TOMS Shoe Makeover

Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Many, many months ago my mother-in-law bought me some Toms.  I was so excited and I wore them a whole lot.  I wore them enough to get a hole in the front of them.


So I gathered some supplies to fix the problem.  I happened to have some coordinating fabric in my scrap bin.  I pulled out Aleene's Fabric Fusion Peel and Stick Sheets, which were PERFECT for this project.


Here's what they look like now.....


Here's how it went down.  I love dry adhesives because there is NO mess.  There's no wet glue seeping through the fabric.  It's simple and clean.  There are several sheets in the pack.  They come with the adhesive sandwiched between two pieces of white paper. 


I peeled one side off and applied it to the shoe, lining it up with the long seam across the top of the shoe.


Then I smoothed it over the front middle and then along the sides.  Naturally, you'll need to pleat it where the pleats are in the shoes.  Then just trim the paper to match the shoe.


The sheet didn't cover the entire front, to I added a few more pieces until the whole front area was covered.


Once you've got the paper everywhere you can smooth it over the shoe to get the adhesive to adhere and the just peel off the paper.  Now it looks like this.


Then applied the fabric the exact same way.  You could apply a little fray check around the bottom, but if you got the adhesive all the way to the bottom I don't think you'll have to worry much about fraying.  It's stuck on quite well.


I added a little extra adhesive inside the pleats to get them to stay flat.


I smoothed the fabric over to get it really stuck on there - especially at the bottom.  I didn't like the raw edge of the fabric across the top of the shoe so I decided to add a little bit of lace.  I used the dry adhesive again, cutting it into thin lines and then I laid the lace over it.  


And BAM.  They're done.  No waiting until they are dry because they already are!


And it's kind of fun to have a pair that's totally unique.



Aleene's glue gun featured on Portlandia episode!

Monday, January 2, 2012
 Forgive me for just discovering this hilarious series on IFC. It's called Portlandia and is about the eccentric characters of Portland, Oregon. The new season begins this Friday, but you can see a bunch of clips on You Tube from season one. I laughed through all of them! I found this one where Aleene's glue gun is featured!


LINK

Here's another cute, crafty kind of clip called Put a Bird on It:

LINK


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iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Crafts: Pulp Fiction Thank You Cards

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iLoveToCreate Retrofabulous Crafts: Pulp Fiction Thank You Cards
Copyright Margot Potter
"These are your grandmother's crafts, ya gotta problem with that?"


The glitter has faded, the confetti swept away and it's time to start a new year filled with possibility. It's also time to take a moment and thank your friends and family for the lovely gifts they sent. What better way to say, "Thank you" than these Retrofabulous Pulp Fiction cards? The covers are scanned from my collection of ephemera, you can easily find similar books on eBay. I dragged them into Photoshop, color matched the fonts and added some new words to the mix, sized and printed and layered them with coordinating scrapbook papers and cardstock. Tulip Glam-it-up metallic crystals on the corners were the perfect touch of dimension. My first attempt to frame them with glitter was not so fab, so I started over. I've added coordinating sentiments inside. Aleene's AWESOME new glue dot tape runner made quick work of putting it all together.

Materials
Vintage patterned scrapbook papers (I used my fav Carolyn Gavin papers from K&Company)
Coordinating card stock
Tulip metallic Glam-it-up crystals
Aleene's Tacky Glue Dot tape runner
Aleene's Acid Free Tacky Glue

Tools
Paper cutter
Bone folder
Ruler
Scissors
Chain nose pliers or tweezers




1. Use photo editing software to add sentiments.

2. Use Word or similar software to create sentiments for inside of cards.

3. Print. I printed my images at 536x774dpi 150 resolution. It's easy to drag these into publishing software and put them side by side for printing.

4. Cut out images. You are stacking them on a solid cardstock and a patterned paper, each one gets slightly larger. I eyeballed using a paper cutter, you can measure them at 1/4" increasing margins, mark and cut.

5. Fold your card stock, crease with bone folder and cut off 1" from bottom.

6. Layer images starting with patterned paper which is straight, solid card stock on an angle and image straight. Use Aleene's Tacky Glue Dot Runner Tape to attach to card.

7. Cut out a sentiment, add a slightly larger coordinating cardstock paper frame, layer and attach to inside of card on an angle using tape runner.

8. Squeeze out a small amount of Tacky Glue. Use tweezers to careful pick up crystal, dip back in glue (don't over do it here) and attach to corners of image on card. Press gently with finger tips.