DIY: Beaded and Studded Wedge Sneakers

So this year we have decided to add a new element to the blog, DIY! For those of you who may not be familiar DIY means Do It Yourself.  I love making, altering and enhancing things.  It's a great way to get customized and unique items and express your personal style. It's a great way to create a look for less, save money on a trend or reinvent an old piece. The possibilities are endless.  So look out for lots of DIY posts and feel free to send requests if you'd like to see a specific DIY project. Now on to today's project: beaded and studded wedge sneakers!

The wedge sneaker trend became really popular last spring and it's still going strong.  As is the case with a lot of trends, it's something you either hate or love. I happen to love this one.  I wanted really funky pair with studs and embellishments but those that I found cost way more than I was willing to pay for something I probably won't wear next year.  So I headed to my favorite cheapie shoe store and found a plain all black pair for 20 bucks and the rest is DIY history...

Click here if you want to see how I studded my sneaks...

Gather materials: beads and studs, measuring tool, hole puncher, glue gun, 

Start with a blank canvas or whatever you would like to bead and stud.

Apply glue in small sections where ever you would like to place the beads.  It's important that the sections stay small because the glue dries quickly.

Immediately pour beads onto the hot glue and press in place. After a few seconds wipe away any extra or loose beads. It's a good idea to place the item you're beading in a box or something that will catch falling beads.  I used a shoe box top.

Repeat these steps: Apply glue...

Pour beads...

Press beads in place and wipe off excess...

Until all of the desired sections are beaded.

Now on to the studs.  I was adding mine to the strap of the shoe and wanted them to be spaced  equally so I  used my ruler...

and marked where I planned to place the studs.

Next use a leather hole puncher (found on ebay and in crafts stores) to punch holes where marked. Or you can use a sharp object to create the holes.

I used these studs with screw backs but you can use any kind and attach them however you see fit. Just make sure they are secure as the strap will get a lot of movement action

Apply studs to the remaining holes...

And you're finished!

The entire process was really easy and took about thirty minutes per shoe or one episode of Scandal. Total cost for shoes, beads and studs was about $40.  So what do you think?  Will you be DIY-ing?!