DIY: Momma's Got Some Brand New Shoes

I really love this season's spring shoes. Espadrilles, wooden heels, wedges - they're some of my favorite styles EVER! Last spring I bought a pair of wedges from Anthro on super-duper discount - I paid something like $12 for them. I rarely wore them in the Summer of 2010, I thought that perhaps if I gave them a color change - I would wear them more. This is a simple dye DIY.

I took these shoes...

And dipped them in a bucket of warm water and Rit Dye, purchased from Michael's for $5. I also used the rubber gloves - safety first!

I did two coats of soaking the shoes in the dye for about 1 hour a piece, and this was my final product:

I also meant to take a side picture, but this was the day that my battery died - SMH. The wooden heel got turned a navy blue color, which I didn't want or expect. I thought that fabric dye would only dye FABRIC - and wood is not a fabric to me...I told you I'm an amateur!

Right now, I'm leaving them as is. However, I may go back over the heel with a wood-color finish. I was looking forward to the navy-wood contrast. I am pleased with the new purple/blue color on the shoe fabric. While you can still see the  print - the new color scheme will give me a lot more options to style these shoes with my summer wardrobe.

How have your DIY dye jobs worked for you in the past? I wouldn't call this a fail, however it's not quite a success considering the wood-staining...