The last few weeks have been busy. First day of school and the to-do list and running around... selling our home and cleaning for showings... keeping this place from exploding with laundry. And so on. 😉 I'm sure you know how exactly what I'm talking about.

But in the midst of all that, I really haven't done much creating. And I craved it.

Oh, it feels so good to create again.

My new friends at Cricut asked if I would be interested in participating in their Design Space Star Challenge and it was the perfect "excuse" to get creative. I tried out the new Cricut Explore at my friend Megan's crafting night and it was a dream. Images and text look so crisp! What I especially love is that I'm no longer held back on what I can make, it's really just another tool to help you create what you're imagining in your crazy creative brain.

This month's project is "Apparel/Gear". Guys, I am no fashion blogger. But I do wear clothes. Eek, gulp, challenge accepted.

My awesome team (#team15whatwhat), decided to narrow things down and do a "Designer Inspired" theme. Double eeks and gulps!

The closest I have gotten to a designer is non-clearance stuff at Target. 

 Let's do this. #fistpump

 

So how's about some electric blue cheetah Keds from Ms. Kate Spade? ($80? No, I will not "add to bag")

What you'll need:

-canvas shoes (mine were on sale at Target - $12!)
-electric blue, white, mint, and black paint
-fabric medium
-Cricut Explore
-cardstock, vinyl, or freezer paper (for stencil)

You can do this two ways: you can paint your shoes with the paint + fabric medium mix, or buy shoes in a color you like. I wanted that bold electric blue like Kate's so paint it was!

To Make Cheetah Stencil:

The Cricut Design Space, the online program used to create and cut, will leave you feeling spoiled. This literally took a few minutes from start to finish (and most of the time spent was watching the machine cut my super intricate design).

In Design Space, hit the blue "Create New Project" button. Press "insert image" and search "cheetah". This is the screen you'll get:

Stretch the image to the size of your stencil material, mine is a 8.5 x 11 sheet of cardstock. Follow the on-screen instructions and cut! (I keep wanting to say print, but we're actually cutting.)

When finished, peel the mat away from your paper (IMPORTANT!) and you'll have a pretty cheetah stencil left behind. Swoooooon!

 

HOW-TO PAINT:

-Follow the instructions on your bottle of fabric medium and mix, mine was 1 part medium to 2 parts paint.

-Paint shoe. Don't paint the laces (trust me, I tried and they were gross). Don't forget the tongue of the shoe! If you paint on the rubber, don't freak, it comes off easily when dry.

-Let dry overnight.

-Now take your cheetah stencil and place it on your shoe. Work in sections and stencil on the black paint. Let dry before moving stencil to prevent smudges.

-When your shoes are black and spotty, you can either stop here or go on to paint in a bit of detail. The Kate shoes had white and mint so I used those. Paint a white circle on the inside of some of the cheetah spots, then a touch of mint.

-Let dry overnight, then put your laces back in.

 

Now you're done!

You're so fancy, you already know...

These shoes work a lot like my glitter dipped mug, my feet felt magical just wearing them. Maybe they do have magic powers?

Your yoga pants will magically have no peanut butter on them. The laundry will disappear. Your house will be decluttered and you didn't have to do a darn thing.And the other moms at the school pick up line will be like "ohhhh SNAP! Who is that mom?!?!"

No? Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. But these shoes rock and so does the Cricut Explore. I cannot WAIT to make something else!