Painted Shoes DIY

Do you have an old pair of white shoes laying around like me? Or do you want to spice up your shoe collection? Bright and fun Keds are all the rage now. Taylor Swift even has her own line of patterned Keds. I found this great DIY in the August issue of Redbook Magazine, and I knew that I had to try it on my pair of white shoes.

I was cleaning my room a couple weeks ago and found these white shoes in my shoe rack. They look like Keds, but they are the knock-off Target brand. I decided that it was time to revive them and find a way to wear them today. When I found this DIY in Redbook, the bright, fun colors really stood out to me. Plus, I had all the materials in my house, so I knew I had to try it. The directions were so easy to follow, and I think the shoes turned out great. The magazine even gave a link for a more detailed tutorial, which you can find here.

What You Need:

• 1 Pair of white shoes
• 3-5 acrylic paints
• Scissors
• Painters tape
• Small paint brush

First, cover the surface you are working on with newspaper and gather your supplies. Then you need to remove the laces and cover the tongue and the outsole of the shoe with tape. This will keep these areas white. Next, take ¼-inch painter's tape. I only had 1 in. thick masking tape, but cut it in fourths to make it the right size. Start making boxes on the shoes. The magazine suggests that you vary the size and width of the boxes. As I tried it, I realized that there really was no rhyme or rhythm to the pattem. I started out trying to follow the picture, but all the sides are not shown. Instead, you can be creative and place the strips of tape all around the shoe. Once you have completed this step, your shoes should look like this:

My tape did not really stick all that well, but that did not matter. The important thing is to use a small, hard paint brush and not a lot of paint. I would also suggest using your fingers to press down the tape before you paint a square to ensure that the colors don’t mix. Start with your first color and only use a small amount of paint. Paint the entire square, and do not be afraid to paint the tape.

This is what my shoes looked like when I was done painting. The only hard part about painting was the lace holes. My painting was also not exactly accurate, but once I took the tape off, you could not tell. I really love how my shoes turned out. They are such a great addition to my wardrobe. While the shoes are not the most durable, and I do not think they will last through the fall, they are a great for right now. You could wear them with a nice pair of boyfriend jeans and a T-shirt for a day look.

I can’t wait to wear these this fall! Have you ever done a DIY with your shoes? Let us know!

By: Abby Kass