Holy Flock Batman! (Glitter and flocking are a dynamic duo!)

I know it might be hard to see but these hot shoes sport grappling hooks and Bat-Tasers. They also do double Batarang duty!  Don’t worry though, these heels are for good and justice, and will promise not to use their powers for evil.

Now if I am going to talk nerdy to you, I’d admit that I really am a die-hard Marvel girl, but when introducing the toddler set to superheroes I have found Adam West Batman and vintage Superman are the way to go. So classic Batman Blue and Superman Scarlet are the current team colors we sport in this household.

      I scored these brand new heels from Goodwill for a measly four bucks. Glittering on a Bat Signal seemed like the right thing to do. While digging through my sparkly stash however, I came across a jar of forgotten and unused yellow Martha Stewart flocking. It was so very yellow…. sooooo very bat signal yellow. The fuzziness hypnotized me, brainwashing me into believing flocked shoes were the most genius idea in the Whole Wide World!! Now I cannot say that putting fuzz all over a pair of shoes is really a great idea, (think rain and mud- these shoes are for sunny days only), and I won’t say it was the smoothest project I have ever tackled, but I will say they turned out pretty awesome. 

If you’ve never worked with flocking before it is pretty much tiny fuzzy fibers you might have seen used as texture on greeting cards, or maybe covering vintage bunny rabbit piggy banks. You can work with it pretty much the same way as glitter, but it requires a little more time, and thus patience to get it right. You’ll need to do more layers for full coverage, and it is by far messier than glitter. I discovered if you use fabric glue you’ll  end up with yellow concrete instead of yellow fuzz. Mod Podge again comes out as my medium of choice.

-If you’d like to try some flocking, I’ll break down how I crafted these for you.  (To the Bat Cave!)

1.      Sort out a pattern, I free handed my Bat-Signal, but you could grab clip art online. Make sure to try different sizes so you can see that works best.

2.      I taped down my colored blueprint so I could visualize the finished product.

3.      Trace the outline with a Sharpie. (Gather up your sidekicks…. I used Martha Stewart glitter and flock.)

4.      Then cut out any details and finish the outline.

5.      Let the flocking begin! Just build up layers of Podge and light flock, allow to dry and repeat until you’re happy with the look. (I did think that perhaps next time I may paint the base to match the flock color that way I might not need as many layers, but I couldn’t guarantee the flock would stick so skipped it.)

6.      Tidy up. I was able to push and scrape off wayward glued flock with some tool-thingie I found in the garage. Please no one chop off a finger doing battle with your flocking.

7.      Once flock is dry glitter as normal.

8.      You’re super fabulous. Enjoy.

Dress-  S.Oliver (Thrifted)

         Shoes- Goodwill

Photography done in harsh light- Husband (We'll work on improving that.)

            After finishing my Bat-Heels, I realized that flock might be better suited for portraying a naturally fuzzy, perhaps woodland creature, than a crime fighter, so I made a Jackalope pair as well. Stayed tuned for that!

           

           Same Bat-place! -Kendra