Create Your Own Holiday Shoes

Create Your Own Holiday Shoes

Looking festive at holiday events is important, but it can also get expensive. Fortunately, with a little creativity, you can find lots of ways to save money on your holiday fashions and still look great. In fact, you can create your own, one of a kind holiday shoes. Want shoes that sparkle and shine like Dorothy’s in the Wizard of Oz? It’s very possible and the best is, it’s easy! Just follow along with these simple instructions.

Everyone wants to look great during the holiday season – DIY designs are a fun way to save money and give you a one-of-a-kind look; dd some sparkle to your old heels with glitter!

Getting Started

Gather one or more pairs of old pumps or high heels. A pair that is scuffed up will work just fine. All you really need to ensure is that the shoes fit and the soles are intact. You will be covering the outside with glitter. That’s where the sparkle will come from.

If you don’t have an old pair of shoes to use you can visit a second-hand shop and pick up a pair or two for a few bucks. After all, you might want to have a red glitter pair and another pair in gold or black.

The idea is to get creative and have fun with the project. You won’t be investing very much money and the craft project itself is fun.

Preparation:

This project can get messy so it is a good idea to create a work space by spreading newspaper on a flat working surface. The newspaper will ‘catch’ the overflow of glitter, which makes it easy to funnel it back into the container.

Things You Need

• ·         Shoes
• ·         Glitter
• ·         Mod Podge
• ·         Small Paint Brush
• ·         Newspaper
• ·         Painter’s Tape
• ·         Scissors
• ·         Ribbon (optional)
• ·         Clear Spray Sealant
• ·         Super Glue (optional)

Instructions:

Decide on a design for your shoes. You can cover the shoes completely in a single color of glitter or you may choose to create a pattern effect – that is, you might want the toes and heels of the shoes to be red and the rest to be black. You are the fashion designer!

If you choose to use a pattern you should use the painter’s tape to section the different areas off. It’s also a good idea to line the inside of your shoe with newspaper – this will help prevent glitter and the sealant from covering the inside your shoe.

Use the paint brush to cover the shoe or chosen section in Mod Podge. Complete one section, then you can do another.

Please note: If you want to add a bow made of ribbon at the back of the heel you should leave a space uncovered – this is where you will apply super glue to attach the bow. It is advisable to add a stitch or two through the bow to ensure that it will stay tied. You may also want to use a lighter to slightly heat the ribbon edges. This will prevent the ribbon from fraying.

After your shoes are completely covered in glitter you should take them outdoors to spray them with the sealant. Give them two generous coats.

Now is the time to add the final touch – the bow at the back of the heel if desired. Next – it’s time for you to step out in style!

Debbie Allen loves to write about DIY projects that help others save money and have fun. She believes simple Christmas traditions, like letters from Santa are the most meaningful ones.

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Avoid Gaining Weight During The Holiday Season

How To Avoid Gaining Weight During The Holiday Season

Most people gain weight during the fall and winter months and most of that weight is gained during the holiday season. It makes senses – we are slowing down in our activities outdoors and we are enjoying more indoor fun and celebrations – which usually means we are eating some delicious foods that we only eat this time of year. It’s only natural that we want to fully indulge in the delicacies while we can!

This post is NOT going to ask you to skip holiday events or tell you not to eat your favorite foods during the holidays. However, if you follow the tips in this article you will find that you get to enjoy all the delicious foods you love, without worries about gaining weight – Sort Of!

Holidays don't have to mean extra weight!

Plan Ahead

One of the most important steps in the process is planning ahead. If you know you will be at an event where there will be delicious foods that are going to tempt you – then take precautions. For instance, you could eat a bowl of low-calorie soup before the event. This will help fill you up but it should still leave some room for tasting anything you desire.

In this way you can have a sampling of everything if you like or you can pick one or two of your favorites. Either way, you will feel much less guilty than you would if you had an overflowing plate-full of food.

No Time To Plan

In some cases you may not have to plan ahead far enough to have a bowl of soup before leaving for the event. In that case you may arrive hungry and ready to devour everything that looks edible. Before you begin take the time to slowly drink a full glass of water. This can have a similar effect as the soup. It will help give you that full feeling so you will tend to eat less.

When You Just Can’t Wait

There may be a time when you can’t wait or don’t have access to a glass of water before you begin eating. In that case you should choose your foods wisely. Smaller portions should be added to your plate and you should eat slowly. Remember that the event is really about spending time with people – it’s not about eating. When you do take a bite, make it count – savor the moment, really taste the flavor of every morsel.

Eating slowly aids in digestion and it is a good habit to get into. Drinking water offers countless benefits; so again, this is another excellent habit to incorporate into your everyday life.

The final suggestion relates to activities. Try to force yourself to be a little more active in simple ways in your everyday life. For example – instead of keeping your cell phone with you when you are at home, why not keep it on the countertop or the coffee table. This will require you to walk across the room to retrieve it if it rings. You can do the same thing with the remote to the TV. Incorporating these small measures can make a big difference in the calories you burn each day.

Debbie Allen is a professional content writer that saves all her letters from Santa every year – they are favorite Christmas keepsakes!

Image courtesy of Apolonia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A Christmas Party That Gives To All

I am a member of a mothers group in my area. We throw a Christmas party every year. We divide the party into sections such as the cake walk. Each section is wrote down and placed in a bowl. Each member of the group then picks out a slip of paper from the bowl. Last year I drew the Christmas letters table. I was thrilled because this is a project that I have always enjoyed with my own kids.

I would be responsible for helping children write their letters to Santa. I had plenty of space to use. There were three long tables that looked like they came from a school cafeteria. I decided I would use the tables for different tasks. The first table would be for the actual writing a letter to Santa. The next table would be for glitter and the messy stuff. The last table would be for addressing the envelope to the North Pole.

My two oldest daughters volunteered to help out at the party. I was glad that there would be someone to help out at each table, other wise I would have probably been spread real thin. With their help I knew that I would be able to help the kids to make real nice letters. The end result would be Christmas letters that the kids would be proud of – and that’s how it should be when they are writing something as important as letters to Santa Claus!

When I went out shopping I found some real pretty holiday paper in several different colors. Next I picked out envelopes the kids could use to put the letters in. I took plain colored ones to match the paper I had chose. I found all kinds of glitter that would make the letters sparkle with magic. There were so many choices it was hard to decide on which stickers to buy. I stopped by the post office and bought the stamps.

Before the party the girls and I set the tables. The girls both said that they didn’t want to do the glitter table. My oldest takes charge of the writing table. She will help the kids to write a letter to Santa. She sets out the different kinds of paper and put the special pens and pencils in Christmas cups. Jackie has envelopes and stamps. I was surprised, she was eager for the party to start. She had filled out an envelope for the kids at her table to use as an example – it seems that Jackie knows Santa’s secret North Pole address.

At the party our tables were a big hit. I think every kid who came to the party wrote a Christmas letter. The kids thought it was cool that Jackie knew Santa’s workshop address. I was proud of how mature my girls were. We had a wonderful time with all of the children at the party. I was glad the girls and I had some special Christmas activities to share together. They are both teenagers and so busy between school, friends, and work – it sometimes seems like we hardly see each other. This annual Christmas party is a great way for us to ‘bond’ and it gives us memories that we talk about for months to come.