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Shoes with Soul

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Total Time Needed:: 1-2 Hours

Footwear takes a giant leap toward creativity with this clever quartet.

Materials

MONSTER FACES:
Old sneakers
Glossy acrylic paint (black, white, and red)
4 (3/4-inch) yellow wooden beads
4 green water-bottle caps
Shoelaces
PUPPY PALS:
Slip-on sneakers
Felt
Scissors

Puppy templates
Glue (we used nontoxic Crafter's Pick The Ultimate glue, which we like for its extra-strong hold)
Googly eyes
Paint (we used a paint pen)
DECOUPAGE DESIGNS:
Mary Janes (canvas or synthetic leather)
Tissue paper
Scissors
Paintbrush
Outdoor Mod Podge

Instructions

MONSTER FACES: It's easy to scare up some fiendish footwear by giving old sneakers a new coat of paint. Create a mouth on each shoe with glossy acrylic paint: black outlines, white teeth, and a red interior. (Let each color dry completely before adding the next.)
To make the eyes, paint black pupils on each of the yellow wooden beads.
While the paint dries, bore two holes into the sides of the water bottle caps (a parent's job).
Thread a shoelace through the bottom eyelet holes on each shoe. To add an eye, thread the lace through one side of a cap, then a bead, then the other side of the cap. Finish lacing the sneakers.
PUPPY PALS: These dogs won't get tired -- just worn to school. Cut out felt shapes for the pups' faces: ears, nose, eye patch, and tongue. (You can download our templates.)
Glue them in place.
Add googly eyes and paint details (we used a paint pen) as shown.
DECOUPAGE DESIGNS: These shoes may look like a million bucks, but they're really inexpensive Mary Janes coated with several layers of tissue paper. First, apply the base color. Use a paintbrush to coat a section of a shoe (canvas and synthetic materials work well; leather does not) with Outdoor Mod Podge. Lay roughly 2-inch-square pieces of torn tissue paper over it, then top with a thin layer of Mod Podge, smoothing the paper with your fingers as you work.
Repeat for the rest of the shoe. You'll need several layers to keep the original shoe color from showing through. We used from five to seven -- but you don't have to wait for a layer to dry before adding the next.
Cut tissue paper shapes in a complementary color (we used a decorative punch for the yellow flowers).
Apply the shapes the same way you did the base color.
Coat the whole shoe with one last layer of Mod Podge.
SWEET TWEETS: The little birdies on these shoes told us they're super-easy to make. Cut bird and beak shapes from felt (you can use our templates ).
Glue them in place.
Add paint details (we used puffy fabric paint), such as eyes, legs, and "tweet" swirls.