Leather Star Boots have been popping up all around me lately. Does that ever happen to you? You keep seeing something over and over, so you just take it as a sign that you gotta have it! Yeah, well that's exactly what is going on with today's post. 

But seeing as I like to make everything, I knew Leather Star Boots would be a  simple DIY that I could do for a fraction of the cost. AND without have to shell out the big bucks for novelty shoes that won't get worn on a daily basis.

Below I am sharing with you exactly how I made these cute star booties, as well as a pic with a link where to buy the ones that I was originally inspired by. (You know, if DIY isn't your thing.) 

This will be the first of a new series I am starting called DIY or BUY!

This DIY is more time consuming than anything. It will take you a while to cut out all those little stars, but if you can cut out stars, you can do this DIY!

​(YOU CAN DO IT!)

Download the PDF above with 3 different star shapes. Also, you can use any shape you want, stars, hearts, rainbows, polk dots, get creative! 

I traced my star shapes onto leather using a sharpie marker and then used my heavy duty fabric scissors to cut them out.  

Like I said before, the hardest/longest part of this DIY is cutting out the stars. They are pretty small, and it will take a while (a solid 30-45 mins...and beware of hand cramps, owe!). Try to cut your lines as straight + clean as possible.

Hint: Cut a little past the corners of the star to create clean 90 degree angels on your stars. 

Before you get to gluing, take the time to layout your stars on your booties. If your boots are suede like mine, they will stick without sliding off so you can get a pretty good idea of what the final outcome will look like. ​

Use leather glue and a sponge paintbrush to glue down your stars one by one. Seriously, play around with the placement of the stars before you start glueing. If your using leather glue, it is going to be a solid bond once glued down, so you will be committed to the placement. Once placed, make sure all edges and corners of your stars are firmly glued down. 

It will dry within hours, but to be safe, let sit for a complete 24 hours before taking them out for a spin on the disco floor! 

And if you aren't up for the challenge, you can get these Leather Star Boots from Asos that are VERY similar. Orginally, $127 dollars but on sale for $50 right now! 

And tell me, which one would you go for- the DIY or the BUY? Let me know, in the comments! 

Let's talk about the Best Water Brush / Aqua - Watercolor Brushes out there. I am sharing with you some from my collection, as well as, which ones are my favorites and why. If you have a set of aqua brushes that you use and love, please share with us in the comments- I am always looking for new products to try out! 

This DIY luggage makeover with my old Samsonite Suit cases is one of my all time favorites on this blog. It is vintage + colorful and giving me jungle fever! It is pretty easy todo, and if you already have the suitcase, then you really only need the DecoArt Premium Acrylic Paints. 

Below I share with you how to paint the perfect fern, and mix up the perfect burnt orange and muted pink colors. Oh, and of course- how to makeover a suitcase!  

Here is the before + after, below. I loved these before, but I love the new vibe even more. It screams 'take me on vacation!' 

Before you start painting a design, you're going to need to 'prime your canvas'- aka, gesso the surface of the suit case

If you're aren't lazy (I was lazy), you are going to tape off any of the hardware that you don't want to paint. (The silver parts, buckles, handle, etc.) 

​Just to be safe, I did two layers of gesso on the suitcases 

While your surface is drying, this is a good time to mix up colors. I wanted I very retro vibe, and colors that wouldn't be too matchy-matchy, but still compliment one another. So I went with a complementary color pallet of  orange+blue and pink+green. 

I wanted to keep with the vintage/retro vibe of the suitcases so I leaned into the muted shades of these colors.

To mix a muted/burnt orange : I mixed a golden yellow + orange + teal (just a dab)

To mix a muted soft pink : I mixed white + fuchsia + sap green (just a dab)

Blue + orange are opposite from one another on the color wheel, therefor, they are complimentary colors. That means, not only do the look good together- but they neutralize each other too. Same thing with pink + green. 

The fern design I painted is actually very easy to do. The paint + brush will do most of the work, you just go with the flow. Below I show you step by step how I painted the outline of each fern. 

When painting the ferns onto the surface of the suitcase I made sure I faced them different directions and let the branches flow every which way. This will keep the design cohesive and make it flow! I went for it, brush and paint straight to the suitcase, but do not hesitate to use a pencil to sketch out your design (lightly) first. The paint will cover it right up. 

To fill the fern in with color you are going to want to mix up a few different shades of the muted orange. A dark, medium and very light (almost white) orange.  The light shade is the highlights, and the dark the shadows. Add a stroke of each shade to every leaf to bring dimension to your design. 

Like myself, please practice on paper until you feel confident with your design. It will make your life easier, I promise! 

Now it's finally time to paint the suitcases! For the round suitcase, I painted it all pink first, and let it dry, then I painted on the fern design. You can see a little video clip of it in progress below. 

For the smaller green + mint suitcase, I painted the fern first, and then the background. And boy, that I was A LOT more work. #LessonLearned 

I love patterns, but I didn't want to go overboard, so I chose todo thin orange lines all along the side of the pink suitcase and mint ones on the smaller suitcase handle. Again, if you're not lazy- use tape to get a straight line. 

Lastly, after all the paint has well and dried. You will need to seal it with something to protect it from wear-and-tear.

I used DecoArt's Premium Gloss Medium, and just like with the gesso, applied two coats of it- just incase! 

Seriously in love with these and ready for my next tropical getaway, NOW!