Let's Whip Up a Brew for Some Wicked Shoes!

Looking to show your rebel pride with a few wicked wardrobe choices? Why not cast a spell and add a bit of an edge to some every night footwear. Not all princess wear pink!  

Difficulty: Hard, mostly they take a lot of time and patience.
Materials:

Anti-gravity (heel less) wedges

Thibra

Black Worbla

Mesh Worbla

Silicone feather texture mold

Felt tipped marker

Tracing paper
X-acto knife

Scissors

Pencil

Soda can

Heat gun

Spray Gesso

Blue tape

Sandpaper

Black, purple & silver acrylic paint 

Paintbrush

Jump rings

Pliers

Plastic chain

Silver spray paint

Lobster clasps

1/4" pyramid studs

E-6000 Glue
A suitable work surface

Begin with a spelltaculaur pair of heel less wedges.  Usually this style of shoe have platforms in the front. From what I've read it helps with balance.  Raven's are very flat, but I'd rather not have to cast a spell just to walk, so I went with it.

Currently these are a bit too royal, so lets change that!  Grab a magical marker and start sketching out the feather placement.
~ Oops my picture got lost through a magic mirror~

Once upon a time you have a general idea of where the feathers go, it's time to start making them.
Cut enough rectangles of Thibra to make all the feathers. They can vary in length but should all be a similar width. Place the Thibra rectangle on one side of the silicone feather texture mold.  The mold should come as a set of two pieces, one top and one bottom.

**The molds are intended for fondant, once you heat the plastic on it do not use it for food.**

Using a heat gun and extreme caution, heat the Thibra till soft. Then push the other half of the mold down on top.  Allow the plastic to cool in the mold, then remove.  Sketch out the general shape of a feather and cut the molded plastic strip with scissors.  Add little indents and curved edges for a more organic look.  I used one feather as a stencil and then varied the edges so they all looked a bit different, but were still cohesive.  Repeat this step about 120 or so times depending on your shoe/heel size, but that's about how many feathers it took to cover the wedges of both my shoes.   Set these feathers aside.

The feathers for the uppers are slightly different.  They are backed by mesh Worbla for additional strength.  My foot rubs up against the feather along the edge and I didn't want them to break down from flexing.  You can see in the pictures below the strength the mesh gives the feathers.  I bent them each about 100 times back and forth.  Only when I pushed really really hard did the mesh break.

 Cut strips of mesh Worbla the same size as the Thibra rectangles from the previous step.  If you ran out of Thibra strips cut more of those too.  Most of the feathers on the uppers are full length so make sure the pieces are longer rectangles.
Once all the rectangles of both materials are cut, lightly heat up one piece of mesh Worbla and place it on the mold.  The middle ridge that runs down the mold should be raised.  Next place a piece of Thibra on top of the Worbla.  Now heat the plastics and push the other half of the mold down on top of the stack. (The mesh Worbla requires more heat to be pliable which is why you want to apply a bit of heat to it before placing the Thibra on top.)
Allow to cool and then remove from the mold.  Cut out the feather shape, and repeat till there are enough to cover the uppers of both shoes.  I think it took me about 60 feathers.

Starting on the center back of the heel, lightly heat and place the Thibra onto the shoe.  Shorten the feathers to fit, by cutting with a sharp blade. It helps to not drag the blade through the material, but rather push the blade down through the material lift it up, move it and repeat.  Wait till the Thibra is cool to remove the piece. Try to avoid touching the plastic too much, your fingers will flatten the ridges and leave indents.  Continue this process until the whole wedge is covered.  To do the other shoe, I found it helpful to number and trace all the feathers.  I took those tracings, magic mirrored them, pre-cut the feathers, and quickly had a matching shoe.

Ever after both heels are covered and cooled, begin to place the feathers on the uppers.  Make sure to place the mesh Worbla facing against the shoe.  For the uppers, I started at the toe and worked my way to the center back.  Remember, the feathers need to be bent to accommodate your foot.  You may also want to round the tips, so they aren't too sharp.  Again, do your best not to touch the warm plastic much. 
Once, the whole shoe is covered, trim off any excess feathers that may overlap the scale portion, and set aside.

