You can’t think of ’90s fashion without ’60s and ’70s styles coming to mind, well, I can’t anyway, because when I think back to some of my favorite looks of the time, they were either inspired by those decades, or quite literally taken from them. In the ’90s is when I started really shopping at thrift stores, and not only that, I chose thrift shops over new stores because they had the exact styles I was looking for vs the new shops which had nothing even close or crappy replicas of the styles I was looking for, which to me, back then, was far less cool than having the original.
As I am much older now, I can see the value in new looks inspired by old fashions, and since it has been twenty years since the ’90s now, there is a fun mix of all the decades into one new and modern look, and this is fun… or at least, this is what I tell myself to make aging more fun for me
Anyway… I recently had a flashback to the groovy floral wedges of the ’70s that became popular in the ’90s and thought it would be fun to DIY a pair of my own since they don’t really exist anywhere to buy just yet, other than these gorgeous mosaic wedges by Dolce & Gabbana, which are similar, but not exactly the crafty, woodsy, hand-made ’70s style I was going for.
So I grabbed my woodburner and my wood-soled leather strap wedges I bought a few years ago, and got busy. To be honesty, I’ve actually had a surprising amount of practice with a wood burner, on leather, more than wood… I used to burn a similar floral design into leather belts a million years ago, so I thought I’d free-hand it all over my shoes because it’s pretty cute, but any floral design will turn out cute as well.
Here’s What You’ll Need…
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- Wedges with a true wood sole. Mine are Steve Madden from a few years ago… Opt for leather straps if you want to decorate those as well.
- Woodburner pen
Make sure to do this in an open/ventilated area and wear glasses if the {very small amount of} smoke irritates your eyes.
Steps…
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Your woodburner tool probably comes with four different tips. I like the curved tip with a point best. I believe it’s the calligraphy tip, but it creates the smoothest lines without breaking or getting stuck in the grooves.
NOTE: Most wood-soled shoes, however, usually have a finish, which makes burning a bit more difficult. Draw your designs out with pencil or pen first if you’d rather be more precise and/or find printable designs.
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There are a few options for free-hand designs…
Create your flowers slowly and one at a time or…
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Burn them all on lightly at once to create your print, then go over each one slowly to get the full burned effect.
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Do all the wood at once and all the leather at once because they burn differently.
Use a lighter touch on the leather and a heavier hand on the wood. The leather will burn quicker and easier and smoother, but if there’s a finish to it, which there most likely will be, it will stick to your burner and you’ll have to let it sit to warm up again after a few flowers drawn.
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Go over any light burned section for a more in-depth design. Be as simple or as intricate as you like!
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Make sure to space your flowers out and cover all areas, including the back. Don’t worry if your designs aren’t perfect! That’s the point!
I skipped the ankle straps, but you can choose to decorate any, all, or just parts of your shoes. Get creative!
And… Voila!
I have to wear my groovy floral wooden wedge sandals with socks at the moment because it’s Winter {and let’s be honest, I haven’t had a pedicure in months} but also… brrrr, it’s cold out herrr!
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Have Fun!
* Find all my DIYs here