Great Journeys Start With Awesome Shoes!

     They say that every great journey begins with a single step. While this may be true, I do believe that prior to stepping out, one must be properly equipped with shoes that are able to make said journey! :p  And who wants to begin an adventure as amazing as marriage wearing uncomfortable shoes that most people won't see because of the dress anyway? (Plus, I want to be able to run in case of the zombie apocalypse! Hehe.) The point is, I wanted to do something I'd dreamed of for a very long time....wear Converse on my wedding day!

     So, I did what any logical person would do...I tried to find shoes to match my wedding colors! And let me tell you...that was not easy! First of all, there are very few types of Converse out there that are rainbow...and those that are, are primary colors, not neons.  I did manage to find a Google image of the PERFECT shoe...but...it seems that the website that the shoe comes from is in Russian...so ordering was a bit of a problem.

     Then I got the bright idea that I could dye them myself using Airicca's wonderful spray dye that I had used on the flowers for the boutonnieres and that would be used for the dress tie.  So, I found a white pair on e-bay for a decent price that were in good condition, washed them thoroughly, bought some insoles, and prepared to dye them.

        At the last moment prior to dying...I had an epiphany. I should just use sharpies instead! The colors would be brighter and I could more easily control overlap! Knowing that this task would be time consuming, I tested each of my colors used to create the directional signage on the inner tongue of one of the shoes.  They looked so vibrant! I was sold! So I began the tedious task of working on the shoes.  I started by outlining the Converse logo and each of the eyelets with yellow. This was surrounded by orange, then green, then blue, then pink, and finally purple. At that point, the color pattern repeated itself. I did this for both shoes.

      Since there wasn't any logo on the outsides of the shoes, I had to get even more creative.  On one I scripted the word "Love" in black, then outlined things as I had before.  The other shoe proved more difficult. I couldn't spell out "Love" again because the "L" would be small and the "E" large due to the natural curve of the shoes. So, I drew a heart and wrote "M + J" inside in black sharpie. This design was, again, colored according to the previously established pattern. The results were spectacular! I can't wait to wear these!!! :)