Have you ever walked into a shoe store and seen a great pair of shoes and they are reduced to $10 so you have to have them.  You get home and put them on to find standing still in them is all you are capable of doing. That is what happened with these shoes, they were too high and I could not walk a step in them. I hated the idea of them going to waste so I gave them a makeover into a Stiletto ring holder. I am sure most of us ladies would love one of these Stiletto Ring Holders sitting on our dressers.

If you are one of those lucky ladies that are capable of walking in high heels this project can help you make those boring heels fabulous.  After I showed this stiletto ring holder to my friends a few said they would rather wear them if they had the option. So you have two options for this project, wear them or display them. Me, I am happier in my trainers and flip flops.

How to make a Stiletto Ring Holder

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Find some high shoes

To make this stiletto ring holder you will need a pair of high heel shoes.  I went for a mixed media makeover for this project because I have all the bits and bobs I needed at home.  Most of the elements I used in this project were items I found around the house and my workshop.

Paint your shoes

As pretty as the glitter was on these shoes I wanted a sort of steampunk theme to go with the steampunk theme I am doing in my spare room.  I recently gave an old mirror a steampunk makeover and I wanted these to match. I started by painting the shoes with black Gesso, you can also use acrylic paint.

Adding texture to the Ring holder

If you are unfamiliar with mixed media, it is when you use a variety of art techniques in one project. The technique is about adding layers, textures and embellishments to your project. To add some texture I used some stencils and texture paste.

Place the stencil over the area and spread some texture paste over the stencil.  This step does not need to be perfect any flaws will be covered or highlighted at the end.

Remove the stencil straight away.  It is a good idea to also wash the stencil straight away because the texture paste will get hard and ruin the stencil. You can push the pointy peaks of the texture paste flat using your finger if you want.

I used a few different stencils for more detail. The red and white netting you can see in the image below are packaging from onions and fruit I bought from the store. The white bubbly strip on the right shoe is an offcut of a non-slip mat.  You can use just about anything that has an interesting texture for this step.

Add Embellishments

This is the step where you can be creative.  If you are a crafty person I am sure you will have most of the items that I used in this project. Thrift stores are a great place to go to find cheap jewellery and buttons for this project.  To glue the heavier items I used a hot glue gun with black glue sticks.  The black is easier to hide than the clear, which always has that purple tinge to it. The smaller items were glued using turbo tacky glue.

Here is a close up of the items I used, it does look like a hot mess at the moment but don’t be discouraged.

• Zippers were pulled out of old clothes
• Nuts from my workshop
• Studs from an old dog collar
• Steampunk gear charms
• Charms

• Decorative studs
• Thumbtacks
• Decorative buttons
• Shells
• Wooden embellishments

Close up view of the shoes before painting

I know what you are thinking, “THIS LOOKS RUBBISH” and I agree, but don’t give up.  Once the whole shoe has been covered with the embellishments it is time to paint the whole lot black again. It might seem like a waste of paint to paint it black before you started and again now.  I do this because it can be difficult to get into all the nooks and crannies below the charms.

Adding the coloured wax paste

This is where the magic happens.  The coloured wax paste will be used to highlight the raised surfaces. I have bought a few colours but found that I can make my own to give me more variety.

To add the wax you only need to touch the wax with the tip of your finger and rub it over the raised edges.

Don’t fill in all the areas of the black, you still want to see a small amount of black to show through. I used 4 colours for this project, just repeat the same process as the first colour. You can add a touch of each colour to all the elements.

When you are finished adding all the colours. Take a small paintbrush and swirl it over all the colours so they blend into each other. To give the shoes some extra sparkle I used 2 colours of mica powder, burnt copper and purple.

Put a few spots around the shoes and blend with a soft brush.

Using the mica powder will give your shoes this effect below when you go outside in the sunshine.

If you just want decorated shoes, you will need to seal the shoes using mod podge to protect them. I also went back and painted the bottom of the shoes black. If you want the stiletto ring holder, proceed to the next step.

Making the ring holders

To make the ring holders I used an offcut of foam I had leftover from another project.  The foam will be covered on any fabric you like, I chose black velvet.

Cut the foam to the shape of the inside of the shoes.

Using a craft knife cut a slot in the foam to hold the rings in place.

Add some hot glue into the slot and push the fabric down into the groove.  This will stop the fabric from coming out when you remove the rings.

Add some hot glue to the inside of the shoe and replace the velvet-covered foam.

And that is my Stiletto Ring Holder complete.

If you are able to walk around in shoes this high, these would look awesome for that special occasion.

If you are looking for more mixed media project ideas, check out these projects. An empty wine bottle recycled into a lamp.

If you are into the Boho style this unique cow skull will be just up your street.

For more mixed media project idea HERE

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