Scotch Gard All The Things!

As I mentioned in my Camera Shoes post, I have recently fallen in love with Scotch Gard. Back in my heavy-couponing days, I used to request every freebie the internet could provide, and I got lucky with scoring a full can of Suede & Nubuck Protector and Leather Shoe Guard. At the time, I had not suede shoes to even test it out on, so the can sat in my freebies bucket until this past month when I came across it. I have 2 pair of suede shoes now - one pair which is ruined from several unannounced Florida rainstorms, and one pair that I am consequently afraid to wear in case of said storms. You really just never know when it will rain here, but it usually always does when I decide to wear suede shoes. Since I planned on Scotch Gard-ing my Camera shoes anyway, I decided to use all of these products on several items I felt needed a bit of babying, and I did it all at the same time.

I started off with my Camera Shoes, but I had an enormous cardboard box I was using as a spray surface so I included my beloved Shinzi Katoh bags as well :) I used Fabric & Upholstery Protector on all of these items, and I definitely did not skimp on the coating. I used almost a whole can on just these three things, lol. The bags are mostly white and I certainly couldn't replace them being that my parents brought them from Japan, so I have only carried the tote bag a few times then set it aside so I don't get it dirty. The Scotch Gard says it blocks stains, so we will find out in the coming months as I plan to use these bags like they deserve now :)

While the fabric items were drying between coats, I took care of my White Mountain Ballet Pink Leather Oxfords and my Lucky Brand Suede Cut Out Toe Oxfords. The pink oxfords are leather, but they are definitely cheap leather. I've worn them a few times and if they even get a drop of water on them they puff up and turn a weird dark color - not a good sign. The suede ones were just awesome and I wanted to protect them from the fate of my other suede shoes. Each of these shoes got 2 coats of product.

After about 30 minutes the fabric and leather items were completely dry with all their coats. The suede shoes needed to dry at least 30 minutes between coats, but the final coat took longer so I left them overnight. Int he morning I had this nice site in my sewing room:

I know it's probably silly to post about this on my blog, but I honestly feel I've gained 5 new items for my wardrobe after this simple process. .I put off using Scotch Gard for a long time because I was afraid it would be a hassle or make a mess - man was I wrong! This was so easy to do, and I am so glad I finally bit the bullet and got it done.

My hope with this post is to expose you to this option if you weren't already. I really couldn't be happier and now I want to SCOTCH GARD ALL THE THINGS! I really recommend you give it a try :)

*I was in no way compensated for this blog post by Scotch Gard - though I did receive the Suede and Leather products for free though a completely unrelated random giveaway several years ago. All these opinions are 100% my own.

FO: Altered Camera Shoes

Here is a break from my normally scheduled programming, lol. I found this pair of what I call wanna-be-Toms at Marshalls a few months ago in their clearance section. I'd never tried out this type of shoe before (being too cheap to buy Toms brand), but I was always curious on how I would like them. This Esprit pair for $9.00 would be a great chance to try out this style, but even when I made the purchase I planned on embellishing them in some way. I mean what good are plain fabric shoes if you can't make them your own, right? At the time, I just put this notion away in my "good ideas" file of my brain and moved on for a while. Not long after though I found out that Spoonflower was offering a free test swatch of your choice in their new Eco Canvas fabric on that day only. Of course I immediately headed over and looked through to pick out my swatch. I was quickly overwhelmed as they have so many amazing prints to choose from (you could also make your own as part of the promo - so cool). In the end, I went with a category that is near and dear to me: Cameras.

This fabric is called Vintage Cameras B&W and was designed by Andrea Lauren. Back in my film photography days I was obsessed with vintage and toy cameras, both of which are featured in this print. - I actually own and used all but 1 of the cameras shown :) The scale of the print was perfect for this project too, but I knew this thanks to Spoonflower's gauge rulers next to the print photos (so helpful!)

After much deliberation, I decided to use the Diana F+ and the Imperial Mark XII cameras on my shoes. These were two of my favorite cameras back in the day. I had two vintage Stellar cameras (the Diana but with a different name) as well as two Mark XIIs (a black one and a Girl Scout mint green one), and my husband eventually bought me the Lomo repro of the Diana F+ while we were dating (complete with the polaroid back - so cool). I used to love putting 35mm film through the Mark XII - you end up with one long picture due to the overlap of the shots and the picture goes up into the sprocket holes. Anyway, I could geek out on cameras forever - you can see my old work if you go here. After choosing my cameras, I cut them out evenly and put them on the shoes until I liked their shape and placement.

Then came a whole lot of hand sewing. No joke I must have spent 2 hours just stitching these things on like patches. I just used a running stitch around the edges in black thread. It went fine until I had to cross the toe - do you know how hard it is to strategically place a needle and push through thick layers of fabric with your needle held between your 2nd and middle finger in a tight area? Pretty stinking hard I can tell you, lol. The whole process did kind of take me back to my high school backpack embellishing days - I had a red Jansport with Weezer and NFG patches as well as an "Arm The Homeless" patch I got at Warped Tour one summer. Classic. Anyway, if you can stitch a patch, you can do this project. I just had to be very patient and constantly reposition the needle across the toe to keep the stitches even from the outside.

A problem I had the whole time I was sewing the cameras on was how much this fabric wanted to fray. I mean, I know it's canvas and all, but holy cow - that was a lot of fraying. I wanted it to happen a little just as an edge detail, but I didn't want them to unravel into nothing. So, after stitching these "patches" on, I went around all the edges with a liberal squeeze of Fray Check. Now I have the distressed look without any actual distress to myself - man I love Fray Check :)

After doing all this work, I wanted to make sure my shoes would last a while for me to enjoy. I had pre-washed the camera fabric, but I was afraid that the red canvas would bleed into the patches if these got wet (which is inevitable - I live in Florida). Enter a can of Scotch Gard. I had never used any Scotch Gard products before, but consider me a convert :) It was quick and easy to apply (I even did 2.5 coats), and now I have the peace of mind that these shoes won't look awful the first time I wear them out.

And now I have a supa-fly pair of camera shoes that have an added bit of personal meaning :) My husband and I met through my crazy film photography, so even though I haven't been as obsessed in with it in recent years, these shoes are a nice little bit of nostalgia for us. Justin loved these :) 

I know it's a silly little project that any high school student has probably done by now, but I was really happy with how these came out. This was quick to do, and only cost me about $10 when you factor in the amount of Scotch Gard I used. Not bad for a pair of custom shoes!

*Just for the record, I was not endorsed by Spoonflower or Scotch Gard in any way for this project. I just really enjoyed my experience with their products :)