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!