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When I saw the moodboard for this month’s issue I got SO excited (probably way more than any normal person would), because I knew that the theme, with all its glam-rock glittery goodness, would give me an excuse to do a DIY I’ve always wanted to try: glitter shoes!

They’re a lot easier to make than you’d expect. All you need is a pair of shoes, some glitter, and a jar of Mod Podge. This would be a great project for getting some use out of that one pair of shoes that you own that you love the style of, but hate the color or fabric they’re covered in (I think we all have at least one pair of these).





For this DIY you’re gonna need the following:

A pair of shoes (platforms and clunky boots would look extra cool with tons of glitter piled on them!). Glitter! And lots of it. Keep in mind that different types of glitter will give different effects. Fine glitter tends to cover more area and become opaque in fewer layers, whereas slightly chunky glitter (like the stuff I used) takes more layers and effort to get to an almost opaque glitteriness. Mod Podge (the glossy kind works best!). Two paint brushes you don’t mind mucking up (one large and one small). Masking tape.

What to do:





Step One:

The first thing you need to do is stick masking tape in all the places you don’t want glitter to go on. You might be tempted to skip this step (I was) but it’s really important that you do the whole taping process, otherwise you might get Mod Podge inside the shoe or on the heel, and this stuff can be impossible to remove once it’s dry. If you end up wanting glitter on the heels (for a Miu Miu-esque look) then you can skip taping that part—just make sure you stick tape around the inside of the shoe and on the soles!

Step Two:

Now that our shoes are all taped up we can begin the glittering process.





Pour some glitter and Mod Podge into a disposable container of some sort. I don’t have exact measurements for this step, but aim for about half and half. The mixture should have a slightly runny consistency, not clumpy or thick.

Steps Three Through Six or Seven or Eight or Twelve:





Take the glitter and glue mixture and spread it over the entire shoe in thin, even strokes. Be sure to let each layer dry thoroughly before adding the next, otherwise you might end up with misty/cloudy spots or clumpy parts .Wait about an hour (yeah, seriously—it’s worth it, I promise) between coats.





They’re not gonna look like anything special after the first coat, but they’ll look super rad later, I promise! Just continue adding layers of the glitter and glue mix.





I ended up needing about seven coats to get my shoes to a nice semi-opaque glitteriness. The number of layers you’ll need really depends on what type of glitter you’re using and how much area you’re trying to cover.





At this point you might notice that there are some parts where the original shoe color is still peeking through or spots that the glitter just won’t stick to. To fix those spots just take a small paintbrush and paint on some more glitter, concentrating on the areas that need a little more sparkle.





Ta-daaaah! Don’t they look gorgeous now? The hour-long wait between coats was TOTALLY WORTH IT. Didn’t I tell you?

Final Step:

Once you’ve gotten your shoes to your desired degree of glitteriness, just slap on yet another layer of Mod Podge (this time minus the glitter) to seal everything off all nice and tight.

And you’re done! Now get out there and dazzle everyone you know with your super-sparkly feet! ♦