I have only seen pictures of shoes, but I can imagine it with a velvet bottom in a lovely color glued on. It may be impossible or impractical, I just like the idea of the soft velvet against the hard mosaic materials. Plus it would protect whatever it was sitting on too...

But paint sounds good too!

pantherfl, how would you finish the edge?

In that case Sunshine, I would think you could just taper the grout from the last edge of tesserae then overlap it in velvet.

I tiled the bottoms of mine which in retrospect wasn't a good idea as the soles weren't hard and the grout cracked there.

I did purple where you would see and used an orange where you won't.

{{!gwi}}

I like the look of the bottom of that NT. Thanks for taking the time to post that pic for me. I can see how it could be a problem to have grout and tesserae on the bottom.

I hate to come off so stupid guys, but I am still not getting what you all mean with the velvet. Would you glue it down and fold it over for a finished edge? Or are you saying to use the grout to hold it on?

I have thinset inside of the shoe so I can't actually staple or use upholstery tacks cause I don't think it would penetrate the thinset. Not sure there's enough rubber in the bottom of the shoe for it to grab onto. I also don't want to add anymore to the weight of it if I can help it. This sucker isn't grouted yet and it's HEAVY already!

I am still thinking on it but would appreciate any additional input.

What about simply polishing it with black Kiwi polish? Or is it too worn?

If I went with the velvet, I'd sew it. Make a paper pattern, cut it a little wider, and sew a finished edge on it, then glue it nice & tight.

OR...buy a set of those "no slip" pads that stick to the bottoms of new shoes so you don't land on your arse on carpet. That'll cover it, and provide a non-slip surface for the shoe wherever it sits.

...if your sister is "like that" and you wanna give her a little attitude adjustment, put a little sign on the bottom that says "You're not supposed to look at THIS side!" or "The Top Side is Prettier to Look At."

Or simply finish the small portion that you MIGHT be able to see from underneath, and put a little note under there that says "Made with love for you by..."

HA! MM the non slip stuff is a brillant idea. I'm not sure about that look on the bottom, but that's a good idea! Especially not wanting it to slip.

I don't sew unless it's an emergency but that's another good one. I guess I just don't sew very well.

Keep 'em coming.

Such clever ideas ! The 2 shoes I did were new ... not even a scuff mark on the bottom. I plan on doing more .

The cowboy boot I did, I just left it with the scuffed leather bottom and edge visible. I WANTED them to see that it really had come from a real boot. But then the sole was all that was left, as I used the leather for a concrete form then cut it off, and glued the sole back to it.

I like the velvet idea myself. If you can't sew a clean edge on it, maybe you could cut it just enough bigger to fold up over the edge of the shoe, glue it to the bottom and edge of the shoe, then glue a string of beads all around the edge of the velvet? Or those stringed sequins... Just ideas!

I say attach soccer cleats to it. Then you could really "smoosh" it into the wood of the table it's setting on. That sucker won't slip after that!! LOL

BAMA, you are such a HOOT! Oh my gosh, I've got tears in my eyes!