How to : DIY Ombré Shoes Part 1

So it's been a while since my last post, I've been preparing and getting items for my next project, Ombré Shoes! Today I finished the front and I will leave it to dry until tomorrow before doing the back!

Equipment

Canvas Shoes - The shoes I'm using are from my last post, I've been attacking them with bleach for days! I also bought 4 more pairs from Sports Direct at 2 for £8! 

Dyes - I bought Dylon Fabric Dyes, they were pretty cheap from Wilkinsons.

Two measuring jugs - To add dye to. Or one for each colour!

Rubber or latex gloves - Dye can be irritant.

An atomiser - It doesn't have to be professional I used one from an old candy spray!

A brush - Ombré creator!

A sponge - Wetten the shoes.

Instructions

1. First of all dampen your shoes with a sponge. This makes the dye soak in and run better, creating a better ombré effect.

2. This depends on what dye you use. If you aren't using Dylon Fabric Dye skip this step. Pour 500ml of hot but not boiling water into every jug. Then add two teaspoons of dye and three of salt. 

3. Stir well.

4. Pour roughly 50ml into your atomiser (Mine was 100ml so this was simply half full). This isn't particularly important as it doesn't affect the concentration too much, try to fill the atomiser by the same amount every time.

5. Spray onto the shoes! Use quite a bit! If using two colour spray to just under halfway up the shoe. If three colours, then just under a third and so on! Excuse the hilarious drawings on paint I didn't take pictures during dyeing the shoes because of the mess!

6. Brush the colour towards the white, try to make the edge seamlessly bend to white. Get an even coat along the half of that colour!

7. Wash out your atomiser.

8. Add a teaspoon of dye, a teaspoon of salt and a little hot water to your jug and stir.

9. Repeat step 4.

10. This time spray to about a third of the way down the shoes.

11. Repeat steps 6,7 and 8!

12. Repeat step 4.

13. Spray to around a sixth (very rough estimate) of the way down, so only a small area at the tip of the shoes.

14. Leave to dry overnight and use a different colour starting at the heel. 

I'll have pictures of the heel along with the finished shoes tomorrow! In the meantime this is how the shoes look now. The colours I've used as you can see at the top are Bahama Blue and Goldfish Orange, the Bahama Blue is an amazing colour let down by the quality of an iPad camera. The pictures also don't show how good the Ombré effect is!

DIY Project 2

So today I've been bleaching my old Topman shoes. They've faded and so I think the best option is to continuously bleach them until white. They're currently out in the sun having gone from blue to a very faded purple.

They won't be white for long once fully bleached as of course I'll be designing on them. At the moment I'm undecided as to whether to do a galaxy pattern but with alternate colours, some sort of Aztec pattern or to tie dye them. If you'd like to give advice on what design I should do leave a comment or answer the poll on the right! I will have a How to: of whatever I do with them shortly. Thanks for reading!

How to : DIY Flag Canvas Shoes

So as I promised yesterday here is my guide on how to make Flag Canvas Shoes! You by all means can use whatever flags you want, I chose these flags for a World Cup theme as all countries are most likely to qualify! You could use whatever flags you like! If that is the case these shoes can still act as a guide because they show how to place up to 10 flags on each shoe! However you could easily have as little as four! One one the front, one on the left, one on the right and one on the heel! So anywhere here we go:

Equipment

• Fine Sharpie Markers - You could use special fabric paints however I feel Sharpies and similar permanent markers give such a better finish!

I bought my Fine Sharpies from Amazon here.

These were the cheapest I could find after an hour of searching. I highly advise getting a 12 pack because there are very few flags you can't draw. Plus the extra colours are really nice. 

• Ultra Fine Sharpie Markers - I didn't have these when I first made my shoes, TRUST ME, they will make a difference, just for going round the edges and small details these are worth the extra cost. In some parts my Sharpies ran, leaving smudges, my inner OCD kills me because of it! Necessary for designs like the Mexico flag.

• White Canvas Shoes - Of course, the most important item, it's entirely up to you which shoes you buy, I bought a very cheap pair from Amazon of decent quality here.
  
  

• A sharp pencil - I used a HB, any pencil at home should do.

Optional:

• Water Proofer - I bought mine from JJB Sports, I recommend giving it 2-3 light coats on a windy day, leaving it to dry for 30 minutes, I find it gives the colours a little extra protection against water and rain.

Method

1. Make sure you fully understand what design you are doing practice drawing your flags on paper. For designs like the brazil flag make sure you use a ruler and compass and make sure each shoe has the same size design!

2. Remove laces. Separate your shoe into areas for your flags. Do this by using your pencil and drawing a thin but visible line. This is how I divided up my shoe. Excuse the very rough drawn lines on Paint!

3. Once you've divided the shoe into sections draw out your designs on the shoe IN PENCIL.

4. To protect the soles from getting stains apply a thick layer of Vaseline, this is not too important if you have Ultra Fine liners and a steady hand! 

5. Using your Ultra Fine Sharpies draw the outline of your designs. Do this with patience it's hard not to want to do everything all at once but taking care is worth it.

6. Fill in the outline with the Fine Sharpies taking care not to let it run over edges onto other flags.

7. Leave to dry and admire your work. If the colours are patchy give it another coat in places and leave to dry once more.

8. Once finished leave to fully dry for an hour then apply Water Proofer or other protective sprays to preserve your masterpiece, or masterpieces if you remembered to do both shoes.

9. Voila, you have your own customised pair of shoes that nobody else has but will envy.

Extras and Tips

• If your a football fan, use your favourite teams for the World Cup next year!
• Sharpies and some Water proofers are solvents, keep the windows open as they can easily give you a headache with prolonged use!
• Put scrunched up paper like the type that came inside your shoes when you bought them inside the shoes. They make it firm for drawing on!

Thanks for reading! If you decide to make these shoes or any other canvas shoe design feel free to send pictures of them to me I'd be very interested!

DIY Project 1

So as I said a while ago with my 'noob' post, one of my blogging topics is DIY Projects. One that I have completed recently is a customisation of a pair of Canvas Shoes. Both shoes are covered in a collage of flags however they are not identical. As you can see from the photo below though I have used similar flags in many of the parts of the shoes. These shoes look great and I'm addicted to them, not being able to take them off! They stand out from the crowd and use vivid colours. I'll be uploading an instructional post on how to make these shoes soon, along with the equipment needed and optional extras to protect their colours!

Jon Carter

Outsteps

Insteps

Hello!

Hey, I don't know how you got here but thank you! I'm Jon I've just started blogging and will be posting regularly over the summer, DIY Projects, Awesome recipes and whatever else I can possibly think of you! So check back regularly because Im sure I'll have someone to interest you very soon!

Once again, thanks for reading!