DIY Glitter Pumps (again!)

Everyone knows I love mod podge. I rave about this stuff. I use it for everything. I use it as glue, I use it to glitter mini clothes pins as stocking stuffers and most importantly, I used it to glitter a pair of flats.

It all started with Miu Miu. Miu Miu shoes are a perfect combination of glitter and girly rolled into one.

Miu Miu Glitter Pumps $630

I loved the curved chunky heel that Miu Miu utilized in a lot of their heels with this collection. Of course at $630 for a pair of gold glitter pumps, it was kind of out of the question.

Then I saw this at Madewell

Madewell Frankie Pump $218 (now on sale for $174.99)

It's missing the curved heels but I did like the toe shape a little bit more. But again, $218 for a pair of "fun" shoes seemed out of my budget, even on sale.

I forgot about these pumps until I walked into Urban Outfitters and stumbled upon this pair of shoes.

Kimchi Blue Gretel Suede Pump $59 (on sale for $39 online, $19.99 in store)

It's very reminiscent of the Miu Miu heels with the rounded toe shape of Madewell Frankie pumps. Of course finding out it was $19.99 was motivation to DIY my own glitter version. Because the pair I wanted was a display shoe, it had a lot of scuffing. For my purposes, I was going to cover it anyway but Urban Outfitters gave me an extra 15% off making my purchase even sweeter!

So to create the glitter pump look, you need a couple of things. (All can be purchased at your local Michaels for a total cost of $12 to $15)

The most important supply!

Mod Podge, best stuff on Earth

And of course your choice of glitter. I chose two different shades of gold. The antique silver I used as a base and the smoky quartz is a darker gold that I used on top to create texture and dimension. 

Martha Stewart Antique Silver and Smoky Quartz

On a scrap piece of cardboard, mix mod podge and the antique silver glitter at a 2:1 ratio. The consistency should remain on the runnier side. Foam brushes are cheap and easy to use but any wide brush can be used to apply the glitter/mod podge mix. 

Use your foam brush to apply a thin layer all over the shoe. The thicker the mod podge or the more layer you apply, you run the risk of "cracking" the glue in areas of the shoes that bend with normal wear. So apply as thin as possible.

It won't look like much in the beginning but the white mod podge will dry clear. Use masking tape to cover up areas that you don't want to get glitter on. I applied it on the heel tip as I tend to make a bit of a mess.

When you apply mod podge mixed with the glitter on the shoe, the glitter tends to dry matte. The shine of the glitter tends to get muted, so I decided to add another top layer. I applied just mod podge all over the shoe and sprinkled the smoky quartz glitter on top rather than mixing it up first. Notice the difference in the shine?

But the method of sprinkling the glitter on the mod podge is that you might be shedding glitter for a little while. I shook off the glitter when the mod podge dried and reapplied the bald spots several times before I was happy with the final result. 

My own DIY glitter pump

The picture does not do it justice. The glitter is even shinier in person! Now if I can only think of a place to wear this to :D