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.

Cleveland Browns Shoe

I realize this isn't going to be anyone from NOLA's favorite of my 2014 shoes. This one is for my sister to throw to a friend of hers who is (and this may be obvious) a fan of the Cleveland Browns.

The brown is Martha Stewart "brownstone" and the orange is Recollections "copper." The sole is Recollections gold. The football is a discounted Christmas ornament flipped over (same treatment as this Saints shoe). The shiny tinsel wreath wrapped around the little football is some autumn trim that I bought on sale and picked the leaves out of. The edges are lined with orange sequin trim from a $1 Michael's bargain bin roll.

Here's the shoe before all the transfers:

And here it is post-transfers:

The lettering is ArtMinds silver and Martha Stewart (I think it's called orange popsicle? Something like that).

2014 Steel Magnolias Shoe

Last year was the 25th anniversary of the Steel Magnolia's stage play, so I did the blush and bashful shoe. This year is the 25th anniversary of the film, so I made another pink shoe for one of my favorite fictional Louisiana belles, Shelby. Like the 2013 blush and bashful shoe, I went for a pink palette (something that looked "hosed down with pepto bismol") and accented with silver, because Jackson and Shelby would be celebrating their 25th anniversary, which is the silver wedding anniversary. I trimmed the shoe with some big iridescent pink sequins and white and silver wedding-style trim and a nice silver magnolia with a rhinestone center. The white and silver trim was leftover from a Southern bride's wedding second line umbrella, so it felt like a good fit for this theme.

This shoe obviously had to be primed with a few coats of white spray paint before glittering. The pink is actually the Recollections tinsel-style glitter, which I'd never worked with before. I like the texture of it a lot, I'm definitely going to use it again. The color is "blush," which is just too perfect. The silver is ArtMinds and there's a Martha Stewart pink on the sole, that doesn't really show in any of the pics. It's a little darker than the pink of the main shoe.

Steel Magnolia

After doing two of these, I've decided that I'd really like to do a Steel Magnolias shoe every year. I don't know what it is, but I have a serious soft spot for Steel Magnolias. Maybe next year I'll do a Miss Merry Christmas Shoe? A Truvy's Beauty Spot Shoe? Or another pink shoe for Shelby (Shelby would've loved Muses, it would've been her hands down favorite).

Hyacinth Shoe

Hyacinths are my favorite flower, possibly because they're nature's pH indicator. I had some blue-green hyacinths in my stash, and thought they'd look pretty on a summery little sandal.

I primed the shoe with white spray paint, so it could handle pale sheer glitters. The blue is a glitter I can't identify, as it was applied in The Glitterage. The lime green on the sole, heel and lettering is Martha Stewart. I lined the edge around the shoe with silver braid trim and glued some hyacinth blossoms with rhinestone centers on the front. To give it a little extra bling, I added a row of rhinestones down the back and some more dotted around the sandal straps.

Hot Pink, Orange and Yellow

Always fun to play around with neons!

The yellow is Jefferson Variety, the orange and hot pink are Tulip. I lined the edges with a bright yellow-ish gold, and for the trim across the front I twisted together some hot pink marabou that I had in the stash (from a flamingo costume that got dismembered) and some orange marabou that was on clearance after Halloween (I cut off a section and tweezed out the black tinsel).

"Muses" inside the shoe in yellow, "Nola" and "2014" in pink glitter on the exterior

Finished boot

I finished my first ever boot with "Muses" on one side, "2014" on the other and "Nola" along the back above the heel. I used my go-to letter transfer technique (write the lettering on a ziploc bag in 3D paint, cover in glitter, dry overnight, peel and glue onto the boot), but this time I got a little two-toned action in there (scarlet on the top, indigo on the bottom). I rarely have the surface area to do big lettering, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out two-toned lettering (I cannot take credit for the two-toned letters idea...I saw it on a shoe in The Glitterage).

Turquoise, Red and Silver Shoe

I made this shoe to use up the wee bit of Martha Stewart "Wintergreen" leftover from the Tiffany Box Shoe. Once I had the turquoise body of the shoe, went for a Southwestern turquoise, red and silver color scheme. 

I primed the shoe with pale green spray paint, then gave it 3 coats of "Wintergreen." I coated the heel and sole with Oriental Trading coral red. I trimmed the edges in the last bit of leftover red sequin trim from the ruby slipper and silver braid. I rolled some feathery red trim up to make the little puff of feathers on the back and added "Muses" and "2014" in red glittered letters on either side.

Muses Shoevolution Shoe

Happy 12th Night to All!! 

With a mere 52 days standing between us and the 2014 Krewe of Muses parade, at long last we've reached the time of year where everyone else starts getting just as obsessed as I am year round. It's Carnival Time, Baby!!

If you visit the Krewe of Muses Facebook page regularly, you'll recognize this Shoevolution design from this awesome cover picture. 

I primed the shoe with white spray paint so the neon glitters would show. The yellow is Martha Stewart "lemon drop," the pink is Tree House Studio (color "pink ice"). The black on the interior, sole and lettering is Recollections.

Cinderella Muses Shoe

Continuing to do Muses Shoes inspired by famous shoes (see exhibit A - Ruby Slipper), this is my take on the Cinderella Slipper. It's a hybrid of a Muse-ified Louboutin Cinderella Slipper (complete with the red sole) and elements of the classic powder blue Cinderella get-up. My research and reference images are collected on this Pinterest board. The butterflies and red sole are an homage to the Louboutin Cinderella slippers, but the overall color scheme is more classic animated Disney Cinderella.

This one actually took more work than you might guess from looking at photos: first I primed the shoe with white spray paint, followed that with 2 coats of Recollections "frost" and touch-ups, then coated the whole thing (besides the sole) with a mix of powder blue and iridescent white glitter from Jefferson Variety. All that layering takes time, but the final effect is a really rich, shimmery iridescence.

I did the red sole in Recollections "cherry," finished the edges with gold sequin trim and glued some iridescent blue and gold butterflies around the edge. "Muses" and "2014" were added in Recollections gold, and then I added swirls of translucent iridescent blue-ish-pink sequins (those are really tough to see in the photos). 

With flash

Perched butterflies!

Soft Green and Gold Strappy Wedge

My sister picked out this base shoe at The Glitterage and asked me to glitter it soft green (evidently her favorite Muses Shoe glitter color). So never let it be said that I do not honor requests.

The soft green in question is a sort of iridescent pastel lime from Jefferson Variety, the wedge and sole are gold (that she left up to me), and it's ArtMinds stackable. I lined the edge between shoe and wedge with gold sequins. There's a zipper up the back of the shoe that was just too much fun not to play with, so I highlighted it with gold glitter. "MUSES" on one side of the wedge, "2014" on the other, following the wedge's awesome shape.

Gold zipper up the back