How to Upcycle Old Boots to Look Trendy

A brief tutorial how to upcycle old boots with straight block heels to look trendy.

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Repair Your Heels for Cheap

Some of you may remember my post on my closet clean-out. See the link in case you missed it. In the post, I gave examples on what to toss and what is worth to repair. I identified a pair of boots with distressed heels as worth the effort to repair them. Since Fairbanks again has no cobbler, I had to do it myself. I decided to jump the bandwagon on this fall’s trend of “jeweled heels.” In this post, I will explain how I up-cycled my old boots into trendy statement boots. The best, when the trend is over, it is easy to remove the decoration and replace it with leather. Low risk, high reward.

What You Will Need to Up-Cycle Old Boots with Block Heels

1. Plastic clue
2. An iron cleaning brush
3. Studs or other decoration best as a band like shown in the photo below (Tip: Buy the band twice the length of the circumference of the heel in about the width of the height of the heel)
4. Paint to color the rest of the heel where needed
5. A small paint brush
6. A pair of scissors
7. 15 minutes of undisturbed time

How to Make Jeweled Heels

Clean the distressed heels from soil, loose leather and dirt. Use a steel brush to roughen the surface so the clue gets a good grasp. When working on the first heel, I put the clue onto the decoration band. However, some clue went thru the grid, dripped and changed the color of some studs to looking silver. Thus, for the second galosh I put the clue on the heel. This procedure worked better and didn’t cause discolorations. I later painted the discolored studs gold to fix the mishap.

Finishing Touches of Heel Embellishment DIY Project

After the clue had dried, I painted the remainder of the heel gold. Of cause you can also go for a decoration band that can be cut to measure for the heel. Then you won’t have to do the painting. However, this doesn’t work with plastic studs that are hollow inside.

Tip: When you use a material that can be cut in which ever way you want/need to cut it, I would recommend to create a paper pattern of the heel surface. This way it is easier and safer to cut the material than doing it directly.

Like this project? Then pin it to your DIY Pinterest board as a reminder when your heels need “help”.

How I Styled These Trendy Heels

I wore the up-cycled beauties for the first time with a little black dress and a statement belt. A pair of leopard print gray and black tights served to create interest. It’s interesting how gray looks light compared to black. Isn’t it?

More DIY and Recycling Ideas on High Latitude Style

Did you know that you can find many posts on this blog about other DIY projects like how to

• Revive an old shirt into a summer skirt,
• Dye a blazer,
• Make a patched shirt, or
• Shorten a high low hem dress,

just to mention a few.

P.S. Stressed out about buying gifts for friends, family and colleagues? Check out my gift guide for great gift ideas. Check for Discounts, Coupons, and Promo Codes.

Photos of me: G. Kramm

Other photos: N. Mölders

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