How To: Paint Canvas Shoes

So I went to see Fall Out Boy on their Boys of Zummer Tour in and it was the best day of my life. I got up to the front of the pit and Patrick Stump looked right at me (okay maybe he didn't, but don't break my fangirl heart). Needless to say, I am still not over the fact that I finally got to see my favorite band live.

Anyways, before I went, I decided to paint some FOB-themed shoes for myself and my friend to wear during the concert.

And now I want to share with you how to make your own painted shoes. Here's how I did it:

Supplies:

• Canvas Shoes - Any color will work. I got mine at Walmart for about $10. You could also use Vans, Converse, or Toms.
• Acrylic Paint - I don't have a particular brand that I use.  However, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you use acrylic. Acrylic is plastic-based paint, so it will withstand more wear and be more resistance to water compared to other types of paint.
• Paint Pens - You'll want these for the small details and outlines. You can use a permanent marker, such as a Sharpie, but in my experience the ink may turn blue or run if wet.
• Paint Brushes - Make sure you use synthetic bristles suitable for acrylic paint.
• Pencil - Use a white colored pencil for black or dark colored shoes. 
• Newspaper/Plastic Bags - To stuff the toes of the shoes
• Water, Palette/Plate, Paper Towels - You're painting, so you'll need this stuff.
• Acrylic Primer (optional) - I didn't prime my shoes, but if you want to apply less layers of paint, priming might be the route to take.
• Painter's tape (optional) - Although I recommend that you tape the soles of the shoes, it ended up leaving residue on the rubber that was very difficult to get off, so that's why it's optional.

Planning your design:

• Find your inspiration. If you're not making them for a particular event, then pick something you like such as a fandom, a band, an appealing pattern/print, quotes, etc.
• Do some sketches. Draw out your shoes and then sketch potential designs.
• Only plan a design you'll feel comfortable painting. If you don't have a lot of painting experience, you don't need to try to be a Picasso. Most of the time, simple is better.
• Still need some ideas? Click here for some inspiration from my Pinterest.

Prepping your shoes:

1. Remove shoe laces.
2. Stuff the toes of the shoes. I used plastic grocery bags because I didn't have any newspaper on hand.
3. Tape off the rubber soles (if you choose to). If you do tape off the soles, I suggest you use a gentle painter's tape and don't leave it on the shoes for more than 2 days. If the tape leaves residue at the end, like it did on mine, a few treatments with GooGone will eventually take it off.
4. Sketch your design on the shoes. If you're using a normal pencil, press lightly because the lines will show through the paint. If you mess up, you can erase it off.

sketch your design

Painting your shoes:

1.  Apply your base layer of paint (if you are priming your shoes, this is when you'll do that). You'll notice this layer will soak into the fabric, but don't worry, it will fill in as you add more layers. 

***NOTE: Do not wet your brush during the base coats. Water will dilute the paint, and make it harder to cover the canvas (especially if you do not prime first)***

here's after 2 coats of paint (sorry i switched shoes here, i forgot to take pictures while making the first pair)

2.  Apply 1-2 more base layers of paint until the color is solid and no longer being absorbed by the material. Make sure you let the paint dry between layers.

3.  After the base color dries, it's time to add your details. Use other colors to add shading and depth to your design or to liven it up a bit. You can use water on your brush here.

added some details to the flowers 

4.  Use the paint pens to outline and add the smaller details. I also used the pens for writing words and drawing the FOB logo on the shoes.

***NOTE: If you mess up, just paint over it. Use can also use a paint pen the color of your shoes to refine the edges of the design where the color bled or smeared.***

5.  Remove the tape and stuffing, put the laces back in, and wear your new kicks everywhere!!!

Here's how mine turned out:

My shoes:

Mine feature some of my favorite Fall Out Boy lyrics from their Boys of Zummer setlist. The toes say "American Beauty / American Psycho" because that is the name of their most recent album.

Shoes for my friend:

My friend is not as into Fall Out Boy as I am, so I made hers floral with the FOB logo. Her favorite color is pink, so I worked with that.

--The Informed Artist

The Hobbit: DIY Hobbit Hole Jar

With the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies coming to theaters soon, I decided what more perfect birthday gift to make for my Tolkien-obsessed friend than a hobbit hole in a jar? This artificial terrarium specifically features Bag End, the home of Bilbo Baggins.

Okay, so I will admit, I am not the biggest Hobbit/Lord of the Ring fan. I have read the first and second LOTR books, watched the first movie, and watched the first two Hobbit movies, but that is the extent of my knowledge. However, this is my friend's favorite series and so I knew this would be a meaningful gift.

So here below I have posted a few pictures of the finished product. Unfortunately I don't have pictures for the steps, but if you would like written instructions, I can provide them.

