I was inspired by a statue of Hermes I saw in the Archaeological Museum in Naples a few weeks ago. I made these with some gladiator sandals from Target, some scrap leather, a little paint, some freezer paper and some embroidery floss.



I took some photos of the process in case anyone wanted to try it.

So first I cut up my scrap leather and made a pattern on the freezer paper that I would use as a stencil later. I made four stenciled wings and four plain black ones for the inside of the wings. I ironed the waxy side of the freezer paper onto the leather, using some extra fabric between the iron and the leather because it got all funny when I didn't.


Then I mixed up some paint that matched the color of the sandals and applied it to the wings over the stencils.

Once the paint was dry I peeled off the stencils, although it turned out the paint really wasn't dry and it got everywhere haha. Do as I say, not as I do.


I realized I needed something rigid inside the wings to keep them from flapping around, so I got out my shrinky dink paper and made a modified wing shape. I had to do it a few times to get the size right.


Then I sandwiched the shrinky dink in between each pair of plain and stenciled wings and sewed most of the way around with embroidery floss. After it was mostly sewn I slipped it onto the sandal, checking the position with my foot in, and sewed the rest of the way, sewing through the leather of the shoe as much as possible.


Some more shots of the finished shoes..

The orange table is so cool! What are the materials/how did she do it? I'd love to try one, maybe a lemon haha.

Thanks guys! I just wore it for the first time on Monday for my birthday. I got a lot of compliments!

This is awesome! =) I just featured it in my weekly column on Fandomania:

Fandomestic: 10 Geeky Homemade Hoodies

Hey thanks so much for the feature! It's funny how projects just pop back up, it's been nearly two years since I made this. I kind of want to make another now, haha.

Wow it is so cute! Really simple and works really well. I'm saving this for later

Wow I am in love with this! I agree with everyone, the wood you chose lessens the creepy factor which is great. Do you think it would be sturdy enough to hold coats on? I'm saving this and making it later for sure.

Oh wow this is very very very cute. I'm saving the link to this so I can try something like it. The back is absolutely genius.

Um, I'm not really sure how the bleach thing would work, I'd test it first.  Awesome you found a way to wear it that you like though.

Yeah the bleach thing worries me. I guess I'd test it on scraps first. But I've decided to keep it as is!

First of all, it's super cool, but I totally understand the feeling of excitedly putting it on, looking in the mirror, and going "- oh."  Do you not like the way it looks on you because all the bulk and color makes it looks too top heavy? 

If you really aren't going to wear it as is (be honest, are you?) you might as well try putzing with it some more.  You could maybe try dunking the whole thing in diluted bleach for a short amount of time to try dulling the colors to something that's a little more understated.  I personally don't like belts with that sort of thing in general and it kind just makes the whole thing a little busier.  I would just say tailor the shirt to you and go from there.  Jeans that fit nicely or a slim line skirt (a short one?) would look good with it.  Or cute shorts.

This all reminds me I need to rip some interfacing out of a shirt I made that's too stiff in the front.  It was a recent "- oh" of mine.  Also, I might totally copy you and do something like this.  You could do something similar with the left over fabric from the shirt you cut down to size.  I like it.

It's funny, after I wrote that I would probably never wear it, I tried it on with some skinnier jeans and a grey long sleeve shirt under, and I really like it. It's much busier than what I usually wear but I'm hoping to find an occasion. Thanks for the advice though. If you do that diluted bleach thing does it leave weird marks or spots or look like its been bleached?

I made this tank out of a very large women's button down and some scrap fabric. I love the way it looks on the dress form but am less pleased with it on myself haha. I'm definitely going to try this again with less flashy fabric. I think it would be cute with leggings but it is sadly not long enough to be a dress.







Thanks for checking it out!