Decopatched Boots

This has got to be one of my weirdest ideas, I’ve Decopatched a lot of things, but never a pair of boots.  I was pretty sure it could be done, but only found shoes on Pinterest and YouTube.

I put the idea on the back burner, until one fateful day I found some hardly, if ever worn, Paver boots for 70p in my very favourite charity shop in Evesham. The style is, ermmmmm ……a bit frumpy (????), but at that price, it would have been rude not to, especially as they were my size and if they didn’t work out, well, what’s 70p and a few papers I already had …… and I could always donate them back!

Covering them didn’t take long and wasn’t as fiddly as I first thought and the finished effect remained surprisingly supple, which I thought might actually stand up to being worn.

The drying however took forever ………. and I mean forever!

I’d used Outdoor Modge Podge, because the bumf said:- ………..

“Mod Podge Outdoor - Finish, seal and protect all your crafting projects.
This water-based sealer, glue and finish lets you decoupage for the outdoors! Seals and protects wood, terracotta, slate, tin and more porous surfaces. Specially made for outdoor projects.”

It was thick and very sticky. Putting them in the sun to dry out didn’t really work after the initial drying process, they just felt a tad tacky to the touch, so in the end I shoved them in the hall cupboard to niggle away at me to finish them.

I knew that the water based Modge Podge might not be completely waterproof and I thought just plain varnish would crack if I actually walked in them, so when I decided I couldn’t delay their finish any longer, I bought some dubbin to help protect them, “Mad dog’s an English woman who goes out on a soaking day!” me thinks. 

I think, in the end, it was all a fools errand, since dubbin is made to feed, restore and waterproof leather and I doubt very much that pleather and outdoor Modge Podge would absorb anything (???)! DOH!  However, despite thinking this, perhaps the waxy finish might offer just a little protection, so I repeated the dubbin and polishing process twice, any way.

At the moment I’m not sure, I still think they’re a bit frumpy, but there again, I do have very wide feet!   I only wanted them to add a fun and colour for when I listen to little ones read at school, do I dare? Will they be my “ When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple” moment?