplocs, and transporting them to NOLA in small batches. Once you start to pack them, you really quickly see what's fragile and what's fine to just shove into the bottom bag...and you want a lot more of the latter than the former. Fans of feathers, peacock feathers and single plumes are tougher to pack than shoes decorated with puffs of boa or marabou. A few delicate shoes are ok, but by and large tough shoes that can handle the ride are preferable.

(2) The importance of what I'm going to call generic-ness (or maybe versatility would be kinder?) I helped my sister load in and got her feedback post-ride. When you're riding, no matter how well you've organized your stuff, space is limited and it's tough to lay hands on a particular throw/shoe at any given moment, and when someone you know turns up on the route, you're going to grab whatever you can. If you see someone on the route dressed as Mike the Tiger, you may not be able to get your hands on an LSU shoe fast enough. If you have a friend who loves nothing better than Australian romance novels, you just may not be able to get that unique, custom shoe you elaborately built around that theme into their hand at the right moment. Some spots on the route it's a few people deep and you can get special shoes to your close friends with a little luck, and in some spots the crowds are much much crazier and it's more hit or miss. I hear a lot of horror stories on the web of people throwing their best shoes to their loved ones and seeing them stolen away. So, for 2015 I'm going to try to balance a bit better and keep universal appeal a priority in all my shoes.

(3) On that note, I have no idea what other riders do, but my sister threw only TWO of her shoes to people she knew (a family member, and neighbor who's like family) and every other shoe she threw to A STRANGER who (1) asked nicely, (2) was polite/well-behaved, and/or (3) had a sign she enjoyed. There's a lesson in there. I also recently read an article where a shoe-glittering Muse pointed out that her friends all had shoes already, so her 2014 shoes were all going to strangers. No one is entitled to a shoe (it drives me NUTS when I see that attitude on the Muses FB page) and there are not a ton of them to be had any given year (at most 30 per rider, and that's if every rider throws them), but it's not impossible to catch a shoe. The rarity of catching one is what makes it magical. Pray to the Goddesses of Carnival, ask the ladies riding very nicely, and if it just wasn't your year, there's always another. A parade is a heck of a free show, anything you catch on top of that is Lagniappe.

(4) It's funny which shoes are the biggest "crowd pleasers," they may not be the ones you put in the most hours on. My most repinned shoes of 2014 were (1) The Vintage Mardi Gras Shoe (2) The Snobliz Shoe and (3) The Roman Candy Wagon Shoe. If you're curious, my personal favs were the Retro Tattoo Shoe (which was one of the more time intensive), the Artichoke Shoe and the Ain't Dere No More Shoe.

(5) I had a ton of people tell me the shoes are prettier in person than in the photos...I don't know how to solve this. Shoe viewing party? Get-togethers with other shoe glitterers?

(6) Aqua Net hairspray to seal the shoes...what a revelation this was!!

(7) Always keep an eye out for supplies and ideas. They are everywhere. The stuff I save in my craft stash now has gotten embarrassing.

(8) Year round is the way to go (at least for me). I will get so much more done and be so much more relaxed if I take it on in manageable little chunks.

(9) Note to self: finish a shoe 100% before packing it up...I had a bunch of 95% finished shoes to finish up in  February, and it was kind of a hassle/boring to do them all in one go. I'm going to let myself leave a few unfinished, but mostly I need to see each and every shoe through. The other side of that coin is, I didn't have totally finished pics of a lot of my shoes, so I also need to be patient about waiting to photograph and posting a 100% finished shoe, rather than a 90-95% finished shoe. That doesn't seem to be a problem for other shoe glitterers (especially the ones who post their whole year's collection in one go), so this may just be a personal failing.

(10) Looking around the 'net, Pinterest, Facebook and shamelessly oogling shoes in the wild as people caught or threw them... it is clear to me that everyone seriously up'ed their shoe game this year. There were some unbelievable shoes out there this year (check out my board of Other People's Muses Shoes, you'll see what I mean). If I'm going to keep up, I'll need to bring my A game. I PLEDGE TO STEP IT UP FOR 2015.

Now, I know anyone who comes here probably comes for the pictures, not my meandering notes-to-self. We're going to be moving mid-April, so my supplies will be packed up until then, but I will resume posting shortly thereafter.

La Boulangerie

In the French style, La Boulangerie puts porcelain "feves" in their King Cakes and Galettes des Rois rather than plastic babies. If you aren't swamped with prep for tonight, today La Boulangerie has tiny little porcelain shoes in their King Cakes for Muses Thursday. We were able to score some after dropping my sister off to begin her big day of Muse-ness.

Here are mine (I'm totally going to recreate the polka-dot one for 2015):

ONLY A FEW MORE HOURS! I CANNOT WAIT!!

I hope everyone has an amazing time tonight, whether you're riding or watching.

It's beginning to look a lot like Carnival...

My supplies are currently all packed up, but this weekend I did buy some gold glitter sneakers to wear to Muses 2014 that I may doctor up with some rhinestones and maybe some cool shoelaces. Getting excited!!

Tabasco Shoe

We had some leftover teeny tiny Tabasco sauce bottles from the bags we assembled for our out of town guest when we got married, and I thought that would be a cute shoe theme. I didn't want to leave the bottle full of actual sauce (which would in theory spoil one day), so I emptied the Tabasco bottle (into some beans, natch) and cleaned it out thoroughly with soapy water and a Q-tip. Once it was dry, I filled the bottle with red glitter and glued the cap back on.

I wasn't 100% sure if I'd like the holes in this shoe but now I LOVE THEM. When the shoe has cut-outs like this you have to be a little  more careful when you're painting the glue onto the shoe, but it wasn't too bad.

The interior is ArtMinds stackable (green with a tiny bit of gold mixed in), the heel and edges are ArtMinds silver. The main body and sole of the shoe are two shades of red, Recollections "cherry" and the slightly darker red from Oriental Trading (the pictures don't really show that there's a different in hue in different sections of the shoe). I had just enough red sequin trim left for the lower edge of the shoe and I lined the upper edge and peep-toe edge with individual silver sequins (placed with tweezers). I hot glued the red feather plume in the back (which may have to be replaced with something less fragile, I'm worried it's going to get crushed) and attached the glitter filled mini bottle on the front with E6000.

Scarlett O'Hara Green Curtain Dress Shoe

You know that scene in Gone with the Wind when Scarlett pulls down the portieres because she's going to Atlanta to see Rhett for the money to save Tara, and has to go "looking like a queen?" The resulting Green Curtain Dress was the inspiration for this shoe, because who doesn't just love that dress?

I was going through scraps in my mom's sewing room to see if there were any bits and bobs that might look good on a Muses shoe and noticed she had a few bits of upholstery trim, and I went from there.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a good forest green in the stash (all my greens are a little too bright/not dark enough), but I found the perfect color and The Glitterage so I went for it. The interior of the shoe and heel are Martha Stewart, the sole and lettering are Recollections champagne. The trimming was all leftover bits from my mom's stash with some brass and amber-colored rhinestone adornments to finish it off. I had some fringe, but couldn't really find a good spot on the shoe for it. I still have some upholstery trim so if I can find a good green glitter, I may do another take on this. I also have some trim that would be great on a Scarlett O'Hara garnet dress shoe.