Now, begin cutting out the scales for the heels. I made a cutter by cutting a strip out of a old soda can and bending it into a scale shape.  (Though you can also trace the scales from a stencil and cut. ) Lightly heat up some black Worbla (to help the cutter go through) and begin making scales.  Remove the excess material while still warm. Allow the scales to cool before picking them up.  If they are still warn they might deform.

Once the scales are made, heat and place them on the shoes.  The reason I choose to use the black Worbla instead of the Thibra is that its harder to see the lines through the top pieces.  When you stack Thibra its very easy to see the lumps of the layers under it.  Use a ruler to help lay them out evenly if necessary.

Allow the shoes to cool completely and repeat on the other side.

Now that all the feathers and scales are placed, decide where the chains should attach.  You may want to have the shoe on for this, and ask a Charming for help.   Hold up the uncut chain, and mark the desired length and attachment points with a felt tipped pen & remove the shoes.
To make the loops for the chains to attach, gather some scraps of mesh Worbla and jump rings. Cut thin strips of mesh Worbla, wrap through the jump rings and heat to close.  Then, mash the ends into the inside of the shoe feathers with the side of a blade.  Try to really blend the two pieces together for a strong bond, but don't heat the feathers too much or they will bend out of shape. I found it helpful to heat my blade a bit a apply the extra heat needed that way.  Just be careful if your blade is on a plastic handle. Once cooled, give the rings a good tug to make sure they are secure.

 Next cut lengths of plastic chain along the markings, and get ready for a test fit.  I would suggest finding a chain that better matches the colour scheme of the shoe in case of paint chipping....This is just what I had (its for bird toys).  I chose to use plastic chains because they don't dig into my foot as much as metal.  Though the metal chain would work just fine.  As always choose your own destiny!

Open the jump rings that are attached to the shoe that run along the outside of your foot, and insert the chain. On the other end of the chain, connect a jump ring and a lobster clasp.  I find it easier to open and close clasps when they are along the arch of my foot, it gives me more room to work with.  Try it both ways and see which you like more.
Put the shoes on and make sure everything is comfortable before moving to the next step.  If you plan to wear fishnets, you may want to test those as well. If there are too may sharp tips or the feathers are too close to your foot the shoes can be tricky to slide on. Now is the last time to reheat and reshape.

Remove the chains from the shoe and the findings from the chains.
Now for prime and paint!

*The paint does have a tendency to chip off the chains, especially if the surface isn't primed.  Personally I don't mind touching up a coat of paint if it feels a bit more comfortable.*
  
On the shoe, tape off everything but the scales on the back (remember to protect the soles and insides of the shoes).  Coat both the shoes and chains with spray Gesso, allow to dry. Sand the shoe scales till smooth. 
The feathers do not need as many coats of Gesso as the scales.  The scales start off a bit more rough and the coats of paint needed to make them smooth will begin to fill the ridges in the feathers.  If you took the time to make the feather take the time to protect them! 
Remove the tape from the feathers, and spray with a light coat or two of Gesso.  This will help the paint stick.  Don't worry about sanding though.

Once dry, remove any remaining tape, and begin painting with black acrylic.  I used chalkboard paint because I love the sheen. I also mixed some dragon dark purple and crushed mirror silver to make certain details pop.  The shoes were a bit too flat without it.  You want to really show off all that hard work! The shoe in the back is just painted black for comparison. 
Don't forget to give the chains a coat of silver paint! (I used spray paint.)

 

Allow the shoes to dry.  If you didn't use chalkboard paint you might want to add a layer of varnish for protection.
Attach the painted chains to the shoes with jump rings and lobster clasps.

The final step is to glue on the pyramid studs.  If they have prongs in the back bend them inward with a pair of pliers till the studs sit flat.  Use E-6000 to glue them in place.  Allow to dry before use.

Now your spell is complete!  Check out the hexellent shoes! Turns out black magic isn't all bad~