Dd Tutorial: Pointe Shoe Love
There’s a part of me that will always have a certain child-like wonder when it comes to pointe shoes. Do you remember how very much you longed to go up on pointe, and what a big deal it was to find your very first pair? To sew on the ribbons and rise up to your tip toes for the very first time? Maybe I am just extra sentimental, but I was pretty much in awe of pointe shoes from roughly age 7 to 12. But blisters, bunions and aching arches replaced the mystery and excitement over dancing on pointe. By the time I was a teenager I loathed having to sew up a new pair and did just about everything short of taking a blow torch to my shoes to make them softer and more comfortable.
And yet, there is still a part of me that just adores pointe shoes for their sheer beauty and craftsmanship. There’s something magical about the perfect pair and in a small way, seeing a new pair kind of makes me feel like a kid again. I remember all the excitement and the impatience as I anxiously waited to go to Capezio’s and get fitted for my first pair. I remember the scent of Baaaalerina Wool and how I used to try to flatten the boxes by placing them under my iron bedposts. I remember that my first pair of shoes were Capezio Ultimos and I kinda hated them because they were Pepto-Bismal pink.
All in all, I think pointe shoes have a special significance to most ballet dancers and this simple DIY is in honor of that. Again, I wanted to upcycle dance items I already had but wasn’t going to use to create something new and unique. And so I give you my pointe shoe wreath!
This was made with shoes that I had left over from my pro dancing days. They were bought for me by the company I was dancing with and I didn’t actually end up wearing them much at all. I’m never going to use them, so I decided to give them new purpose as my own special wall decor. A little bit cheesy, yes. But every time I look at it I remember my youthful excitement over pointe shoes.
Simply find a sturdy piece of cardboard (mine was the base of a flat of water bottles.) Cut into a doughnut shape. Remove ribbons from pointe shoes and hot-glue in circular shape to cardboard. Hang and enjoy!
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Aw man, we posted this a few weeks too late–this would have made an excellent mother’s day gift. I think they love them more than us from all of the year
s of buying them!