Replica Ruby Slippers (from Oz)

Hello, everyone! Here is a pair of ruby slippers that I made a few years ago when I was 14 and 15 years old. It took a lot of studying of the original ruby slippers from the movie before I could make them. But they were really fun to make and I know there are a lot of wizard of oz fans around (I'm one of them) so I thought, why not share them with everybody? I hope you enjoy it.

I used these long beads here on the bows because the movie slippers had them.

Shoes with high heels, or of your choice

Small sequins (I got them from Michael's)

Stringed sequins of the same color

Hot glue gun (a small nozzle works best)

Glue sticks

A toothpick

Cardboard

Small gems and beads for the bows

Red paint ( as close as to the sequins as you can)

Newspaper

Patience

I used acrylic paint for this, but it doesn't exactly stay on very well, so if you have any better ideas for paint, feel free to use them! But make sure it's a kind of paint that glue can stick to.

Spread newspaper on your surface to prevent stains. Then, using the paintbrush, paint both shoes all over, (except inside) including the bottom, and let dry. Add a second coat if desired.

Now to put the sequins on. The first picture above shows where I put on the first sequin. Try to place it directly in the middle. The second picture shows where I put on the next two sequins. Notice the black arrows point to the dark red spots. Overlap those two on the first sequin. And then overlap the next two over those two. And so on. Make sure you get them like an upside down V. Once you've finished that row, the next one starts exactly the same. Place a sequin directly underneath overlaping the first and second sequins. And then start the next V. And so on. The V will get smaller and smaller as you go. And all this with the hot glue gun, of course. Use the toothpick to press down the sequins in the middle. Use only a little bit of glue, enough that it will always stay on, but yet not so much that it squeezes out on all sides.

Do the heel exactly the way you did the the instep. Start at the top and work your way down to the inside corners of the heel. Then start another V on the inside and go on down to the bottom.

The sides are the easiest part. Start at the front and make your way to the back on both sides. Always overlap the previous row.

After you've finished the main shoe, it's time to add the trimmings. Using the stringed sequins, (you can get them at fabricland) line the top and bottom. It looks nicer if you can get it to run the same direction on both sides.

Now you can add the bows. Draw out the bows on the cardboard. It took me quite a long time just trying to make the bow even on both sides. And then trace it on another piece and cut it out. Paint the bows the same color as the shoe, and then glue on the jewels and beads as described in the picture, or, you can make your own pattern.

Congratulations! You've made your own ruby slippers! Add any more things as you see fit. I put black felt on the bottom to match the sides, but that's optional. I'm sorry that some of my pictures are blurry, and I hope that I've explained it enough so that you can understand, but if you don't, just ask me in the comments below. I'll answer all your questions.