DIY Swarovski Converse

Don't know when but customising converse has always been a big thing. I guess it shows uniquecity and adds a edge to your overall style. Lately swarovski gems have been the IN thing. Decorating the toe cap in gems gives a eye catching but subtle touch to the converse, which can also be very feminine at the same time. Who doesn't want to sparkle and catch eyes whilst walking!!

This blog post I'm going to give you some tips and tricks on how I customised my converses.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional nor skilled in customising converses.

BUT saying this, this was my first attempt, and if I can do it YOU sure can too!! It was actually really simple. These people selling these customised converse are definitely making good money. I would say the first shoe I attempted was not as good as the second pair, as I became more skilled and gained experience.

I'm going to give you guys some tips and tricks on swarosking and turning  your converses into these bad boys ;)

Just a note to add, this took me 2 hours. 1 hour per shoe. So be prepared to give up some time in

creating these. I got complimented so many times today when I was at work though, felt like the hard work paid off!!

What you will need:

-a pair of converse

-swaroski gems

-super glue

-tweezers

-toothpick

I got my converse when I was in HK . They are the white leather Chuck Norris and I got them for $509HKD. The swarovski gem was also bought from HK in the Sham Shui Po area. They are about £3.50 per packet and I bought 4 packets in total. Each packet consist of 144 gems and I ended up with about only 20 gems left. I'm going to keep these as spares incase any of the gems need replaced. Super glue was just bought from the local supermarket and tweezers and toothpick was just found from home.

DIY-ing in a speil:

1. Clean the area before gluing

2. Place glue on the area

3. Use tweezers to pick and place gem

4. Use toothpick to help maneuverer the gem

5. Wait for it to dry

In depth DIY-er tips

Before you start make sure that the toe cap area where we want to glue is clean. How I did it was I worked from the outer top part of the shoe. Make sure to start from the side that is facing outward as this is most important in keeping the gems looking neat and professional. I found it best to work from one side to the other, line by line. Make sure that the first gem of each line is neatly placed and when you reach to the end of the line about 3-4 gem space, space them out closer or wider apart to keep a neat outline edge. Saying this, I don't mean drastically big spaces. For each gem I left a very,

very slight gap. This is optional you can have them placed side by side, gem touching each other, that's no problem at all.

An important tip is to work fast. Once the glue is on the shoe make sure the way the gem is placed is in the desire location. To avoid misplacing, work one gem at a time. Gradually when your confidence of gluing becomes more secure, you can glue 2-4 at a time. I advice not to glue more than 4 at a time as it becomes more difficult to work with, due to the fast drying glue. Also when gluing the start and finish of each line make sure it doesn't go out onto the red outer line of the converse as the glue can be seen when it is dried.

Before starting, have a few practice on a piece of paper to check the texture and viscosity of the glue. The best way to glue is to squeeze a little bit and using the glue tip applicator spread the glue so there is a thin layer. I found this was the best way to work because with a thick application of glue, the glue can spread into the other lines of gem you have placed, creating a mask of glue around the gem causing a matt finish. This can also happen when applying gems. Make sure the tweezers is clean. After about 10 gems clean the tweezers to make sure there is no residue of glue. This can transfer onto the gem whuch causes a lack of shine on the gems. If this happen don't worry. I learnt it the hard way. All that mentioned happened to me!!!! I thought I was doomed. But it can be fixed with a toothpick. I can assure you that these gems are securely glued on. I scrapped the gems with the toothpick and tah-dah the gems were sparkling again and didn't move a inch. So follow the above because scrapping the gems was very time consuming.

Work on a well lit surface and use tweezers to pick up and place the gems and with your other hand use a toothpick to help manuveur the gems to desired location.

Have fun pairing them up with different outfits!! Here I've paired them with frilly socks and cat tights. I'm going to purchase some ribbon or lacey ribbon to change the shoe lace also.

Good luck with customising your converses and have fun. You can be as creative as you want or create the same as mines!!!

Miss Budget Barbie ^.^