Tutorial: How to Paint Your Shoes

Question?

What can a person do with some acrylic paints, brushes, some nifty new paint markers, and a favorite pair of old but comfy shoes?

Answer!

 Get some STYLE my friend!

Ready? Find a pair of shoes, preferably leather. My favorite comfy shoes were my first try - they couldn't look any worse so there was nothing to lose eh? My next pair were a great pair of  NAOT's (one of the very few brands that fit me.) I think these were as cheap as they were on Ebay because they were kind of an ugly color. Maybe you'll have the same luck as I did there.

You'll need: shoes, fingernail polish remover, gesso, acrylic paint, spray sealer. Optional - sharpie, paint markers.

Take the shoes and clean them up as much as you can then rub a little nail polish remover all over them . It roughs them up and removes any finishes so the paint will stick to the leather.

Prime the shoes with a layer of gesso then let them dry.

Chose one or several base paint colors and block them in. That just means put the colors where you want them. I used textile paint because those happened to be the paints I have on hand. I did choose opaque paints rather than transparent in order to get better coverage. 

I like using the paint markers next to doodle in some shapes. You could also choose to start out with the sharpie and doodle designs onto your color blocks. On the blue shoes I painted blue first, purple next, used the sharpies, then filled in spots with the paint markers. For the red shoes, I knew I wanted them to be RED, RED, RED so I kept it monochromatic. I was so excited about the paint markers that I played with those first then filled in around them with the sharpies.

Loved what was happening here so I kept going and doodled more with the sharpie. Uh... didn't like it much. Hey - not a problem! Now I know what I want. Paint back over it and decide that for this particular shoe, less is enough!

 

Take the shoe outside, stuff the inside with newspaper, tape off the soles if you'd like to then spray a thin coat of sealer to protect the paint.Wait patiently for the stuff to dry then wear with STYLE!

A New Shoe - and then there were TWO!

A Shoe Story

Every pair of shoes has a story to tell. My history is not that of a shoe obsessed diva. I could have gone there but my feet won't allow it. I often wonder if my feet have a recessive "duck" gene. Where all the cute shoes taper in, my little duck toes taper out. 

In a fit of pain years ago I made a pledge to myself not to wear shoes that hurt. Now I hunt and hunt and hunt and when I find a pair that fits my little heart goes pitter pat. I buy them and wear them and wear them and wear them and wear them. Because it is so hard to find shoes that fit I have included shoes as part of my "underwear." In other words, they are the boring blank canvas over which the cute stuff goes. Winter is black shoes, pants, shirt - and a really cool jacket. I have a black pair of clogs for winter, black boots for church, and black sandals for summer. I have cute  black flats for when I know the summer AC will chill my tootsies. I did keep one pair of pointier dressy sandals for emergency situations. Sigh.

It's not too bad. I make up for the lack of shoe cuteness with funky jackets. 

Oh, and my purple and lime green glasses. 

Photo by Julia Wade

And my artist-made-earring addiction.

My latest favorites - by Blue Bus Studio

But now - I think my life is about to change! I've found a brand (NAOT) that fits most of the time. A pair of their clogs made my feet smile for the first time in a long time. They have a removable cork footbed - comfy for walking. Replaceable so even with almost daily wear for the past three years they are still holding up.

But the poor things have been through a lot. They started out a nice subdued olive green. A couple years ago I was teaching at IQF in Houston and decided my feet needed comfy clogs instead of the dressy boots for the day of teaching but the green didn't match my outfit. No problem. I was teaching a painting class so.... they acquired a nice coat of black textile paint. They lived as black clogs for the next year but even with touch-ups they started looking shabby.

Not any more.

Makeover number three has turned these drab little girls into DIVAS in the first degree!

Curious? Want to see the whole thing? Want to know how to transform your favorite thrift store find or your most comfy ratty pair ever? Come back on the 17th and I'll show you how.