Hand painted and decorated shoes

I always go for comfort over color and style when I shop for shoes because I can always play around wih the color myself later.

These leather Stonefly boots started out brown, were sponged with black and pink then had the spiral and dragonfly motifs pressed on with inexpensive foam stamps from a craft store.

I start by stripping the polish finish off. Here are few of the types of acrylic paints I use next. I spread some paint out on a china plate then capture some on a damped natural sponge. A broken imperfect finish rather than a solid finish is easier to achieve and it seems to just last for ages. I have had some of these shoes for many years and they still look great.

An acrylic craft paint with a glitter effect was used on the dragonfly stamp.

These are the only boots that I have ever finished off with an acrylic medium finish for extra shine and protection. I suppose the medium may be a good idea for leather but I have never gone back and touched up any shoes. That's where the broken finish wins out every time over a solid one, in wear and tear.