DIY Jeweled Sandals

Over the past few months, I've been seeing really pretty jeweled sandals in stores and online. Not willing to pay the hefty retail price tag, I decided to make a pair of my own. I've been a little under the weather this week, so it seemed like the perfect time to put on my comfiest pj's and go for it. 

My original inspiration came from these cute JCrew sandals on the left. Unfortunately, not only were they a little more than I wanted to spend, but they were also sold out. (Which is probably a good thing so I didn't cave and buy them anyway!)

{Buy the pair on the right here}

The first task was finding a well-priced, cute pair of sandals that would allow me some blank space to get creative. A quick trip to Target, and I came across these simple white sandals for under $20.

{Purchase these sandals here}

Now that I found the perfect sandals, I just needed to head over to the Fashion District for some loose jewels and superglue!

Plan out your design on a flat surface before you start glueing to avoid any mistakes. I wanted something abstract but pretty, so I ended up with this leaf-like design.

After you settle on your own design, start gluing from the middle of your sandal strap and work out from there. This will keep everything centered and balanced. 

As you transfer the design onto the sandal strap, you may need to make alterations and changes as you see fit. My original design ended up being too long, so I made small adjustments to make it work. 

The other tricky part is making sure the second shoe is symmetrical to the first! I used a tape measure to see exactly where I started the middle stone of the first shoe to keep them looking as identical as possible. Don't stress too much about it, as most people won't be looking that closely at your feet :)

Once I started glueing, it only took around 20 minutes to complete both shoes. So easy! Let the glue set overnight, and then they are ready to wear the next morning!

{{Target shoes: $19.99; Superglue: $4.99; Jewels: $9.45}}

All for a grand total of: $34.43.

Compare that to the JCrew price tag of $198, 

and I'd say that's a win.

I have to admit, I'm pretty happy with how these sandals turned out. I have so many extra jewels left over, I'll be keeping my eyes open for more items to makeover!