Covering Christian Louboutin Shoes with Siam Red Crystals
I loved the results of my first Christian Louboutin heels strassing project so much! Everytime I wear those sparkly pink and green shoes, tons of people remark and compliment them. Surprisingly, these over-the-top shoes have looked fantastic with the simplest of outfits and proved to be very versatile!
My first strassed Louboutins have easily become my most adored shoes. And, since the completion of my first pair, I've been itching to start on my next strassing project. 🙂 This time, the shoes will be a deep red with teal blue tones. Here is the current progress...
Starting off with plain coral satin Christian Louboutin heels:
The weird string lacing in the front make the shoe outdated. No worries though, we're giving these shoes a makeover! 🙂
First, I glue my SS20 Swarovski crystals in light siam AB.
The odd string is cut off. Randomly, 36 (72 total) ss20 Swarovski crystals are glued on each shoe.
The different sizes of crystals that will be used.
The smallest is SS6 deep red AB DMC crystals. I purchased about 3000 of these tiny little guys. Next up is 3000 SS10 DMC siam AB crystals. We need a lot less of the larger SS16 (288 count) and SS20 crystals (72 count). The SS16 crystals are DMC in light siam AB. The SS20 crystals are swarovski and also in light siam AB color.
Tools that were used:
Based on the suggestion of one of our lovely users, I tried out e-6000 glue as it's much stronger. Many people prefer e-6000 over gem-tac due to its strength, and it's definitely more suitable for hard to adhere surfaces like leather or patent leather. However, I found e-6000 to be much messier and harder to work with than gem-tac glue. The worst thing is its toxicity. I didn't feel safe using it unless I was outside where it was well ventilated. Gem-tac is non-toxic and can be used more leisurely. Plus, the gem-tac has held up very well on my first strassing project. For me, I'll stick with satin shoes and gem-tac glue. And, serious props to those who can handle e-6000! That goopy stuff dries so darn fast!
Some teaser pictures until the final result is revealed.
Shoes that are only part way strassed always look a bit strange. But, I seriously think this second strassing project will turn out even more beautiful than the last! This crystal color combination is even more sparkly. The first pair were decorated with light pastel colored crystals. It will be so fun to see how these deep rich red and blue colors turn out!