Hi! My name is Nurinia, a first time guest at Or so she says.. and very excited and honored to be here!
I have been happily married to my very sweet husband for 6 years! We have 3 kids together ages 13, 5 and 3, who are very active and also very mischievous 
I call myself the ‘everything-ologist’ because I love doing so many different things and have a passion for doing them as well. I am stay home mom who used to work as a makeup artist, and now is her own makeup artist who loves to occasionally share beauty and makeup tips with friends and family, a self taught graphic designer who also designs her own blogger templates for her personal websites. I also have a passion for cooking, I love reading cookbooks and love experimenting with new recipes. Among other things I also enjoy working out, doing home gardening, photography, drawing and blogging!
I taught myself how to sew when I was 13 years old and it is now one of my favorite ‘hobbies’ if I can call it that way, I enjoy making my own clothes and re-purposing old or unused clothing.
For many years I was afraid to use a sewing machine since I am no seamstress and did my sewing mostly by hand, until a couple of years ago when my husband bought me this vintage beauty, a Singer Style-o-matic 328 circa 1950:
And then the “sewing affair” started and I began once again to create and re-create items that I proudly wear now since they have my own and very personal signature. Like this Re-purposed Man’s Jacket that I re-fashioned, – this jacket went from an XL man’s size to an XS woman’s size, I also added some stylish ruffles to it to give it a more flirty and fun look.
But clothing is not the only thing I love re-purposing, so today I will share a brief tutorial of one of my summer re-purposing projects that I did on a couple of pairs of shoes that I could no longer wear.
{Image via Mohop.com}
When I first saw these shoes, I thought they were gorgeous, when I knew how they were made I thought gorgeous AND clever!
They are handmade shoes, and the person that created them uses birch plywood, and recycled tires to make these shoes. With these shoes you can make a million and one combinations of different styles, {with the same pair of shoes!}, so you can have a 1001 possible combinations that you can do with these shoes {see here}, and that, is amazing!
I had been wanting a pair since I saw them! So, since I had a two pairs of shoes that got a little bit too big on my feet and didn’t fit me anymore, I decided I would make my own version of the Mohop shoes!
I still don’t have enough accessories to get all that creative with them, so the styles I am about to show you are pretty basic, but that gives you an idea of what you can do with those shoes that you no longer want and think you should get rid of, – so wait and don’t throw them away! recycle them instead.
What you will need:
- Ribbon or Strings of Leather
- Tacks OR Upholstery Nails
- Elastic
- Very sharp pair of scissors (not shown above, they are picture shy)
Directions:
Remove the straps off your shoes/sandals with a pair of sharp scissors, then put on the tacks/nails along the sides of your shoes, separating them about (2 in) 5 cms apart, – you can help yourself with a small hammer and tap the tacks in a bit. Loop the elastic around every nail/tack, like it’s shown in the picture below:
You also need either crazy glue, hot glue, or any other glue that holds strongly, or super glue for shoes so the tacks/mails and elastic can stay put, so they won’t come off as you walk.
This is how the shoes will look without the ribbons on:
And this, is the end result:
Of course you can add more bling or detail to them by adding flowers or different types and color of ribbon or some jewelry, feathers, bows, or anything that tickles your fancy, all you need is a little bit of inspiration and creativity. For now, that is all I did to mine, but I plan on styling them differently by adding more accessories to them, and using different types, lengths, widths, colors and textures of ribbon etc. to decorate them next time.
For more ideas you can check out the Mohop Shoes Gallery.
Have fun!
~Nurinia
Mariel
Owner & Author at Or so she says...
Mariel (mahr-eeee-elle) is a mother to six, wife to one. Loves homeschooling, golfing, cupcakes, traveling, cuddling, non-fiction books, gardening, James Taylor, family time, and a sexy wedge. This is her blog. Enjoy!
@orsoshesays
Blogger, Promoting Motherhood, Creativity, Great Ideas, Good Food, and Family Values. http://www.oneshetwoshe.com
For all my Utah friends, if you have a kiddo that loves Thomas the Train, he's coming to the Heber Valley... http://t.co/rkrWrkoUbV - 4 days ago
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i am def a newbie sewer & crafter…i LOVE making recycled clothing…never thought of shoes!
i am REALLY EXCITED to try this project! thank you!
Pretty clever, great job!
awesome – I have some I need to get to work on right away. I’ll send all of my podiatrists complaints to you though
You are soo talented! LOVE the jacket! Thanks Nurinia!
What a GREAT idea! Thanks for sharing, Nurinia!
So beautiful and creative!
I love the job you did with them!
xoxo
Carly
http://www.chic-steals.com