Thursday, August 01, 2013

Shoe Fairies


It's time for our August Anything Goes challenge at Altered Eclectics...our second challenge evah! A while ago, I was browsing in the thrift store and I saw some adorable baby shoes...so tiny and sweet. I thought they would make lovely fairy homes and needed to come home with  me...especially at $1 a pair.  And so began today's project.


The first shoe is what I think of as a traditional baby shoe. It's white, well loved, and leather. I removed the lace and adhered a piece of Idea-ology Melange Tissue Wrap to the tongue. White satin pleated ribbon was glued around the top edge and a double row of bling layered on top of that. I added the same bling to the top of the tongue. White pearls and a peach button were adhered along the toe and sides. Peach crinkled seam binding with a white flower button threaded onto it became the lace for this shoe.


The adorable fairy is a combination of two Tumblefish Studio images purchased from Deviant Scrap. Both the baby and the wings were fussy cut, edged in black pen and glued together. A crocheted doily made for me by my sweet 83 year old neighbour, Nellie, was adhered to the back of the image to form a halo of sorts and allow Baby to be more visible.


The second shoe is a high topped running shoe. It's toe and sole are rubber and the top part is cloth. Even unaltered, this shoe makes me laugh. I decided to make it Steampunk-ish or Industrial because my little boy fairy had to live in it and he already wasn't happy with the soft pink inside the shoe. Fairies cam be quite opinionated, you know. I added some black and gold ribbon which looks like a closed zipper to the back half of the rubber sole (sounds like a Beatles album). Then I added Idea-ology ball chain with a Philosophy tag threaded on it to serve as a lace for the shoe.


On the outside, a collage was adhered with E-6000 glue. The grouping consisted of a Blossom Bucket clock, Idea-ology buckle and random metal pieces from my stash ( ruler charm, propeller, gears) The screw brad was used to attach the metal key to the top lace eyelet. The other side of the shoe was finished with two gears and a brad.

My little boy fairy, whose name is Ed, is a combination of three Tumblefish Studio images; the crown, Ed. and his wings. To continue with the Steampunk theme, I gave Ed a monocle made from a Dew Drop and a copper jump ring. I love that the dew drop magnifies his eye. Ed is much happier about the whole thing now as you can see from his expression ...lol.


Anyway, that's my Altered Eclectics project for this month, although not the end of my altered shoes. I bought 4 different styles of baby shoes so that gives me 6 more chances to play. I have a new shadow box that would accommodate them quite nicely. Thanks for visiting today. I hope I've inspired you in some small way to play along with our August challenge. We had wonderful entries last month and I am looking forward to visiting again. If you get a minute, pop by the Altered Eclectics blog to see the fabulous and diverse inspiration provided by the rest of the DT. In the meantime, Ed, Baby, and I hope you have a wonderful, magic filled day.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

10 comments:

ParkNSlide said...

Your shoe fairies are enchanting. From the sweet little baby with the bling and the lace to Ed in all his Steampunk glory, these little pixies are just the cutest.

Yvonne Garner said...

So creative! Bravo!

Elaine aka Ellapu said...

Fabulously cootie booties darling.. love them xx

Sandy said...

Nobody can accuse you of NOT being creative. You saw more in these shoes than the ordinary person would ever have seen.
Bravo!! I have to admit I like the little boy the best - isn't he cute!!!
sandy

Tracy said...

hee hee The little guy especially is Beatlesque. These are so unique and clever. Very imaginative little homes for these whimsical fairies. !

May said...

WOW...Bonnie, I love these creations What a fabulous idea...the images are amazing & the detail is outstanding....Love, Love, Love it... Hugs May x x x

Words and Pictures said...

Oh, delightful... they're both just so much fun, and so adorable. I love the first shoe fairy, and the delicate peach of the ribbons, and the embellishing of the Steampunk bootie is just brilliant.
Alison x

Sue said...

These are just so cute Bonnie and a terrific idea for keeping those tiny shoes as keepsakes. Really different. It's great being DT teamie with someone so talented.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous altered make.

Moira

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

MOST EXCELLENT!!! I LOVE these!!! Each one is brilliant! Great design too!