Happy Feet
My daughter is notoriously picky when it comes to what she wears, which is fine by me. She also prefers to go bare foot, which is also cool. Except on a Tuesday when they do mini-sports exercises on the Astro Turf at her pre-school. That stuff heats up enough to fry an egg on it and I’ve been begging her to just wear shoes for that particular half an hour as she always mentions sore feet. We’ve spent hours looking at sneakers but not one pair has met with madame’s approval (seriously, I wanted to cry). The other day I was doing some returns at Canal Walk and stopped by to check out Tomy Takkies at Shoe City. They’re having a bit of a revival and I was pleasantly surprised to see the array of bright, bold colours and designs that they come in for kids. Inspiration struck and I bought a pair for her in purple, headed to Toy Kingdom for a pack of Crayola fabric markers and presented them to Her Royal Fusspot that afternoon with the instruction to go wild drawing on her new shoes. They are now covered with stars and spots and squiggles and rainbows and hearts and they look really awesome, plus she deigns to wear them (and not just on a Tuesday). I’m definitely going to get myself a white pair or two and doodle away to customise them. I also think this would make a really nice birthday party gift – just ask the mom the kid’s size and include a pack of fabric markers into the package. It’s also a good way for kids to wile away the hours on holiday, or if you’re flying somewhere long haul to keep them occupied. Plus you can release your inner child by getting busy with a pair of your own. Check out this gallery for ideas. You can find fabric markers at many toy shops, and all other supplies like fabric paint and modge podge glue (for adhering glitter and bling things) at craft shops.
So most of you have seen this pair of Big City pump sneakers as the image has gone viral, and I reckon it can’t be that hard to trace a silhouette of a heel on a pair of Tomy white hi-tops and use non-bleeding fabric paint to create a similar look. Just make a template and then trace the outline of the heel on the shoe using chalk first to make sure it doesn’t look too amateurish.
A while back Kate Spade teamed up with Keds to create the cutest range of shoes. This tutorial sneakily copies one of the designs at a fraction of the cost. How fun!
Cherries are pretty easy to draw, even if you don’t have an artsy bone in your body. I’m definitely trying this at home, probably on a pair of white Tomy’s. But they’d look cute on baby blue or light yellow too.
A whole lot of Aussie artists teamed up with shoemaker Gorman for a range of limited edition sneakers so what you’re looking at here is the real deal, but the design is definitely fodder for inspiration using fabric markers and some fabric paint. To get the look on the laces, decant a few different colours of fabric paint into cheap spray bottles, dilute a little with water for a watercolour look, and spray away. Let them dry and voila. Customised, pretty-pretty laces.
I love this tutorial by A Beautiful Mess. The abstract look is brilliant for non-artistic types like me as you can get away with pretty much anything. Really cool.
Here comes the raddest bride in the world, that’s who! Adhere some bling and lace to your Converse and write a quirky message on them too. Love. Here’s how.
These rainbow dot sneakers using puffy paint (from most craft stores and some toy stores) are adorable for kids and grown-ups who never quite grew up (hello, me).
Okay I love love love love love these. And they’re not impossible to do yourself. Plus, every gal should leave a trail of glitter wherever she goes, don’t you think? See the link below for a tutorial on how to sparkle up your shoes.
Here’s the tutorial for these bling lovelies. You can apply the same theory to the shoes above. Where they refer to modge podge, just look out for or ask for modge, which is how it’s referred to in most craft shops locally.
I have a friend who is a brilliant illustrator and I’m thinking of asking her to doodle on a pair of sneakers for me using fairy tales as the theme like these. Cute, no?
Have a walking-on-sunshine day y’all.
