Vine Shoes - Handpainted

I used to be obsessed with handpainted shoes...until I made my own. They were laughably bad. I think I wore them once, and even then I was embarrased. Ugly UGLY shoes with cutesy/ugly little faces on the toes; it was BAD. So I swore off the whole process, and admired the people who'd done it successfully even more.
That was a couple of years ago. Recently, my 16 year old niece said we needed to make shoes. As with most things with her, I immediately agreed. But instead of agonizing over shoe selection and price, I opted for a pair of $16 shoes from Walmart, and my imagination ran off with me. These are the result and I couldn't be happier. I love trees, and vines, and curly cues, so when they all come together, and in a hand-mixed color, well that makes for a very happy me. (BTW, that hand-mixed color was 2/3 teal and 1/3 green, but it didn't come out too well in the pictures.)
As for the process used, I bought the shoes. I painted the shoes (with the cheap acrylic paints from Michaels). And I sealed the shoes (Crystal Clear clearcoat). Twice. That's it. I'm going to post a WIP compilation, but right now iCloud is being a pain and I can't log in to get my pics. Anyway, I had a blast with this project, but I could use any suggestions on what to do with the laces. I'm thinking I may go back and paint some mini vines on them but I'm not sure.