Miu Miu, Myself

A friend sent me this link to Honestly...WTF for instructions on how to recreate Miu Miu’s fabulous rhinestone-heeled shoes with the message “Oh yes you will!”  Melanie obviously knows my fondness for (1) shoes, (2) rhinestones, and (3) crafting.  Challenge accepted, Melanie!  Challenge accepted.

Step 1: find the shoes you want to sparklefy.  I couldn’t pick from among the shoes I already have, so I used it as an excuse to buy a new pair:

The Daffodil by Kelly & Katie is a sweet navy satin number with a four-inch heel, half-inch platform under its peep-toe, and pintucking on the toe and the sides.  I thought they were a good mix of simple but not boring.  I found them in (my favorite!) the clearance section of my local DSW—you can find them online too, for $40 instead of $90, though I think I may have paid a little less in-store ($24 or so?).  They also come in black, grey, and champagne, any of which could be really lovely.  I wasn’t sure whether to pick a satin or leather-type shoe—would the glue stick to a patent leather surface?  Would the glue just be absorbed into a satin shoe?  So I got a satin shoe and figured I’d try.

Step 2: gather supplies.  I ordered the E-6000 glue the website recommended from Amazon.  I selected a number of larger, varied rhinestone shapes from my rhinestone box (yes, I have a rhinestone box) and went to my local Michaels to pick up some 4.5 mm and 3 mm clear round rhinestones.  I ended up using about a pack and a half of each.

Step 3: Glue the larger rhinestones around the heel of the shoe, mixing the shapes.

Step 4: Fill in the gaps and down the heel with the 4.5 mm rhinestones.  Be sure you don’t place them too close; otherwise you won’t have room for the 3 mm stones.

Step 5: Fill in any leftover gaps with the 3 mm rhinestones.  Done!

They took me three hours from start to finish.  I will warn you that the glue has a strong smell, so if you have a nice day it might be a good idea to open a window or even do it outside... I was beginning to get a little woozy by hour two!  But I think it was worth it in the end—they look beautiful.  You could do black rhinestones, or multi-colored rhinestones... really, the possibilities are endless, and you could make a plain pair of shoes a really fabulous pair of party shoes.  (Oh, and as of right now, I haven’t lost any stones from my satin shoe, and I let them bounce around in my car for a day and I wore them to work yesterday as tests.  I really like that E-6000 glue!)

Don’t forget: Philly Shoe Fairy’s first birthday party this Sunday!  I hope you can come and celebrate with us! 

Also, ironically, today is Melanie's birthday!  Happy birthday, Melanie, and thank you for the challenge!