Introduction: Recreate Your Favourite Shoes in Miniature Form for Dolls!

I have been embarking on a quest to pass wate dolls extinct of characters I have played in photoshoots with costumes I made to represent certain feelings and emotions. This character is around positivity and thriving rather of wallowing in despair.

Super excited about translating ideas from 2d to 3d! and from big to small!

Here I used the design of these playful, colourful flat sandals that were given to me away my flatmate.

Honestly, the feet of the chick are built to fit the black ballet heels shoes pictured; which I intend to make believe a toy translation of as well, in time. However, I decided to simply mold the originally flat sole of the strappy shoes to the shape of the extended foot I've sculpted for the bird.

Anyhow, enough babbling, the show must go on!

P.S. Apologies in advance for 1. switching between late and present tense and 2. the blurry photos, I apparently nates't seem to time lag a camera still for the life of me!

Whole tone 1: Clarifying My Interpretation of the Shoe

Making design decisions etc. Planning, drawing, thought. I sourced out materials I already have - I usually corresponding to create in a room that I can use sure-enough things I've had mendacious around; I examine the potential altogether things and nothing goes to waste - so I shuffled through my "craft box of random things I saw potential in and hoarded"™ and found these wonderful little pieces of coloured (p)leather(?), coloured threads, bits and bobs I'd rescued from old magazine freebies that were otherwise being thrown and twisted forth in the process of weekly retail store magazine returns.

With such a tiny delicate quad to work with/fit straps into, I counted the turn of roan leather strips on the shoe (24) and concluded up halving the number belt down to 12 strands to fit my 5-6cm long miniskirt shoe. I selected the three (A opposing to the original's 6) most delectable colours of the shoe and came out with green, pink and the turquoise-green vinyl fabric left over from the dress up I made.

Design/construction plans commute a great deal so I found I wrote up plans and so wrote inexperient ones up upon conjuring up a better estimation. I experimented with many different ideas and hiccuped about through the challenge of what rather chess opening (or.. faux-pening, if you will :L - sorry, it's late, my body fluid's gone unsweet) to have; faux/nonfunctional zip, Velcro (also big etc.), purloin and eyelets; eventually settling along a simple three hole lace-awake finish victimisation a fab gold meander I recovered at a dollar storehouse earlier this year.

I'll spare the alarming details in this write astir, see the plans I've attached to see more about design decisions. The plans should be in order of their developing and the main ones I stuck to were the last two, numbered at the top of the pageboy in cherry.

Abuse 2: Wrap the Figure's Feet in Beaming-wrap and Masking Tape

1. Atomic number 3 air dry clay needs drying prison term etc., best to first get rolling on sculpting the stiff sole of the shoe. I wrapped my sculpture's feet in gladwrap (I think much people call information technology Saran Wrap? yet I've forever called it gladwrap do delight bear with) exploitation my all-time favourite craft tool: masking tape, to the certified the protective covering in place.

2. I then reduce a hardly a pieces of polar fleece (I have a lot of scraps lying around from costumes I ready-made) to taping to the clay leg it, sandwiched between gladwrap layers in order to:

  1. Accommodate for the shrinkage of air dry clay as IT dries, protecting from cracking
  2. Help stop the drying shoe lone from getting stuck onto the painstakingly moulded pes and get to information technology possible to take it back disconnected the foot after drying

3. I sealed with one last level of gladwrap to complete the sandwich, Eastern Samoa I wouldn't particularly want the polar fleece getting wet.

Step 3: Sculpting the Outer Soles

The wet part, ick!

1. Cut 2x roughly foot solitary-wrought pieces of clay

2. Direct each onto its corresponding foot and press closely onto the foot, then work on the outer shape of information technology, which will make up panoptical. Smooth it down.

3. Leave to dry. To accelerate drying I couch mine on top of a laptop tank sports fan, and under a usb fan - a setup which is pictured in the upcoming painting steps.

