Every once in a while I get bit by the crafty bug; it happened just this week, in fact. Mike and I made some last minute New Year's Eve plans to attend a local animal shelter's gala to help raise funds to build a facility, which left me scrambling to find an outfit and a babysitter!
I found a pair of platform pumps at my local Target on clearance; I liked their shape and decided to glam them up for the holiday. If there's a holiday that calls for sparkle, it's certainly New Year's Eve.
I really wanted full glitter coverage, so I went with Krylon's Glitter Blast spray, which is a newish product that I've seen a lot on blogs but hadn't had the chance to use myself. This product's claim to fame is its full coverage and "3-dimensional look." I chose the 'Golden Glow' color and bought one can at Michael's with a coupon.
I taped the sole of my heels with painter's tape and used a craft blade to create a nice sharp line along the curved sole.
Then I went to town with the glitter spray...
... for about 7 seconds, until the button got stuck, all traces of glitter disappeared, and clear propellant started spurting out continuously. I couldn't make it stop even after monkeying with it a little and shaking it, so after getting covered in tiny bits of glitter goo that would ooze from the nozzle occasionally, eventually I just had to walk away while the can emptied itself and left me with a puddle of goo and glitter shrapnel all over my hands.
I went back to the store to exchange my defective can, only to discover that my store was out of Golden Glow! Gasp! I had one shoe with a coat of glitter on it so there was no turning back. My parents were visiting from Utah the next day so I asked my mother buy two cans (two, just in case!) and bring them up with her. She was game because she's nice like that.
Little did I know that can #2 would last twelve seconds and can #3, two seconds. (two!!) At this point is was me vs. the glitter spray. I called my local store and discovered they had received a truck and now had plenty of my color (woohoo!) so I picked one. last. can. up. Only one, because I'm stubborn.
Can #4? Lasted five seconds. This is the part where I kicked something. I fought back. I shook the can like a woman possessed. I twisted the nozzle. I tried to press the button to no avail (still stuck), but sometimes after shaking and twisting it would start spraying glitter full force for a few seconds until it clogged again and I'd have to repeat the cycle. I got glitter all over everything... but I drained that can. I don't know if I figured out how to beat the Glitter Blast or if I just got lucky. Honestly, I don't even care. I'm just glad my shoes are glittered and clear coated and I can move on with my life.
So cute, right? I love them and I'm excited to wear them on New Year's Eve. As for the Glitter Blast, though, well... I love the idea. The spray is fabulous looking once applied and makes me giddy, but the actual delivery method is lacking and in my unsolicited opinion Krylon has some work to do on this product. Four cans for 2 shoes is a little reee-diculous. Just sayin'.
A couple observations:
- I saw on Choose to Thrive that short sprays help the can avoid clogging, but I was always too afraid to let go of the nozzle because I was just praying the sucker would keep spraying, so I can't vouch for that.
- The can I shook the longest (5 minutes!) lasted the shortest amount of time. I tried to see if extra shaking made a difference and it didn't appear that it did.
18 comments:
Wow! I can't believe you acheived that look with spray paint! So I'm taking it you wouldn't recommend the Glitter Blast? Man, I'm disappointed!
Wow, the shoes look amazing. Too bad it took so much work to get them to their glittery finest.
Wow! Those shoes are awesome! They totally look like you bought them that way.
They look fab! I tried the spray paint during Halloween and was not successful. I'm glad at least you ended up with amazing shoes!
It looks like your determination was worth it. The shoes will be perfect for New Years Eve. Have a good time sparkling away at your gala. Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
FAB shoes!! I tried the same spray paint for Halloween and had the same disastrous results. Glitter all over my hands, gobs of goo. I gave up! I admire your determination!
WOW, 4 cans? Ridiculous. I admire your tenacity though! I bought some glittery heels (already glittered, thankfully) a while back, and I think I may need to whip those puppies out for the New Year as well! We can both ring in 2012 in glittery style!
I've tried other glitter sprays with similar lack of success - oh well. Way to stick with it, those are some awesome shoes!
Love the look of your glittered shoes and hope you had a good time in them. Happy New Years Day! I've never had good luck with any glitter spray of any brand so it's a no-go for me, waaa.
Need to go spend some time now to find out if you ever completed your baseboards. 'Cause we've been reworking our house for 11 years now and still haven't done that ourselves and looking for validation that we aren't lazy freaks. lol
Love the way the shoes turned out (too bad the spray was a pain in the..), I wanna see the entire outfit you ended up sporting- i bet you looked fab!
Cute!
Very cute! Would have never guessed you spray painted them.
That is so amazing! I keep seeing your thumbnail at the linky parties. Too clever!
Looks great, sorry you had such bad luck with the spray paint. At Michael's the have this fantastic glitter. You paint it on and heat it up with a hairdryer and it actually looks like glitter fabric!
Gorgeous shoes!
It stinks that the Glitter Blast didn't work you for. I used it on a pumpkin and it worked fine. Wishing you plenty of glitter spray success in the future. :)
These are great!! Quick question: how is the sparkly-ness compared to Target's shoe? I feel like the Krylon would probably stand out more?
Hi I am Tara From rosso Solini and I love your post great to see that DIY is alive and kicking LOL, I am always looking at what other people are doing with DIY fashion as this is my area I am 16 and from Ireland and I am the inventor of Rosso Solini designer soles ( I seen you blue sole ) I am very involved in recycling fashion and giving normal items a designer look have a look on my FB page do keep up the great work
Tara..xxx
http://www.facebook.com/RossoSolini?ref=ts
J.R.: Mine are CRAZY sparkly, and I sprayed the heel too -- I think the Target version had a regular heel? The Target version would certainly be less work, haha... ;)
Tara: How great that you've already accomplished so much at 16 - way to go!! I'm glad you like my little shoe project... thanks for visiting!
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