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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

DIY Christian Louboutin glitter pumps! Tutorial


I know what you're thinking: Uh, glitter shoes are for strippers and Wizard of Oz costumes... but actually, apparently they are back in!  And I know I don't need them, but I am very proud of how I replicated these $595 Christian Louboutin pumps with some $6 Target heels, some Mod Podge, glitter, and red spray paint (for the signature red sole!!).

Yeah, they also come in fuchsia, but I'm not that funky...
They also have an open-toed version for $745:
And Jimmy Choo has one for $595:
They also have flats for (only) $365:

So, take a look at my tutorial for these babies.
  • I started with these nice (but boring) brown leather pumps I got on clearance a while ago from Target for $6.24.  I think it works best with real leather since it's softer and more pliable than vinyl.  I also used my handy vintage tray to keep all the glitter and Mod Podge in one place.
  • I used JoAnn's almost-micro glitter in the gold, silver, and copper package.
  • I stuffed the shoes with plastic bags and sprayed them with plain gold spray paint.  They actually looked pretty good with just the spray paint, too.
  •  Mix your Mod Podge with some of the beautiful glitter.
  • Using the sponge dauber, swipe/wipe/blot the Mod Podge mixture onto the shoes, all over.  I didn't take any pictures of this stage but I did several steps of this: blot, wait to dry, blot a second coat, etc.  Seriously, like three or four coats to get it all.  Then they looked like this:
  • Then, cover the surface of the shoes in tape/plastic bags.  I cut a hole in the bottom of the plastic bag, put the shoe through it, and taped it all around with fairly weak tape. I was afraid of the tape peeling off the nicely 'Podged glitter, so I used this really cheap masking tape I had.
  • With red spray paint, spray the soles of the shoes to get that special Christian Louboutin signature.  Eeee!!

All done!!!  I am so excited!  I'm sure the red will wear off as I wear them, but not on the part under the arch.  Besides the inside color (the original Christian Louboutins have a pale tan leather lining and my Isaac Mizrahi for Target pair has dark faux leather) and the shape, they are very similar!!!

31 comments

  1. Wow, I'm impressed!They look fantastic!

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  2. LOL, I was scrolling down thinking: "I hope you don't forget the red soles..." and lo and behold, you did not forget the most important detail. ;)

    Very cute.

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  3. Anonymous1/06/2010

    A blog post about glitter and pumps? You have a new follower:)
    So glad I found your blog...thanks for following mine as well!

    Let's definitely chat about a blog swap...LOVE your style! Am doing a swap this week...so maybe early next month...will email you!!

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  4. way cool - just goes to show that all that glitters...

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  5. These are so fabulous!!!

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  6. Wow those are an amazing imitation! Glitter shoes are back now... but tomorrow when they are out again who would have wanted to pay that much for the originals! (Besides you can really only wear a glitter show so many places).

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  7. It seems to me that this would be a good idea for just glittering the heels of the shoes, like J. Crew's Starla Satin Pumps.

    Nice!

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  8. Hi Iris,
    I thought about doing some heels like those JCrew ones... I ADORE all things JCrew. If I ever find any satin heels like those...
    Suzannah

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  9. Very cute! Love how they turned out!

    Morgan
    PepperDesignBlog.com

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  10. This is a fabulous idea! I can't wait to try it.

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  11. Very creative, and even better than the original one, I daresay!! Fab idea, thanx for sharing!! I also found your blog uber cool and very useful, and I'm delighted I came here through Disney's blog!!

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  12. Anonymous2/02/2010

    Nice post and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you seeking your information.

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  13. Anonymous2/05/2010

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. You're amazing! I can't wait to try this!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE you for the tutorial =)

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  15. Anonymous2/08/2010

    Brim over I to but I dream the post should secure more info then it has.

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  16. Haha, I don't mean to just repeatedly comment on this post, but I've got another shoe-modification that might be appreciated.

    I was in love with the Maxine studded wedge from Need Supply, and DIYing with thumbtacks like here doesn't seem like too bad of an idea.

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  17. Very cool! I'm gonna do these for my daughter, she'll love them! Thanks-from a fellow Oregonian ;)

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  18. Anonymous3/01/2010

    This is exactly what I was looking for. Absolutely fabulous!

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  19. I love these! Such a good idea!

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  20. im in love with this project!! this is the kind of project that really gets my creative, and resourceful experimentation going. read this awesome blog before i even knew you were a fellow portlander. I live in SW!!
    why is it that all the funky crafters and cool people live here?? ha ha

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  21. Anonymous4/12/2010

    How did the glitter and all hold up as you wore them? Did the shoe become brittle with the glue or was it still pretty flexible?

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  22. Thanks, everyone!
    The mod podge is still really flexible. Well, not really flexible, but soft-ish, way softer than most glues, so I think it'll last a while!

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  23. I wanted the pink Louboutins for my wedding ceremony, but I couldn't (or wouldn't) spend that much for shoes, especially since I don't wear heels. So I'm going to buy some low-heeled shoes and make them for myself! I've never used Mod Podge, so I'm not sure of what shoe materials would be best to use. Do you think it would stick to those "dyeable" shoes, or even patent leather? I only need them to last through the ceremony as I'm wearing pink Chuck Taylors for the reception.

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  24. Hi Alicia!
    What a fun idea, I hope they look great! I don't think it would work on fabric shoes, like the dyable ones, but patent leather would be just fine. That will be so cute! I'm way into spray-painting shoes, in fact, I have a friend who has to wear silver shoes for her sister's wedding and can't find any in her price range so we're gonna spray-paint some that are in a style she likes!

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  25. I'm so glad I found your tutorial - I specifically googled "DIY Christian Louboutin glitter pumps" and so I was happy to find this. I hope to find some leather heels, but I'll be sure to steer clear of the fabric shoes. I just noticed there are different kinds of Mod Podge - did you just use the regular matte version?

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  26. Sooo I hadn't seen this post before today. Sorry I missed it, but I love the idea! I've always used elmer's glue for glitter shoes. I wonder if mod podge would hold up better.

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  27. Wow. This is an amazing tutorial! I can't for the life of me find the real Louboutin blue glitter heels that are my wedding color so this is definitely one route I'm now considering. I also wanted some comfy flats in the same turquoise blue color without breaking the bank so I'm going to take this idea and do it on some cheap Walmart flats.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Really nice!
    I've been thinking about doing it on my converse, but never really figured out what would really hold the glitter on them... So I'm just gonna ask, what is "Mod Podge"? ahaha

    xx from Brazil,
    Isabella

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  29. love it love it love it!!!

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  30. how awesome!! and I love that you went all the way, with the red sole. pretty cool.

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  31. Anonymous12/02/2012

    Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
    In any case I'll be subscribing in your feed and I am hoping you write again soon!
    My weblog ; christian louboutin cheap

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