I still haven’t been doing any quilting, but I’ve been kept busy with a lot of other creative things! Last year, of course, I was busy collaborating with my daughter. She wrote a book called A Mommas Heart: Comfort for Loss Moms. It is a book for mothers who have lost an infant during a pregnancy or soon after. She also did a photograph for each page, and then I added black and white line drawings which can be colored, if the reader wants. You can see more of the book on her website, bethanyconkel.com.
After the book project, I got heavily involved in renovations that we are doing at our church, so I’m doing a lot of research for ideas and product sources, mostly on Pinterest, the internet, and the home improvement stores, plus I’m contributing quite a bit of sweat equity. Here is the completely renovated church nursery. It doesn’t even look like the same space!
Now we are turning our attention on renovating the sanctuary area and the bathrooms. I’ve been having so much fun working on this new project!
Yesterday, after another informal church renovation meeting, I decided that my old Birkenstocks needed to be re-soled before weather got much warmer, so I ran out to Xenia Shoe & Leather. When I got there, I discovered they were having a sale. (It continues until April 28.) Instead of putting new soles on my old shoes purchased in 2013, I decided to buy a new pair. I found a style that I really liked but they didn’t come in my favorite color. Yes, I’m stuck in a rut, and I need the same Iridescent Dark Blue shoes that I’ve had twice before. I showed everyone at the store how I had used Shiva Paintstiks to change the color of those two other pairs of Birkenstocks, once in 2011 and then again in 2014. As soon as I got home, I started in on pair number 3. Here’s a short tutorial on how I did it. (Click on the picture to see a larger version.)
Ok, wait! They are so gorgeous, I’ve got to insert a bigger picture here!
Now I’ll let them sit a few days so the paintstik can cure. I can’t wait to wear them!
Comments
3 responses to “Tutorial: Painting Birkenstocks with Shiva Paintstiks”
Maria, I love this! It reminds me of when my niece got married in 2004 and I had just had foot surgery. I took a pair of SAS sandals (one of the few things I could wear) and tried to make them look dressy. I had a very dressy dress (looked more like a mother of the groom dress) and then painted the sandals with acrylic paint to make them navy. I also glued some decorator trim I bought at the fabric store to the straps. My sister was quite skeptical hearing my description until she saw them, then was totally surprised as you would never guess! You could offer your Birkenstock transformation as a service to customers from the store! (You could almost do it while they waited. Just send them home to let them dry!) Keep your posts coming!
(The metallic in the blue just makes these super special!)
I love that they are a little metallic! Nice idea on offering a service, but I don’t want another side job! Instead, I told the guys at the store how to do it. Better for them, better for me.