How to paint your wedding flats on the cheap and nerdy

Right after we got engaged, my fabulous future sister-in-law/bridesmaid/soulmate (who we shall call Doc because she's totally a Ph.D. and I love her!) gifted me a pair of TARDIS-blue suede heels that she bought online and didn't fit her/couldn't return. They fit me perfectly, and I decided to wear them for the wedding.

Cue booking a completely outdoor venue. Cue me remembering that I've had two knee surgeries in the last four years, and I'm technically not supposed to wear heels. Cue me realizing that what I really needed was two pairs of shoes: my heels for the ceremony and flats for the reception.

I really wanted to keep in the nerdy vibe that I had going, so I began searching for Doctor Who or Star Wars shoes that were cute and not more than $50. Yeah, I know… I'm dreaming.

So instead I bought a pair of shoes from Payless (on sale for $17.99 with a coupon) and decided to paint them. Here's my step-by-step guide to painting my shoes…

The shoe without anything done to it. I included the price tag so you can see the SKU number and such.

Step 1: Sketch out what you want to have on your shoes. Mine is the TARDIS. I've also done R2D2 and Boba Fett. The simpler the design the easier it is to paint.

Step 2: Because mine was a solid block of color that needed to be painted, I painted the black lines in first.

Step 3: First coat of paint. Because these shoes are faux leather they are great canvases for acrylic paint. Sometimes it will take a couple of coats depending on the color.

Step 4: Apply more coats of paint. This was about three coats of paint and then three coats of glitter. I also re-painted the black lines to make sure they stayed bold.

Step 5: Add in any details (like the writing) into the design. I also made my TARDIS windows glow-in-the-dark.

Step 6: Wait for them to dry for 24-48 hours.

Step 7: Paint with Mod Podge — I like the outdoor version to seal in the paint and to make them water-resistant. I usually do two-to-three coats, letting it dry for about three hours between coats. I use a foam brush for this (found that it's way easier to use this than a normal paintbrush) and I pay extra attention to the toes and any place where you walk heavier (for me it's the inside of my arches where I put more pressure when I walk).

So, now I just have to figure out what to do with the back of the heel. I was thinking of painting “Together Or” on one foot, and “Not At All” on the other and then our date on the back. We'll see!

What do you think?