Need a good defense against those spike stilettos? These shoes have you covered!

Ready to save damsels in faraway lands, but not quite sure your current shoes are up for the quest?  Fortify your footwear, and be strong with style in these charming pumps.  Dragons and dark magic won't know what hit them!

Difficulty: medium-hard 

Materials:

Pumps

Pencil

Tracing paper

Felt tipped marker
Ball point pen

Worbla (black & original)

Thin craft foam

Scissors

Heat gun

Ruler
Tape measure

Sewing pins
Blue Tape

Acrylic paint
Paintbrushes

Spray Gesso
Fine sandpaper
Old toothbrush

Silver ribbon

Sewing Machine
Extra ankle straps (1 pair)

Needle 

Thread

E-6000 glue

Silver half pearls (varying sizes)

Rhinestones (clear, pink)
Cameo settings

Start with pair of pumps.  Don't worry if they aren't your perfect fairy tale ending, we can turn them into a happily ever after.   

 Next, sketch out your desired design with a felt tipped marker right on the shoe. If your shoes are black try a light coloured pencil or china marker depending on the material.  (My shoes are faux dragon leather).  Start by marking only one side of the shoe.  Pin tracing paper over the design, and trace the pattern.  Make sure to include the outlines of the shoe for alignment purposes.

Next, flip the tracing paper over and transfer the magic mirrored design to the other side of the shoe.  The lead from the original tracing will transfer to the shoe if you push hard enough.  If you are using a darker shoe, you should still be able to see the sheen from the lead.  Use a softer lead if you have trouble with this.   

To insure the pattern doesn't smudge off, trace over it once upon a time more with a feft tipped marker.

Darling's shoes seem to be a bit lower than a normal pair of pumps at the sides, so I intentionally purchased shoes that I would be able to adjust the height to my liking.  If yours are more princess perfect skip to the next chapter.  To add the side piece, measure and cut a piece of original Worbla to fill the spot.  The edges should overlap the inside of the shoe and the top of the sole to help add support.  Heat the pieces and attach them to the shoe.
**Use caution around the heat gun, it can burn just as badly as any fire breathing dragon, and you wouldn't want to be the damsel in distress.**
Remember your foot will flair out a bit on one side and pull in on the other. Shape these side pieces to fit your foot's curvature.

These pieces are sturdy, but need a bit more support, if they are going to stand up to knightly adventures.  Add two layers of the black Worbla to the outside of the shoe.  They should not overlap the inside.  The layers will add support and they make the piece flush with the shoe.  You can add all the layers at once, but I found it was easier to get a snug fit adding them once apon at a time.

Ever after the side pieces are cooled, add the thicker trim around the back of the pump. To make this piece, sandwich a piece of thin craft foam between two layers of Worbla.  I used the original (tan) on the bottom with the shiny side up, and the black on top with the shiny side facing down into the foam.  The shiny sides have more glue.  The black Worbla doesn't stick as well as the tan, so you want the stickiest side to the foam.  The tan side goes against the shoes, but you don't want it to stick, you'll see why in a later chapter.

Heat both layers, and burnish around the foam piece, making sure the layers have joined.  Allow the piece to cool, and carefully cut around the edges.  Line the piece up with the back of the shoe and lightly press in place.  Don't attach the top edge tightly.  Reheat the trim where it crosses on top of the newly added side piece, and firmly press in place.   

If your trim has adhered itself to the back of the shoe, wait until after the pieces have cooled, and carefully pry the top edge of the Worbla foam piece away from the shoe.  This will be a ruffle attachment point.

Next is the fairy labor intensive process of adding all the small curly details.  I did this with three different sizes of black Worbla tubes.  (The black Worbla is a bit better at creating small details, but it has less glue, so it doesn't adhere as well.  Keep this in mind when attaching details)  To make the tubes, use a ruler and a pall point pen to mark the Worbla.  Then cut along the lines to make strips.

Next heat the Worbla and stick the edges together making sure the shiny side is facing out.  Don't push too hard you are trying to make a tube.

Reheat the Worla and then roll it to make a smooth shape.  I used an old broken ruler to help roll.  It kept the shapes more regular, and the Worbla didn't stick to it.

