Bowling Shoes Makeover!!

I had plans to go bowling this weekend, so of course I had to have matching shoes to go with my fancy gold bowling bag! For those who missed it, you can see all the details here about my bowling bag redo. It's all about color coordination. I might not be able to bowl, but at least I'll look good throwing those gutter balls!

 I've had these bowling shoes for years. I found them at the thrift store for $3.99.  I do like the old school charm of the red and blue bowling shoes. I've actually worn them out with a 50's themed outfit. And with jeans, just for fun. But I think its time to change things up a bit. Plus the red and blue didn't match my $1.99 bowling ball, also a local thrift store find. (Isn't it silly how we can remember exactly how much we paid for something ?)
So out came my trusty gold spray paint!

the original color of the bowling shoes

All these pictures were taken after I wore them. I must have scraped the left shoe against something to rub the paint off on that one spot. You can see a hint of the red peeking through. 

I bought purple glitter shoe laces on the way to the bowling alley. They aren't as long as the original laces. I had to skip a couple eyelets while I was lacing these up, so I could tie a decent knot at the top. I must have bought the shortest length of laces ever! I just saw glitter and said SOLD! I'll have to hunt around later when I'm not in a hurry. I'm sure I'll find the exact color of pink to match the glitter stripe on the bag. 

 Here's another shot of my bowling shoes.

Notice how the pink glitter is coming off the bowling bag. I applied the glitter with Mod Podge. It's really
thick. I did at least 2 layers. The bag is bent in a weird way on the edge, which doesn't help. If I try to bend it straight, it cracks the glitter. Also, I didn't think to rough up or sand the stripe area first, to help the glitter glue adhere better. Next time. Or when I patch up the missing part I'll take some sandpaper to the spot.

 I wanted the size detail of the shoe to stand out. I didn't want to spray over this. Since it was already midnight, and way past my bedtime, when I started this project,  I grabbed the first thing I could think of; Vaseline hand lotion. (I had just put it on my elbows, okay?) and I wasn't about to fight putting tape in a circle. I applied the Vaseline with a Q tip, to just the inside of the circle. I also rubbed the Vaseline all around the shoe edge, where it's white. I wanted it to stay white. I must not have slathered it on enough, since the edge didn't stay white. It's pretty much gold now. Oh well.
I did a quick spray over everything, then went to sleep
The next morning, I took a couple minutes to check them out, see if I missed any spots (nope. good to go!) and then wiped the circle areas free of the paint. The gold spray paint covered the Vaseline inside the circle. I was a bit worried, but it wiped off without any problems! I only had to scrub a little bit. There's still a pin head dot of gold here and there, but that'll come off in no time at all.
I tried to rub off the gold paint around the bottom shoe edge, but the lotion must have soaked in. I'll try again later and concentrate on making that white, and actually scrub instead of a half-hearted wipe down.

They look pretty cool close up, huh? :) I'm really happy with them. I was kinda afraid gold would be too much. What if they looked like clown shoes, or something from a bad 80's music video?? Yuck!

If I ever get tired of the gold, I can just spray paint them a different color, or two. :)

And bowling, you ask? I wasn't really paying attention to the bowling. I was too busy flirting with all the good looking men! (Jeff, Roger, Scott, and possibly Bob) But when I did bowl, I personally made 2 strikes, a bunch of gutter balls, a lot of random partials, but the best was my niece Aimee who bowled for me and knocked down almost all the pins by throwing the ball granny style, backwards! Then she got another strike bowling with the wrong hand! That girl got skills! lol! 

Happy bowling everyone! And if you can't bowl, at least you'll look great trying! 

Hugs!

Caroline