DIY

DIY Polka Dot Sneakers a la Kate Spade

I’ve really been loving canvas sneakers as of late. Now that it’s warming right on up in the city, I’ve been walking so much more. Even just going for an hour long around the neighborhood on Sunday mornings is turning into a wonderful little routine of mine. I generally slip into comfortable jeans, a sweatshirt from Georgetown and a light jacket. Lightweight canvas sneakers are comfortable for walking and also have a Parisian-chic quality!
I’ve been lusting over the entire Kate Spade x Keds collaboration. I mean, you know how much I love polka dots!!!
I figured that I would give a DIY version of the shoes a go before I splurged on the sneaks. I’m quite happy with the results and it was so simple. I originally thought that I was going to have to invest in more paint brushes and special paint and spend hours on the floor with newspaper. (I truly pictured myself with paint under my nails and dragged through my hair for weeks.)
But again, it’s crazy easy.
My grey canvas sneakers are from H&M, but they didn’t have a white pair with the full laces. I ended up finding a super cheap ($15) pair of white canvas sneaks from Payless! They’re actually pretty comfortable and have a lot more support than the H&M ones.
I was debating between acrylic paint or Sharpies for the actual polka dots. I was really leaning towards the paint, but then I couldn’t find a satisfactory paint brush. At the last minute, I went for the “Stained by Sharpie markers and I’m so happy with it!!! The marker was super simple to use and the results were quite cute!
To make the pattern, I started drawing a line of circles equidistant apart starting at the heel and working my way around the sneaker until I came to an edge. Then, I would start another line of polka dots with the dot going in between and above the first row. I think it took four minutes for each shoe. It went super quickly!
And polka dot sneaks!!!

What do you think?


xoxo

Say Hello





Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

19 Comments

Liva

Love it! I almost bought the white sneakers at H&M last week, now I'm going to go back and get them and do this! I want to try with navy blue dots.

xo Liva
livainaustria.blogspot.com

Reply
Laura Emily Dunn

So lovely! I splurged on the gingham ones, and am going to where them for the first time today! I may have to buy a cheap pair of sneakers and get inspired by your talents!

Reply
Jessie Springer

Such a great idea! Have you seen the Kate Spade Saturday windowpane sneakers that are actually made for coloring?!
I bought the Kate spade gingham sneakers a few weeks ago and find myself wearing them all the time! If you end up splurging, they're super comfy!

Jessie

jessieholmesspringer.com

Reply
Signe

Cute! I love canvas sneakers! I've also seem people paint them like a galaxy, which is really cool.

Aclassystateofgrace.blogspot.com

Reply
michelle

i now feel like doing these. i wanted the polka dots, the stripes and the gingham ones! now i might just have to DIY all of them for less than the price of one pair of kate spades!

Reply
The Glitter Queen

I saw the plain white ones at Walmart for $5! I'm so trying this tutorial with them. I also picked up a real pair of tribal print Keds for $10 at Ross yesterday. I love the real ones, and I finally got a cute pair for cheeeap.

Reply
Emily

Love this idea! How do they hold up in the rain? I want to do this but would hate for them to bleed!

Reply