Cut and shape the Worbla along the lines that were previously marked on the shoes. Alternate thick and thin pieces, and push the tubes flat in some places to add visual interest.  It took me around 8 hours to do this to both shoes.  Good thing all the damsels have taken classes in waiting forever after to be rescued...
If you are going to do battle in 5" pumps, you'll need to reinforce those heels. You wouldn't want those skinny fragile bits breaking off mid quest!  To add the plates to the heel, begin by making a pattern.  Mark the lines, on the heel, with a felt tipped pen.  Next use tracing paper pinned to the heel to get the exact shape.  Start with the bottom and work your way up since the pieces overlap.  Number the tracing paper, and remove from the shoe.
For support double layer the Worbla.  I layered tan Worbla on the bottom sticky side down, the black Worbla on top sticky side down.
Once the Worbla sandwich has cooled, trace the pattern pieces and cut.  (If you have trouble cutting trough the two layers heat them up slightly.)  Heat again and curve to the shoe.  Allow to cool.

Mask off as much of the shoe as possible with blue tape, while still leaving the Worbla exposed.  Spray Gesso the pumps following the manufacturer's instructions.  (Remember to hold the can upside down and clear the nozzle between uses, it clogs really easily.)   The black Worbla should become smoother with fewer coats than the tan.  (Personally I didn't notice that much of a difference on the curly bits, but on the flatter heel pieces it was smoother faster.)  Sand between coats. Repeat till smooth.

Once upon a time when it's dry, remove the tape. Then clean off any over spray by wetting an old toothbrush and gently scraping it off.  Too much water will wash away the Gesso so be hextra careful.

Once the shoes are clean and dry, it's time to paint.  Using thin coats, paint the shoes.  Don't forget to paint your ankle straps!  I also decided to cut off part of the side front where the ruffle goes for a smoother line.

After the shoes are totally covered and dry, use E-6000 glue to add the silver bobbles to the shoe.
You can wait to do this until after the ruffle is attached, but I like to avoid glue around fabric as much as possible.  (If you can't find matching gems try spray painting them sliver.)

To create the ruffles, box pleat ribbon.  I used a sheer metallic ribbon because I like the contrast of hard, soft and sheer, but it's easier to see the steps with opaque fabric.  It can be difficult to mark ribbon when it is sheer, so I used a bit of a trick to make my pleats.  It's not quite as precise as measuring out each pleat with a ruler, but it works well enough and for this project I liked a bit of irregularity.  If you want to make just right pleats do a quick mirror net search; there are lot of tutorials.
Cut a rectangle of stiff paper the width of the finished pleat (price tags work great).  Using a ruler draw a line in the middle of the rectangle.  Place this on the ribbon.

Fold the right hand side of the ribbon to the center line.

Then fold the left side to the center line.

Pin in place, and remove the paper.  For the next pleat, lay the paper twice its width from the last folded edge on the underside of the fabric.  Then repeat folding the left and right sides till there is enough for both shoes.

Sew the ribbon very closely to the bottom edge.  Do not press the pleats into place.

Glue the ribbon into place under the piece of loose Worbla trim, and along the front inside of the shoe.  Sew the trim along the ankle straps with a sewing machine, and hand sew the second row of ruffles in the front.
To finish the edges of the ribbon, use fabric glue or clear nail polish.  (If you use a metallic ribbon it will not melt like polyester ribbons will, so don't heat it.)

Now, its time for this princess's favorite part, the sparkle!  I choose to match the colour of the gems to the ones on Darling's armor, rose quartz is the colour of the year, gotta stay in style~  Unfortunately, I was unable to find cameo settings that were large enough to accommodate my gem and the boarder of crystals.  Fortunately, they make crystal trims that are attached with elastic.  If you encounter this problem I would suggest this trim as a solution. Cut the trim into small pieces and glue to the cameo.  Allow to dry.

The elastic trim turned out very beneficial because it allowed me to sew the gems to the shoes.  You can also glue them depending on how your story played out.  Attach the gems to both the top and bottom ankle straps, as well as the front ruffle.  If the gems don't lend enough support to keep the spacing your straps, add something stiff (like another piece of Worbla or ribbon covered boning) right next to the buckles in the back. 

Now strap on your new shoes, saddle your gallant steed, and show the fairy tale world your princess power!