Grace Reaper Shoes

I think these turned out okay for a first attempt at truly modding shoes.

One: I took Draculaura's shoes from the Draculaura/Clawd gift pack (these were the spares. My BFF got two. One set to mod, one set to keep) and hacked them up with my x-acto knife/craft knife. Hack is the wrong word. I carefully shaved off the buttons and heels.

Two: I got nail polish remover and cotton balls to begin cleaning. I believe 100% pure acetone is best when trying to remove paint. Just be careful not to get this on the body of your doll. It will cause damage.

Three: I've wiped the paint off of one of the shoes using acetone. Repeat for the other shoe. Acetone is strong stuff, so wear gloves or it will dry out your skin.

Four: As I have mentioned, acetone is very strong. So to properly wash the harmful chemicals away you need baking soda. Over time, the acetone can shrink/damage plastics. I am sure to do this you would have to be soaking the object in acetone or use quite a bit of it and not clean it. But I am paranoid, so let's clean them anyway.

Five: Submerge your shoes in water and add a spoonful of baking soda.

Six: It's going to bubble a lot. Don't worry, that's just baking soda doing what it loves to do.

Seven: It seems like I have skipped a few steps here! Not really. I just dried the shoes and went back to work. I used clay to form the boot like section of the shoe. Using my x-acto knife I cut away bits of clay I didn't need. Once that was done, I popped these into the oven. Shoes and all. This is not recommended unless you have worked with clay and plastics before. A small amount of clay such as this will scorch if the temp is too high or it is left in the oven too long. I went below the recommended heat of 275, but I cannot remember how much lower. Plastic can and WILL melt if the temp is too high. But no matter what, it will soften in heat so do not be rough with it when it comes out of the oven or you will damage the shape. Let it cool first.

Eight: I forgot to take a picture of priming the shoes. I did a few base coats of white to make sure the pink was thoroughly out of sight before painting the rest of the shoe the right colors.

I think these turned out okay.

You may not be making Grace Reaper's shoes, but this may help you in other areas.