the answer dish: adding glitter to tap shoes
“Dear Shoedish - My daughter is going to be in her first tap dancing performance this upcoming Easter Weekend and we’ve just been asked by her instructor to have her tap shoes “glittered”. The instructor and other moms said that I can just buy glittery spray paint and spray them, but that seems crazy. Call me cheap, but I’m not going to ruin a brand new pair of tap shoes. We don’t have to do it, but I don’t want her to be the only one without her shoes glittered. There must be another way. Can you help?”
This isn’t exactly an area of shoedish’s expertise, but it just so happens that in our youth we too had to decorate our tap shoes with glitter for performances. Here’s what we’d do. It’s not a permanent fix, but it won’t ruin your existing shoe unlike some processes like spray painting. And yes, we do think it’s crazy to ruin a pair of perfectly good shoes by spray panting them. Spray painting? Seriously? We also think that your instructor should allow you another option; maybe someone needs to tell her about this. We’d love to see pictures of the final product. Good luck!!
What you need: Elmer’s glue or spray glue, masking tape, glitter, polyurethane spray, newspaper.
1) Stuff the shoes with newspaper. 2) Tape the entire surface area (except the sole and heel) with masking tape. 3) Use spray glue or spread a thin layer of Elmer’s glue over the entire are that needs to be “glittered”. 4) Add glitter and let dry for 2 hours. 5) Spray with polyurethane and let dry overnight.
To remove, just pull off the tape strips and use baby oil or WD-40 to remove excess tape strips and sticky marks.
Came straight to this page? Please visit The Shoe Dish for tons more.
Have questions or suggestions for shoedish? Please email shoedish@gmail.com.