Princess Protection Program Party Countdown

Only 2 days to go!

Gracie has selected ice cream flavors and pizza toppings. She's chosen her outfit. And yesterday she and I made the paper shoes that the favors will go in.
These are so cute I could just squeal like a 9-year-old girl. It was so much fun to choose all of the pretty scrapbooking paper and make them.

Here's the link to Ellen Hutson's blog in case you missed it. I love this pattern, and so many of the other creative things on her site.

There aren't a lot of detailed directions, though, so here's a few tips from me:

• I wanted the shoe to be large enough to tuck a few favors into - a lip gloss, a nail polish, emery board, and toe separator (all from the Target Dollar Spot!). I enlarged this pattern 129% (standard upsize on a copy machine) onto 11" x 17" paper. Now the pattern fits beautifully onto 12" x 12" scrapbook paper.

• I chose matching scrapbook papers for each shoe. This is one of the most important parts, so take your time.
  

For instance, I love the papers on this shoe, but I think it could have used more contrast.
Like this:
A real bargain can be had if you find a double sided paper that you really like. I found this one for the same price as all of the other single-sided ones. It saves you a whole cutting/gluing step and looks a little more finished because no white shows at any edges. It was also a little thicker, so it holds up just as well, or better, than the two papers glued together.

• Carefully cut out your templates. I found it much easier to work with one out of thicker paper or cardboard; just be careful to trace and cut accurately. I still used the paper template for my folding lines. The only adjustment I made was in the liner. Do you see how the white edges show inside this shoe? This was my first try.

After that one, I altered the liner pattern to match the same section of the shoe pattern so that the white wouldn't show. Doesn't this look much better?

• Glue the two pieces together carefully and quickly. I just used Modge Podge that I had on hand, but I'm sure there are better choices. It dries VERY QUICKLY, so work fast and don't lay the piece down anywhere you don't really want it to go. I did this assembly line style, so that each piece had a chance to dry before moving onto the next step.
• Make all of your folds, according to the pattern.
• I glued the wings that hold the sole of the shoe to the sides first. Hold them in place while they dry. It is important that these line up correctly, so play with it a little before gluing.
• Then I put glue on the large part of the heel. Line these up so that they overlap exactly.
• Next I put a dab of glue on one small part of the heel. This doesn't overlap perfectly, but just holds these pieces together for support.
• Last, you could glue the toe of the shoe. I chose to make slits on opposite ends, like Ellen did, to about the halfway point, and slip them together. I thought it made a nice detail on the toe of the shoe.
• When the shoes dry, tuck in your party favors or invitations. Viola!

Isn't that cute? I did six of them in about 3 hours, intermingled with cooking dinner and flipping laundry. Of course, now that I've done a few, I am much faster and my last one came out better and faster than my first. I could easily see doing the smaller version of these to decorate a tiny Christmas tree, or as place card holders on a dinner table.

I hope you have a fun and creative day!