Hiding scuff marks on work or school shoes!

When I started one of my jobs I decided (after two ten hour shifts!) that I needed new shoes...
I found a big block of time one week and I went to all the shoe shops in my area with a budget of $100 to spend on a pair of shoes that I was going to be in for a great percentage of the week. They needed to be black and the needed to be comfortable.

I finally settled on a pair of shoes from a cheaper shoe shop that were black leather with a non slip sole and were only $40 which was kinda cool too! And they were soooooo comfy!

After a month I started getting a really sore ankle at work. It took me a while to realise that the heel on my left shoe had collapsed and I was walking on an angle on one foot each night. No drama's, I found the receipt and went back to the shop for a replacement and would you believe, they were out of stock of my $40 shoe. I was happy to pay more for another shoe but they didn't have any thing else that fitted or was suitable for work.

Because I had work the next day and I needed to have some shoes so in the end I opted for a $30 pair that were synthetic uppers lowers and in between. They were comfortable, black and ok for work so I took them.

I wore them to work (with an old pair in the car just in case) and they were fine. They were comfortable, possibly not as nonslip but they scuffed too easily.With all the performance in getting the shoes in the first place, I decided to just wear these until they die and then go back and do the rounds for a good pair after Christmas. So I needed to make them look a bit more presentable...

Here's what I did...

I'm not sure what I kicking with my right foot all the time but that's the worst part of the shoe

(bad photo - early morning light was a bit too tricky for my wee camera today!)

This gives you a better idea of what the scuffs are like

(I should have done this when I had woken up a bit more methinks!)

I simply coloured the scuff mark in with a black permanent marker!

Not perfect but not so shabby either!

I did this once with some sneakers that were being worn at a wedding by a child. Long story, but he turned up with not the new black sneakers/joggers that were bought for the purpose but ones that were black with some green stripes on them. I spent a few minutes colouring the green over with a black permanent marker - and you'd never have known (in the photos anyway!) that they weren't the brand new special wedding shoes bought especially for the occasion!

I think that if I keep scuffing these shoes in the same place I'm going to have a hole in my toe shortly. I think the pen will wear off but since its such a quick thing to do, I can touch up my shoes each time I walk out the door.For a quick fix its great but the lesson is really to by good quality shoes in the first place!

This would be a quick fix for those school photos, birthdays and other special occasions that you want to make a good impression at!

Score card:
Green-ness: 5/5 for not buying new ones and getting more life out of the shoe
Frugal-ness: Hmmm - being frugal has cost me in this case for needing to replace and repair an inferior shoe but 5/5 for the quick fix!
Time cost: Took a lot longer to blog than to do!
Skill level: Colouring in - and staying within the lines!
Fun-ness: I feel much better now that my shoes look slightly more professional!