All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,
you better run, better run, outrun my” …er paint brush. :)
With the weather getting crisp, and sandal season slipping away I decided it was time to shop for some simple sneakers for my 18 month old daughter’s petite feet. It turns out I wasn’t impressed with the selection among the size 3’s. My choices were to spend $$$ on baby shoes I like, or $ on baby shoes I hate.
Of course, the DIY spirit in me, decided to do neither. :)
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I instead turned to the trusty boy’s section and found some basic black canvas slip on sneakers for $5 (!) at Walmart.
Then I grabbed some white fabric paint
(affiliate link) and a thin paintbrush…
(affiliate link) and a thin paintbrush…
and went to town.
I ended up going through two more even smaller and thinner paintbrushes to get the thickness I liked best.
This is a super easy project, but not super quick.
You want to take your time and patiently paint, because mistakes are not easily fixed. If you do make a mistake, no sweat.
You can try to rework your design, or you can take a wet rag to it. Keep in mind that the wet rag is not a perfect fix. It will only fix small mistakes and it needs to be taken care of asap.
This is a great project to work on while you watch a movie or TV. It was really fun and I found it even pretty relaxing once I really got into it.
I am actually thinking of doing it again for the next size up when she gets there. Maybe with a colorful floral pattern instead…ooh or maybe plaid? Or…maybe just polka dots, because I am addicted to simplicity.
I mean…you can’t beat a unique “designer” ;) pair of sneaks for $5! Can you?
And Natalie loves them…mostly because they are easy on and easy off. But hey that counts, and they make me happy. So it’s win-win.
P.S. I knew that this project must have been inspired from somewhere but I couldn’t remember where. Then I saw my crafty pin board and remembered, that See Kate Sew did an adorable version with marker HERE.
Oh and if you are looking to DIY up some more baby gear, I have basic onsies I decorated with fabric sharpies HERE.
I just bought these shoes for my son! Thanks for the great idea to switch them up!
i love these!!! i got my 8 year old boy a pair at old navy and he wears them all the time!!
Super cute! And look at that hair she's getting! :)
Delia you are so smart! Lola's still in size three too and it's so hard to find "real" shoes for her. I'm excited to try this, although I can already see a painting disaster looming, lol!
I had seen these for my son…and the ALL WHITE ones they had (really–put white shoes on a messy toddler…ha!). I thought, "what a great price-but they are boring." I could add cars or tool doodles, and they would be super cute. I will have to remember this! Those turned out great! I love the stars and stripes.
I had the same problem when my little girl was in size 3! But I wasn't as smart and clever as you :) Those are SO awesome! You have inspired me to try it for my munchkins.
Heidi @ handmadefrenzy.blogspot.com
Aw, cute! Love those tiny stars. =)
Great customised shoes, and your daughter looks so cute in them! I will definitely be keeping this one in mind for future :)
I repainted a pair of shoes once for Vincent with a stormtrooper on them. There was only one stormie because it was SUPER hard to paint lol.
These are SO CUTE. I want to do them with adult shoes, since I'm too cheap to buy Toms. And Natalie is adorable as always. :)
My little girl has long narrow feet as well so I will have to keep this in mind for cooler tempatures.
this is a wonderful idea! I've had the hardest time finding shoes for my 3 and 4 year old girls. It seems like most shoes that are affordable are garish and ugly. The ones that are classic or go well with a lot of things tend to be really expensive. We only keep one pair of shoes around for each kid so it needs to be versatile. We finally settled on getting some nice vans for our oldest. 35$
so cute! I may have to try this!
I have used sharpies, but they fade… What should I seal my shoes with. I ve read varnish, etc…. Help… Thanks
Good question! I actually didn’t seal these since I used fabric paint and they held up well. But I have used sharpie paint pens before and those faded. I would probably try mod podge? I haven’t used varnish but I imagine that would work too. Sorry I can’t give a more definitive answer.