Recycle Your Old Shoes

This is not a new idea but it is still a cute concept for baby shoes and kids shoes.

You can have them bronzed and do a few different things with them. Some like to just keep them separate and sit on a dresser. You can have them mounted on a block of wood or marble. A frame can be added with a picture of the child for an enhanced look.

I've also seen these done as a pair of bookends. That idea would be so cute with a collection of children's books. Personally, I think bronzing a pair of high heel shoes and making them into bookends would also be a unique way to hold those books together.

Shoes from a small man's foot could be bronzed and used as pencil holders on a desk or for tools out in the garage.

Image Credit: Bronze Baby Shoes can be purchased at Allposters.com

I've seen this shoe recycling idea used many times in a garden or on a porch. Take those old shoes and make them into a planter. You will want to drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage and possibly put a few coats of polyurethane on the outside to avoid decay.

Place the shoe or shoes in a haphazard display in your garden or at the edge of your porch giving the impression that the shoes have laid there so long they sprouted growth.

I also saw an idea that I thought sounded pretty clever. Drill a pair or pairs of shoes onto a tree and make planters out of them. The idea was to make it look as if the shoes were walking down the tree trunk.

Image Credit: Old Shoes at Pixabay

Baby and toddler shoes can easily be made into cute little pin cushions and are sweet ideas to give as a shower gift.

Use cotton filler that is used to make pillows and stuff it into the shoe. Cover the cotton with a contrasting fabric stuffed around the cotton and into the shoe. Embellish with bows or anything that will fit the style and color of the shoes. Stick a few sewing pins into it and you've got a pincushion.

Now, this is a little more difficult to do but you can make a pincushion out of a ladies shoe too. A high heel shoe made into a pincushion is perfect for the seamstress.

Image Credit: Baby-girls Mary Jane Shoes product page.

Copyright: May 5, 2009 by BevsPaper (Beverly Owens)