Front view of Bag End. Photo credit: Allison Gens

Close-up view of the front of Bag End. Photo Credit: Allison Gens

So I am a little bit crazy and decided to take this craft to another level: Making the inside of Bag End. Here are a few images of the inside of the house.

Back view of Bag End. Photo credit: Allison Gens

Close-up view of the inside. Photo Credit: Allison Gens

I took this jar a step further, and with the help of my dad, we installed a solar-powered (that works in indoor light too) into the jar lid so that it would illuminate the front at night!

Lit-up jar. Photo Credit: Nick Burch

And here's a look at the lid that I made to put on the jar in case he decides not to light it up anymore. I based it off the original cover of The Hobbit. Since I do not have Photoshop, I had to make this entire image on Powerpoint using basic shapes and editing the points, which took an excessive amount of hours, but was entirely worth it.

The jar lid. Photo Credit: Nick Burch

So there is my Hobbit Hole in a Jar.

--The Informed Artist

DIY: Long-distance Valentine

Valentine's Day was Friday, so I am going to share with you what I did for my boyfriend. You may not know (but you do now), that I am in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend of almost three years. The past few weeks have been tough on us, so I decided to make this simple DIY for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day (I did not post this sooner because I did not want him to see what it was before it arrived).

Feel free to use my idea for any time when you are gone from your significant other, whether it be for Valentine's Day, the military, an extended trip, or a long-distance relationship. It will give your love something to remind him/her of you every day until the day you can be together again.

Also, in case you just want to skim over this project, I put the key ideas in bold so you can find and make this project on your own.

The first thing I did was gather everything I needed to make the project:

• 1 box of fold and close sandwich bags (the number of bags you need depended on the number of days in the countdown, I used 16)
• 1 bag of Hershey's Kisses (I was able to use a smaller bag for this project, see below)
• Paper (you can use scrapbook paper if you want, I used printer paper because that's what I had available in my dorm room)
• 1 box to ship the gift to your loved one
• Ideas for what you want to put in the bags

After figuring out my supplies, I had to devise a way to divide my Hershey's Kisses. I bought a 5.3oz bag at my campus market because it said it would contain over thirty Kisses, which would be more than plenty. 

Because I decided that I wanted to use as many as them as possible for each day, I decided that there would be two for each day, even though the project is called "A Kiss A Day." (Who wants only one Hershey's Kiss anyways?)

The exceptions would be for Valentine's Day and the day that I would see my boyfriend. I decided to give him four Kisses on Valentine's Day and included a little poem about how he gets more kisses since it is Valentine's Day. I gave the one left over for the day I was home because it would not be a full day until he saw me.

After dividing the Kisses, I made the banners to top the bags. This way I could keep track of each bag as I filled them with the little notes that accompanied the kisses. 

banners

I do not have a template for these because I just folded some paper and cut it into rectangles, and then cut the triangles off the ends.

I wrote the date on the bag in black and the countdown in red. This would help my boyfriend know which one to open on each day, and also remind him that the days are getting less and less.

After all the Kisses and banners were done, I began the notes to go in the bags.

In each bag, I included:

A note

My notes included five themes. The themes included a love note, a message about why I love him, poem stanzas, and things I cannot wait to do with him when I get home (and in the future)

A quote

Your quotes that you include could be about anything. You could take quotes from your song, favorite movie together, or off the internet. I chose to use quotes that dealt with long-distance relationships. I got my quotes from Loving From a Distance. It is a website that provides insight and support for long-distance couples, and I found some great quotes on there.

A memory

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just include any memories that you think are important to your relationship.

You could include whatever you want in the bags, such as small gifts or pictures, but I was working with limited time and under a college budget!

My final step before arranging everything in the box was to assemble the bags. I tried my best to relate the memories to the notes or the quotes. It was difficult, and not all of them match up, but I wanted to be as consistent as possible.

Here's a picture of what some of the finished bags looked like (I hid the writing because I want the content to be special between myself and my boyfriend):

Some of the finished bags

Finally, I put all the bags in the box. I folded them so that my boyfriend could not peek at the days ahead and so that they would lay nicely in the box (also, I did end up turning them so that the days went left to right instead of right to left as seen in the picture).

To finish off the project, I made this print-out to cover the bags so that my boyfriend would know the cute little title I came up with: "A Kiss a Day Makes the Time Go Away."

I will also include the print-out in case you want to use my title as well. You can also download the "KISS" font here to make your own label.

Before I sealed up the box, I wrote my boyfriend a letter to explain my little gift, which is an optional step if you do not want to include that.

So that concludes my DIY for today! Leave any comments, questions, or suggestions below!
--The Informed Artist

P.S. Here is a Pinterest-friendly picture for you to pin!

About "Craft Break"

"Craft Break" is where you will find my latest crafts and artistic creations. I will provide you with inspiration, tutorials, and images of my projects so that you can try them yourself, or even make your own version of it!

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