New year's eve-angelic - How to DIY Sophia Webster Evangeline sandals

Spot the difference

Designer

DIY

All set to party for new year's eve? Got plans in place? (Like, had them since April, duh!) And yet completely stumped on what to wear for the big night? I here at Chic Cheat can help assuage your last-minute wardrobe worries a straightforward statement shoe refashion that can give an old pair of black evening shoes a lift or - one might even say - wings!

You will need...

Black high-heeled sandals (unless, of course, you want yours to be in another colour to the original. This is, after all, a free country!)

Gold leather or faux leather (I'd recommend the latter in terms of affordability)

Scalpel

Stick 'n' Stay craft mount

Glue gun

Gold fabric paint

Black pen

Printer (optional but recommended)

Difficulty

Quite easy

In principle, it's very straightforward in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of a way; you cut out a design and stick it in place. On a practical level, however, it does help to be dexterous with a scalpel on leather (faux or otherwise - I'd say both were the same difficulty) and therein lies the challenge, if any (if that makes sense).

Time

A few hours; cutting shapes can be painstaking!

Taking flight

This is a template for the design I used. To save yourself the hassle of tracing or copying, I'd recommend printing the design, which measures roughly 18cm x 10cm, and cutting it out.

On the back of the gold material, trace around the template twice, then turn the template over and trace around it twice again, so that the last two shapes mirror the first two shapes.

Using a sharp scalpel (I'd recommend one with a fresh blade) cut all the shapes out.

Use craft mount to stick the shapes along the sides of the shoes and a glue gun to stick the four points down at the back of each shoe. Finally, paint the backs of the wing shapes gold to match the front sides.

Glitter-arty - How to DIY a Marco de Vincenzo metallic pleated skirt

The very now way to wear holographics.

Marco De Vincenzo 3/4 Length Skirt (see more Marco de Vincenzo)

If this project seems a little late to the party, it's because I intended it to be a pre-new year's eve entry as a last-minute DIY fashion idea. Sadly I was away from home - and therefore some 99.9% of my DIY paraphernalia - and then, to cap it all, who knew that two weeks' free board and lodging courtesy of parents came with conditions of cleanliness attached (and that fine glitter particles are one among many noxious substances that get trodden into carpeting, causing irreversible ruination, if they're not dealt with within seconds of spillage)? Nonetheless, now that I'm back in the Zen calm of home, away from distractions, I figured it would be my last chance to take on the glittering, graduating trend of holographics 2014-style (late 2014, obviously; should it really look that bad to drop a time from four days in the past?) so I took on the Taylor Swift-endorsed Marco de Vincenzo metallic pleated skirt.

You will need

NB: Use fine glitter for an authentic lamé effect.

You might need more than one can of craft mount to cover the whole skirt. I'd recommend using Crafter's Companion Stick and Stay Mounting Adhesive.

 I would also recommend using a fixative after applying the glitter to avoid 'molting.'

Difficulty

Very easy

As a quick disclaimer, I'm referring specifically to the method. It's as quick, easy and satisfying to make as they come. However, keeping the area clean is significantly more of a challenge and tailor-made for those who like vacuuming.

Time

About an hour per side.

Get your glitter on

 Spread the pleats out as flat as you can; I would recommend doing them one by one. Cover each pleat in craft mount and sprinkle some glitter on top of it. In order to stop it from gushing out, hold the glitter shaker on its side and tap it with your fingers:

After you've covered all the pleats, sprinkle some silver glitter onto the waistband.

Front

Back