Tutorials: DIY shoe clips + no-sewing needed clutch purse

Last week I had a fun opportunity to be on Meredith Vieira’s talk show sharing a few fashion DIYs for Christmas. I know it’s past Christmas, but I love a good at-home project any time of the year! These two were my favorites and are easy enough for the craft-challenged and even for doing with kids. For anyone interested, I included a recording from the TV segment at the bottom of this post.

DIY # 1 – I first came across the concept of shoe clips with my vintage bow ones from eBay, and soon realized how easy they were to make. Apparently in the olden days these were pretty common, and I don’t understand why they’re no longer popular! You can easily change up the look of plain shoes or mix and match designs to your heart’s desire. The clips can go on the front part of the shoe, the back behind the heel, on the side, on the ankle strap, etc…quite a few possibilities.

DIY # 2 – The other item the show producers asked me to demonstrate was a clutch purse, which I posted a tutorial of here (one of my favorite creations ever). However they asked me to simplify it even further so that no sewing was needed, since Meredith is apparently not so great with needle and thread. I scrounged around at home and found an old vinyl makeup pouch and fabric glue, which surprisingly helped create a pretty nice-looking bag. For anyone who owns a sewing machine though, I would encourage sewing based on my old tutorial instead of using glue, since stitches will be more secure over time.

On to the steps for the shoe clips..

Shoe clips materials needed:
1. Glue. If you don’t own a hot glue gun yet, it’s a useful little thing to have around for crafts plus is very inexpensive (under $10, especially with those craft store 40% – 50% off coupons). I used one here but if you want it to be really secure, super glue should work – just be very careful.

2. Embellishments. The best part about these is you can use a wide variety of items, such as costume jewelry, old hair bows, over-sized earrings that might be too heavy for your earlobes, etc.

3. Clips. There are blank shoe clips made specifically for this purpose. I took alligator clips from the back of old hairbows since i needed a bigger clip for my large pieces of jewels. NOTE: use smooth clips without jagged teeth to avoid leaving any marks on delicate shoes. I didn’t have time to find or buy smooth clips for the show or these photos, but they’re pretty easy to find either on old clips or at craft stores. You can also try lining the jagged side with small pieces of felt so that they don’t dig into the shoes as much.

Step 1 – remove jewels or bows from their original attachments. I used thin metal pliers (super nifty for repairing costume jewelry) to detach a few gem clusters from this inexpensive Forever 21 necklace, and also snipped off the bows and clip backings from old hair accessories.

Step 2 – If you’re using longer clips, use pliers to gently bend the clips into a shape that would lie flat on a shoe surface and feel comfortable up against your foot. These were originally in a curved shape, which I straightened out and then bent the handle grip a bit so it wouldn’t dig into my feet. *Remember not to use clips with jagged teeth on delicate shoes**

Step 3 – Generously apply glue to the back of the embellishments and press the clip down firmly until glue is set. I did the gems here first, which would look great alone on shoes, but added the bows for a little something extra.

Here’s what the backsides look like post-gluing. My gems here were pretty heavy and I didn’t have a lot of time for the glue to set, so I added thin wiring as extra reinforcement in hopes that they wouldn’t tumble off during the show.

And that’s it! Can’t wait to try these clipped on some pointy-toe flats. Here’s a few ideas on how to style your clips. I actually wonder why most designer statement shoes don’t come with the embellishment as removable for greater versatility.

 

They also look cute boxed up for gifting!

Next, the DIY no-sewing clutch purse…

Clutch purse materials needed:
1. Fabric. You can purchase scrap fabric on eBay, at fabric stores, or look in your closet or thrift store for old garments made of interesting materials. I’m using a sequin tank top that was so old the fabric lost its elasticity, but made for perfect clutch-making material.

2. Pouch with zipper or sliding closure. You can use an unwanted makeup pouch (mine was from Forever 21 and is still available), pencil pouch, etc. If you are doing a sewing version and your fabric is too floppy to hold a clutch shape on its own, insert a similar pouch inside your finished product to add structure.

3. Glue. I used “fabric fusion” which I had at home, but other types of glue might work similarly.

4. Clips or clamps. I like binder clips for their strong hold.

Step 1 – Starting with one side, apply glue to the top of the pouch in a straight line across, right below the zipper. Line up a straight edge of your material and press down. Continue applying glue to the edges and center of the pouch surface and pressing your fabric down a section at a time.

Step 2 – turn the pouch around – this is side #2. Trim fabric so that it’s enough to fold over the entire pouch but with an inch or two of material to spare on both the left, right, and upper edge (below the zipper) of the pouch. Fold those sides in so that no raw edges will show on the end result. Apologies for my poorly-trimmed fabric, as I was in a rush.

Step 3 – Apply more glue along the edges and center on side # 2. Press down the remaining fabric and clamp down with binder clips all around the perimeter. Allow everything to dry overnight, clamped in place.

Ta-da! Here’s the finished product from my last outfit post:

Here’s a short video from the episode (my segment begins about 2 minutes in). Their producers reached out just a few days before the show taping, which was in front of a live audience to be aired later in the week. I was so swamped with work my initial reaction was to pass, but am glad I made time for it – my segment was short, but the highlight of the trip was having a dressing room directly across from Justin Timberlake and watching him roam around. Unfortunately I was too busy trying to contain squeals of excitement to ask him for a photo together!

And alternate link here if the video above doesn’t work. I know you guys are probably sick of the bridesmaid dress re-styling from this post but they really wanted me to show it, and also provided the dress that I had on. The glitter heel trick was one of the producers’ idea, which they instructed me on to demo along with the shoe clips. Hope you guys have fun with these projects!