Monday 20 August 2012

DIY: coloured sole shoes...

Recently, I've developed a massive addiction to Pinterest! Following in the footsteps of some of my favourite pinners, I created a 'crafts to try' board and found a few crafty things I'd like to try, and on Saturday I attempted my first project: coloured sole shoes. I've always admired Louboutins from afar, but they are waaay out of my price range so this was the perfect way to get myself some of the action...


Here is what you'll need to complete the project! In the original pin, black shoes are used but as I couldn't find any and I thought that these could do with a brighten up anyway, I chose these mink coloured shoes - never worn as you can probably tell by the stickers! You will need white nail polish, as well as nail polish in the colour you want to paint your soles. Two paintbrushes are useful to paint on the polish, as nail polish brushes are too little! If you have already worn your shoes, it would be useful to clean the bottoms in rubbing alcohol before painting them.


Here are the soles of my shoes to begin with.


Pop some of the white nail polish on a paint palette or something else; here I have used an old Lush pot! There's only a little here but I found I needed to use most of the bottle of polish to cover my shoes.


Begin by painting your soles white; it will probably take a couple of coats to get them completely opaque. In the original tutorial the girl manages to get them completely white but I couldn't! I think perhaps because of the writing and ridges on the soles, so it may be better to use completely smooth soles.


Here are my shoes after a couple of coats of white nail polish! I used an Elf polish, in 'white' funnily enough.


Again, pour some of your coloured nail polish onto a palette or surface and start painting your souls. Again, this took pretty much the whole bottle of polish!


You will definitely need a few coats of polish for this step, especially if you want your soles really bright.


Here are my finished shoes! They look very shiny here, and mostly opaque so hopefully they will hold up well when I wear them. I will be sure to take an outfit photo with these shoes, and keep you up to date on how they fare! I was quite surprised no top coat or similar was used on top of the polish, so it will definitely be interesting to see how they hold up.

Have you tried this DIY, or are you going to? If you have, show me! I'd love to see.

Saturday 18 August 2012

house of fraser blogger style challenge...

When I got an email telling me about the House of Fraser blogger style challenge, in which a very generous £200 gift card is up for grabs, I was beyond excited! I love these kind of competitions as not only do you get to have a good old gander at some gorgeous clothes, but you can also really express your personal style. Without further ado, here is my entry...

hof

Red, black and gold is a colour palette I love; it definitely brightens up those dull Autumn days! I'm usually all about the fifties but I've gone for a sixties-ish look here, fitting in with the Mod style comeback of next season. The dress is so versatile as it can be dressed up or down, and looks gorgeous with gold accessories such as the lion belt, simple stud earrings and full on the MOST AMAZING boots I have ever seen... seriously Santa come early please?! (Cannot believe I just said that in August...) I've always been a massive fan of Biba, and was thrilled to see their collection at House of Fraser so I couldn't not feature them here! A faux fur coat is an essential for me in Winter, but will also be great on chillier Autumn days. I adore the clutch bag as well; it's big enough for all the essentials but looks absolutely stunning with the gold hardware. The tights are another essential, especially in the British blustery weather, and the nail polish is sure to finish the look off perfectly.

What do you think of this look? Have you taken part in the House of Fraser blogger challenge?
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