In one case outer part of soles are dry, remove with give care from feet, leave the inner part of these soles upright to dried-out if needed (every bit they weren't exposed to air spell on the foot). Mostly air dry Clay takes a day or deuce to dry; however in this case the knockout of working with teentsy pieces is the drying time is cut down enormously. :)

Step 4: Draft Pattern for Fabric Insole

With the soles rainless, I experimented with cutting outgoing an inner sole shape to fit into the clay sole.

1. Cut this shape out in test fabric ahead going happening to cut IT out in the gold fabric.

2. Hold scene in the Great Compromiser lonesome.

3. With clay sole held onto animal foot, muster an estimate heel-back shape to cut out in fabric.

4. Masking tape to secured heel part to sole, entirely on undersurface though because I found the tape took absent the coating layer of the fabric.

Step 5: Plotting Marks and Devising Coloured Strands Set up

1. Flip fabric lonesome over to the improper side, grading in pencil 12 evenly leaded marks for leather strands to fasten strands to:

  1. 6 along the single edge and
  2. 6 along the heel back

2. Tape one string to a rise up, and the other terminate to a higher surface to keep it taut.

3. Cut out 12 full thin strips from the chosen coloured leather fabric pieces.

4. Start tying, in Chosen colour sequence, apiece strand in a nightly knot around the string, pushing the strands closer to each new.

5. This is concentrated to excuse but at each end of the string, fold the unfinished business back into the two strand's knots earlier the end one.

I have much to do then I will fast-forward some of the things that are already covered in the attached instructions page, regarding securing the piece to human foot to mark out where they are to make up attached to the sole.

6. Match up the marks that have been made on the underside of the inner sole and inner opus of the fabric heel-back, tape recording them set with cover tape.

7. Make holes through and through the outer pieces for the material heel back, for the gold string lace-up feature.

8. Run the thread through beeswax and, using a needle, lace it finished the 6 holes made in the heel piece.
Cut excess off the ends, going enough room for a comfortable fore to be laced, and tie knots in each end.
Put superintendent glue on these knots to seal off the thread ends (the thread I chose is VERY prone to fraying).

Step 6: Painting the Outer Sole

1. I made a little stand and stuck the only onto it with fair symmetric blu-tak so I could paint IT.

2. Mix a bit water into the rouge to thin it out, and apply 10ish coats (or until information technology is sufficiently gold fawn-coloured) with drying time in between each.coat. I read up connected how to apply key without brushstrokes showing, and unbroken to them e.g. vertically brushed bed, then horizontally napped layer; minor paint brush so small you sack't see brush strokes, etc.

3. Once all paint layers are dry, apply 1 - 3 layers of gloss varnish evenly across the painted surface.

Step 7: Gluing the Inner Sole to Outside Sole

A dizzy-headed Rachel and ane melted plastic pallette knife* ulterior, I had successfully (phewf!) affixed the material insole into the Clay outer sole, somehow without getting any excess glue connected the visible fabric or connected the delicately painted gold outer sole. Hallelujah! :)

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of this process arsenic is IT was a bit of a delegation along it's own let alone with a tv camera. Delight do forgive.

Tips for glue and acetone use:

Try non to respire all this stuff in, knock it over, get IT on struggle, read au courant safety procedures before starting, etc., etc.

*I learned some interesting new science facts, namely that acetone is very hazardous, and melts plastic. I was exploitation my acetone nail-polish remover to clean chance superglue excess cancelled tools as I had read it is what negates superglue. Poor-quality Snapchat video attached showing melted knife. :L You have been warned!!

Step 8: Final Outcome!

If I had more time I would pretend a stiletto heel to finish the look, but much is life. :) Please imagine with heel bespoken.

I only ready-made the one shoe as I need to work at my uni assignments as wel, only bequeath finish the second shoe of the pair all in due course :)

Imagination, perseverance, and can-coiffe attitude is key!

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