Bad*ss Graffiti Boots

At a certain point, I realized my life would get exponentially worse if I didn't act on something immediately. You see I realized I had an extreme lack of custom painted, spiky shoes. This is something all who read can probably relate to, as I've realized so much of the world is lacking in bad**s shoes such as these. But have no fear! If you keep reading, you too can acquire marvelous shoes. All you need is to attain a few things first:

• Shoes! any will do, but I prefer heeled ones with lots of space to paint on
• Paint (fabric paint, or regular acrylic mixed with fabric medium)
• Painters Tape
• Paint Brushes (especially a small detail brush)

That's all you really need, but I used a mix of other (optional) supplies including:

• Paper (to print on or sketch on to make stencils)
• Scalpel
• Polymorph Plastic (Get this online)
• Spray Paint (preferably fabric paint if not painting directly on a high heel)
• An Airbrush
• Clear Tape

My theme was basically graffiti covered walls, but you can choose whatever you like. A fancy tea party? Clowns? Cats? Murder? Space? Not even the sky is the limit.

I started out spray painting the heels of the shoes, to do this take a plastic bag, put it around the parts of the shoe you don't want to paint and tape down the edges. Then spray the design you want in a couple thin, even layers to get the paint full coverage. I did green to black gradient. Wait for it to dry, take off the tape and bag, then move onto the next section.

To add designs I both made stencils and got some photos online. To make something like the Hydra symbol pick out a photo from google, scale it and print it out. Then cover your photo in clear tape and then cut it out using a scalpel. The tape will keep your paper from tearing/dissolving while you paint. Then tape your stencil onto your shoes using painters tape. (If you're using regular acrylic this is when you'll want to mix in fabric medium) If your using leather/fake leather sand the area your going to paint a bit then paint. I also did this with the Harley Quinn, but used the positive of the stencil and airbrushed around it

If you're going to make your own design start out by sketching it, then cut it out as you would any other stencil. Then tape out the area where you are going to paint. Sand the area lightly. If you're going to use a bright color I recommend first painting white where the color is going to do if your shoes are dark.

For the word Crome, this is what i did to paint. First I painted a blue base with spray paint, then taped down the negative of my stencil and spray painted a gradient of black to yellow. (I used regular spray paint but if you intend to wear these often then I recommend fabric spray paint) After that dried, I put the positive of the individual letters on top them and spray painted a little black around it to give the letters depth and definition.

I used things like ripped tape, fishnet stockings, and cut sponge to make the texture of the different graffiti's. But if your design is something fancier you could spray paint over things like lace to make a texture you want. My strategy was to go absolutely insane and that seemed to work well.

To make the spikes I used polymorph plastic. To use it you pour the balls into a cup of hot water and wait for them to become clear and pliable, then knead them together. If you want color you mix in color tablets. As long as the plastic is warm you work with it like clay, reheating it as you go.

To shape the spikes I:

1. Rolled the plastic into a sausage
2. Cut the middle of the sausage at a slant with scissors to for a point
3. Roll the point to get rid of the seam the scissors make
4. Reheat the base of the spike and place it in desired spot on the bottom of the heel

After making many spikes, start gluing them on (I used E6000 glue).

If you want a more permanent spike I recommend drilling an indent into the spot where the spike will go and pressing a still-pliable spike into the indent, then gluing. I only say this because the first time I wore the heels after only gluing the spikes onto the flat surface 2-3 spikes fell off.

Here I glued on sequins along with spikes, but after doing this I quickly realized it didn't go with my theme and ripped them off. But if you want to use them, just glue them on using more E6000 (:

Finally, the void in your soul has been filled with a pair of gorgeous, custom shoes.

NOTE: USE FABRIC PAINT I made the mistake of using regular acrylic paint and everywhere the shoes leather bends the paint is chipping off.