Shoe Revamp Ideas

I have been looking for a pair of lace up low heeled shoes for work/everyday and as I have something very specific in mind this is proving difficult. I like anything I buy to earn its keep! So I have to love the shoes, they have to go with lots of things and they have to be comfortable enough to wear all day so not too high but sometimes very flat can be just as bad. I was going to use a bit of the money I made form the bridesmaid dress but not all of it, yet all the shoes I loved were ridiculously expensive.  Below are some of the ones I have admired but will not be buying...

These are a nice neutral colour but although I love the ribbon they would not go with everything with much with so much green in them.

Again the lilac ribbon limits their use but I do love these slightly wacky shoes as I like anything a little different.

So those shoes were by poetic license and I found that they were cheaper on ebay but still more than I want to pay. My next thought was having a browse at more neutral shoes but maybe dong the ribbon thing myself then I could change them up if I wanted to.  I am currently watching a beige pair of low heeled lace up brogues on  and my intention is to add the ribbon laces if I win them, the heel is lower than the ones above.

Now you can buy the ribbon laces here Pimp my shoes satin ribbon laces and there are lots of colours and different sellers on amazon.

But I also found that you can just make the ribbon laces yourself by just using ribbon and heat shrink tubing, you just pop it on the ends with a bit of glue and shrink with a hair dryer. That might be more cost effective once you have the tubing but I suppose it depends how many laces you intend on making.

I have found the tubing on ebay for £1.35 so it is cheaper to make them! There is also a tutorial explaining what to do here . So you could buy cheap ribbon and change them to match your outfit (occasionally, it may get tiresome re-lacing the shoes too often.)

Another thing I've seen is someone using decoupage on an old pair of shoes to hide scuffs and give them a new lease of life, here is the image for that...

Now these are not really my style and I'm not sure how the effect would look close up but it may be something that would work just to liven up a scuffed heel or maybe just around the toes but you would have to get it very symmetrical I think. find out how here

Now I also like to take care of what I already own and I have a pair of much loved ballet pumps in nude which are getting a little scuffed near the toe and the sole is thin (it was to begin with but now it really is). These shoes are very comfy so I intend on finding out how much it will cost for a new sole and to have the scuff touched up, they weren't expensive to begin with maybe £14 but if I can have them repaired for £10 I would rather do that and have something I know fits well and not be adding more to landfill! It is also unlikely I would find a similar pair for that price. 

There are lots of ideas out there for re-styling your existing shoes including dyeing them a darker colour to hide marks and someone had even used clip on earrings on them for detail. It would be good to hear from anyone who has done something similar.  I will post an update on what happens with mine, I might also add the ones I am bidding on are gently used. 

Easter Plans

We have had to change our plans a little for Easter, we did intend on taking the caravan out for its first adventure of the year but thanks to Network Rail that wont be happening. About a month ago we got a letter saying that our fence was in the wrong place along with a plan. By the look of the plan a lot of other properties along the line had also got to move fences back so it wasn't just us.  What's more it said if we didn't move it within fourteen days there would be legal action! Well we moved the lovely fence, seating area, deck, stone walls and all the lovely work my husband had done because they refused any offers of purchase or rent of the extra dead space that would be left.  After all the work was completed my husband took photos and emailed several times to check they were happy before we spend any further time and money finishing it all off in the new position (e.g making the bottom of the fence secure for the dogs as the railway is at the other side and it has to be solid at the bottom for safety.)
We have heard nothing! First they threaten you, then when you are being decent people and saying is this ok? Let us know so we can secure our property safely, they don't want to know.  So we have had to go ahead and finish the bottom of the fence not knowing if they will complain again. What is worse is that they will just let the bramble grow up again and weeds but never maintain the land.
Here is what the top of the garden looked like last year...

Where the little blue plant pot is now where the fence is! The seat has been moved to the left of the picture and we have lost about five foot all the way down the right hand side of the garden. The shrub to the right  has been moved and stone walls dismantled. We also had a deck at the bottom that has been there for seven years that is now in bits leaving a small deck with a gap that needs fixing. 

This has left an awful lot of tidying up work so aside from the usual church visits our Easter will consist of making this good and putting it right.  It will be beautiful again just a bit smaller.  We have also saved all emails to network rail in case  they come and want to spoil it again. They only noticed the boundaries of properties because they were chopping down hundred year old trees in the middle of the night!! If you live beside the tracks you will be familiar with the fact that they think it is ok to use industrial machinery at two a.m in the morning at weekends for hours at a time. They also leave all the mess beside the tracks! Surely loose logs are more dangerous!  Anyone else had unexpected change of plans? Never mind it will all be good.

Bridesmaid jacket

Last week when I had finished the Bridesmaid dress and the it was due to be collected the lady came and asked me if I would also make a jacket to match with the left over material if there was enough. I agreed so she left the dress with me to be collected this evening, she also wanted me to use the right side of the fabric this time ( the dress was made using the reverse).  It was a good decision to use the reverse side of the fabric for the dress I feel as it has a better  quality look to it, I made up the jacket with no pattern and a few measurements but the child has yet to try it so fingers crossed as I want to say goodbye to this item now!!
Here it is...

The idea is that the jacket is just to keep the chill off if it is too cool, the days are getting warmer but the wedding is in a few weeks and we are still having some really cold days occasionally. 

My own sewing has taken a back seat again so hopefully soon I can get stuck in with some of my projects, my husband said I could try saying no occasionally, especially when I'm red in the face unpicking things!

I would definitely not want to make bridal items on regular basis, slippery fabrics and fear of stitch holes, no thank you.

I'm going to make something in a lovely cotton next that behaves itself.