Madame Claude Meridian Strass

A while ago I got the beauties off ebay. I always admired this style on other ladies but was worried that my slightly wider foot wouldn't fit, but I took the risk. They are actually a half to full size bigger than my usual Louboutin size, so tiny bit longer than I need in order to fit widthwise, they are 38 1/2.
no flash:

with flash:

I bought these with the intention to strass them with Swarovski flat back crystals and Gem Tac glue. As they are not a full pump I thought it would be great starter pair as it hopefully shouldn't take so long and cost so much lol (Swarovski crystals don't come cheap).
I contemplated on ordering from couple of different UK online shops, but then decided that Dreamtime Creations will be the best as they have a great selection of colour and sizes and it's worth paying the extra bit on postage (I think it was 6.75 USD). I initially ordered 5 sizes of crystals: 5ss (10 gross), 9ss (10 gross), 12ss (2 gross), 16ss (2 gross) and 20ss (1 gross). When I got through about 2/3 of the first shoes, I ran out of 12ss, so ordered another 4 gross, hoping this will last the project. I think I will need to order more 5ss and maybe 9ss soon.
This is when I started:

Progress:

With all my other activities I only get a few evenings a week to get on with this project and this definitely is a time consuming project with lot of patience required! So far I have one shoe nearly finished, will update as soon as I manage to get more photos done!

Christian Louboutin Very Prive DIY

I would like to share little DIY that I did a while ago. I found these Christian Louboutin Very Prive Africa shoes on ebay for a steal and while I absolutely love the style, I wasn't all that keen on the colours / pattern. Plus they were rpetty beat up and sad looking with scuffs on the heels and tips and the generally needed a bit of TLC.

 So I got some Tarrago Self Shine Dye Kit in colour Aubergine no. 54. and dyed them a nice purple berry colour. This dye is suitable for leather, artificial leather and canvas (these Loubies are canvas). 

This is after first coat:

Several coats later (it took about 3 - 5 coats depending on area):

In part 2 of this transformation I decided to add some glitter as my main problem were the scuffed heels and tips, which were not covered by the dye. So I ordered a few tiny pots of fine glitter online which was dead cheap and some Gem Tac glue which dries to a waterproof / transparent finish.

Then I started to apply the glitter to the shoes:

And this is the result. It did take some time for the excess glitter to stop falling off, probably about 2 - 3 wears.



They may need re-soling soon as I wear them quite a bit, but the glitter has lasted with no problem maybe 8 months, I would say maybe 20 wears at least. :)

Do you have a similar DIY experience? I want to know all about it!