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When I was a kid I wanted gold shoes. When I heard about Cinderella’s glass slippers I thought they were stupid. They could cut you, you couldn’t see them and glass isn’t worth much. Gold slippers by comparison are safer, visibly beautiful and even as I child I understood the value of something that can hocked.
Fortunately for my sister, she will be receiving these shoes quick smart. It’s not because they aren’t cool because they are. It’s also not because they are considerably too wide for my narrow feet because I could deal with it. These shoes will be going to my sister simply because I magically turn into the biggest tool on earth when I put them on.
This is through no fault of the shoes at all. It is because I can’t seem to help myself and constantly say “24K, baby” in a creepy voice whenever I look at them. Even when I manage to not allow myself to say it, I think it and that is almost worse. My subconscious is constantly being reminded of what a dork I am and I can’t be having that!
When I’m not thinking of the annoying catch phrase my mind has created for these gilded beauties, I’m singing about hos . After all, 24K is on the go. And for those of you who have never seen Dangerous Minds, shame on you. It may very well be Ms. Pfeiffer’s opus and is well worth 99 minutes. :)
But back to the task at hand, if you think that you can handle the glitz that accompanies these fabulous sneaks, I’d highly encourage you to kick out a pair for yourself. Or you know what? Christmas is right around a corner make some for original Christmas gifts!
For this tutorial you will need:
- Canvas sneakers (mine are men’s which is causing the width problem for me)
- Cheap gold acrylic paint
- Gold liquid gilding (I used Martha Stewart brand)
- Disposable paint brush and gloves
- Mod Podge (as sealer)
First up paint a base coat of cheapie acrylic gold on the shoe’s canvas. Allow to fully dry.
While I am typing this it is 73 outside but it may be chilly where you are. You MUST use this stuff in an open area or well ventilated even if it is cold because this stuff means business and has crazy awful fumes.
So if you’re being safe, now paint your shoes with a moderate coat of liquid gilding. This stuff is considerably thinner and runnier than regular paint so take care that it doesn’t drip down onto your rubber soles.
You may find, as I did, that you’ll need to make a second pass. I started out nervously looking at my little jar worrying that it wouldn’t cover both shoes. I used 2 full coats on both shoes and I still have just under half a bottle left. Yeah!
Now when I painted on my base coat night before I thought those gold kicks were pretty dang awesome. But look at the crazy difference you get with the liquid gilding. Also see where I found out how much thinner the gilding was? It pooled on the black striping of my soles and I couldn’t get the stuff off for anything.
Finish with a thin coat of Mod Podge to protect from tarnishing. Allow to dry and that is that! See you soon to get the Christmas craze back on!
