Glitter Bow Tie Flats: a tutorial

I saw these shoes (below) on Pinterest over a year ago. Like so many other Pinterest finds I had trouble finding the original source of the shoes. I never "pinned" them, but for some reason the idea kept coming back to me. I loved the simple idea to dress up some flats with a little bow tie. Then I saw this post from Ashely at Lil Blue Boo where she turns her daughter's plain TOMS into pink glitter shoes, and the idea came full circle. I love the glamour of the champagne gold glitter and it's just an added bonus that goes with almost everything. 

With school fast approaching, I've really made an effort to purchase some more teacher-appropriate clothes (I'll be in an elementary school two days a week). I love the skinny pants + ballet flats look. I can really see pairing these flats with any of the number of skinny pants I've purchased lately. 

via

Materials

 Fine Glitter

Mod Podge

Paint Brush

Scrap Fabric (mine is polyester lining)

...

This would be a great project to upcycle some old worn shoes, but I bought these at Ross on sale for $15.

Because my flats were made of a shiny, slick leather-like material, I was afraid my paint would peel right off. I decided to sand the shoes down with some 60 grit sandpaper to give the paint a little more grip. 

Post-sanding:

Per Ashley's instructions I  mixed about 3 parts glue to 1 part glitter (I skipped the water that she used in her mixture).

It's important to use a fine glitter to get the best look. I love Martha Stewart glitter for this reason. 

Paint the shoes all over, and let dry. Paint one to two more coats and let dry.

While you're waiting for your shoes to dry, you can start working on the bows!  Cut your material as shown, 4 of each rectangle. 

Pair the rectangles and pin.

And sew with a 1/4" inseam.

For the two fatter rectangles sew as shown below. Be sure to leave a small gap to turn out the shape.

Sew the skinnier rectangles as shown:

Clip out the corners.

Turn inside out and press on a low setting.

Hand or machine sew the gap closed with a matching thread.

Line up a small and a big rectangle.

Sew in place.

Fold the tie in half (long ways) and wrap around the fabric.

Hand or machine sew the tie in place.

A strong glue like E-6000 is best for attaching the bow, but hot glue would work in a pinch. 

And done!

Quite the transformation I'd say. 

I love them! What do you think? So many possibilities here with different colored glitter and printed fabric. Maybe even channel Dorothy and go with a red glitter. Could be cute (:

...