Upcycling TOMS + other random things that are consuming my life

It's summer time and that apparently equals BUSY over here! But unfortunately, that hasn't stopped me from downloading Dots and Candy Crush Saga onto my iPhone and wasting every free second bent over that thing/cursing like a sailor. Those games are HARD, but I can't quit now! 

True story, while waiting for my pictures to upload to this blog post, I played 20 rounds of Candy Crush. I only stopped because I just lost all my lives. This is a problem.

I keep overhearing people (OK, I'm an eavesdropper. Secret's out.) saying "I can't believe it's mid-June already! And I totally agree with them. Where does the time go in the summer? You'd think since we have more daylight, the days would feel longer. No such luck!

I've been trying to have some sort of activity planned for me and C to do each day so we don't go crazy or sit inside staring out the windows like we did all winter. I mean, come on. I'm over that. How depressing. Hence, my lack of blogging/returning phone calls/cleaning. Me and my baby-buddy are busy, y'all!

Like, busy riding around on this tractor toy I dug out of the neighbor's trash.

This also means that when C is down for a nap, I am having down time. And down time = Candy Crush Saga this week. 

BUT, before I got Candy Crush, I actually did a little upcycle to my black TOMS. They're one of the first pair I got, and they've had holes in the toes for a couple of years now. I stopped wearing them for a while when I was pregnant and my feet grew. And it's taken a while for them to get back to normal.

Ok. Honestly, they didn't go all the way back to normal. I think they're wider than before. So that makes these TOMS a liiiiiiittle snug, and the holes started to get more and more noticeable.

Then I remembered I had some fun black fabric in my stash with white stitching across it and thought it'd be PERFECT for my hole-y TOMS.

And also, I guess I drag my left foot behind me in some weird way, because there was this hole on the back heel only. So that needed to be spruced up as well.

The first thing I did was make the holes bigger by cutting them open. I did this because I thought it might help the shoes not feel so tight with an extra layer of fabric. (I've covered another pair of TOMS before and unfortunately, after they were covered, I couldn't fit my giant feet into them.)

Cut the toes open a little bit for more room. Cut more than this for more room, then stuff the toes to the brim while gluing the fabric down,

Also, I know I should have washed them before I did this, but I didn't. I wore them to the splash pad one day, so maybe that is good enough? 

Basically, I just cut some fabric to size and glued it down, tucking it in as I went.

Then I did a bad job taking pictures along the way, but here are a few bullet points of tips to successfully up-cycling your TOMS:

• Choose a cotton fabric and make sure it is pre-washed before you glue it on. That way, if you want to wash your TOMS later, the fabric doesn't warp and peel off.
• Hem the fabric piece along one side for the toe piece and measure and hem 3 sides for the back heel patch (this helps it look more finished, and keeps the edges from fraying.)
• Stuff a bunch of toilet paper in the toes to help them keep shape while you're gluing the fabric down.
• Use masking tape or painters tape to hold the fabric in place for a few hours while it's drying. I mean, REALLY TAPE THOSE SUCKERS UP.
• For the back heel, cut a little piece from the middle to show the TOMS label, and slowly cut away more until you are showing the whole label. If you try to do this all at once, you will probably end up getting it crooked.
• After it is all glued down and dry, trim away the excess fabric with small, sharp scissors. Then, go back along the edges and add extra glue where needed, and tape it down again for a few more hours.
• Remove tape and wear!

ta-da!

The good news is, these fit this time! The bad news is, there is no bad news.

The other good news is, did anyone see this week's episode of Real Housewives of Orange County? How is it possible for me to love people who I've never met so much?

I bet anyone reading this blog post who doesn't really know me probably thinks I'm white trash.