Celebrating Star Wars ~ DIY BB-8 Shoes

May 02, 2016

by Lin

Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Yellow Loop. Today we are sharing ideas to celebrate Star Wars Day.

DIY BB8 Shoes | Star Wars Shoes Featuring BB-8 and R2-D2

My 6-year old son Connor’s wardrobe currently consistes of about a thousand Star Wars shirts. Seriously. The kid is a walking billboard for The Force. Unfortunately he has outgrown his Star Wars Vans and the new Star Wars Sketchers just don’t fit his feet well, so he asked me if I would make him a pair of shoes with BB-8 on them. We took to Pinterest for some inspiration where he feel in love with a pair that featured both BB-8 and R2-D2, and my weekend project was born. These DIY BB-8 shoes were surprisingly simple to paint, and I hope they inspire you to give painting your own shoes a try!

I started out with a pair of cheapy-cheap slip-ons from Walmart. Seriously, they were under $6. If you are new to painting shoes, or your kids feet grow fast, it is a lot easier to drop $6 on generic shoes than $50 on a pair of Vans. Then I hit up Hobby Lobby for paint. Now, my friend Cristin teaches art and her kids always enter the Vans Custom contest. She recommended that I purchase Golden Fluid Acrylics for my shoes, but they are fairly pricey. Since these are for Connor and I know he will grow out of them by the fall anyway I opted to get some acrylic fabric paint instead. The fabric paints were under $2.50 each so not too expensive, plus they will last me several more uses.

DIY Star Wars Shoes featuring BB-8 and R2-D2

Since Walmart didn’t have white shoes I grabbed some dark grey shoes. I painted the front section of the shoes white prior to sketching on my design. It took three coats of paint to get a nice even white. Make sure you allow each coat of paint to dry completely before adding the next. Refer to the instructions on your paint bottle for accurate drying time. Even if you don’t need to paint the shoes for color, its a good idea to paint them with a base coat of paint regardless, as it will give you an even surface for paint. Tip: you can keep your paint brush sealed in a ziplock bag between coats rather than washing it. I hate working with a wet paint brush, so I always go this route and then wash it at night so it can completely dry overnight.

Once your shoes have dried completely sketch on your design lightly with an HB pencil, or a water-soluble marking pencil for sewing. Be careful with a regular pencil, as it won’t really erase off the paint, and will be difficult to cover over. I used a flexible straight-edge for straight lines, and this BB-8 markings picture for his designs. I also used an image from Etsy for reference. I had planned to create an original design, but Connor fell in love with these and begged me to just make them.

DIY Star Wars Shoes featuring BB-8 and R2-D2

Paint using one color at a time, and allow to dry completely before moving on to another color or adding an additional coat of paint. Use a Sharpie Stain marker to do any outlines or detail work required.

Once you are satisfied with your paint job follow the instructions on the paint bottles to set the colors, and then allow to dry for the stated amount of time. Once dry apply a layer of sealer to your shoes. You can use Scotch-Guard, Acrylic sealer, or Modpodge Outdoor. Allow the sealer to cure for the amount of time specified by the package and then you’re done! I recommend reapplying the sealer every couple of months to keep the paint as fresh as possible!

I found the following blog post incredibly helpful in creating my shoes! Empress of Dirt: How to Paint Shoes

For more ways to celebrate Star Wars Day,
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Yellow | Celebrating Star Wars Day Loop:

1st Stop – My Pixie Dust Diary | Snack Ideas
2nd Stop – Home is Where the Mouse Is | The Force Awakens Movie Night
3rd Stop – Rolling with the Magic | 5 Ways to Celebrate Star Wars Day
4th Stop – Superheroes and Teacups | Fun Books to Help You Celebrate Star Wars Day
5th Stop – Disney Mamas | DIY BB-8 Shoes

More from my site

About the Author

A Floridian at heart, Lin currently resides in the great state of Texas. When not dreaming of Disney she is a busy wife, mom, high school theatre teacher, travel agent, amateur baker, designer and artist. She is also a Wanna-Be Imagineer, and a DVC member. In addition to blogging here at Disney Mamas, she is also a Pilot for The Magical Blogorail. You can also find her on Twitter at @DisneyMamaLin.

12 Comments

Heidi Strawser May 3, 2016 at 8:42 am Reply

You did SUCH a fabulous job on these shoes. I love making shirts, but don’t know if I’d have the patience to paint such detailed shoes! I bet Conner is THRILLED with them! My son would love them!
- Lin May 3, 2016 at 8:51 am Reply
  
  Thank you! Ironically I found these waaaay easier to paint than shirts! The fabric doesn’t move on you as much and you don’t have to worry about the paint sticking to the cardboard shirt form thingy.
Rosanne Mottola May 3, 2016 at 8:45 am Reply

Those are ADORABLE! SO cute, and such a good idea without breaking the bank!
- Lin May 3, 2016 at 8:51 am Reply
  
  Thank you so much! They were fun to paint.
Lisa Cameron May 5, 2016 at 10:55 am Reply

I love, love, love these! And I think my daughter especially would love them too. It would be a great summer project for her. The BB-8 ones are my favorite.
Cindy Howell May 10, 2016 at 12:20 pm Reply

These shoes are adorable! I would be afraid to wear them anywhere because I wouldn’t want to mess them up.
Rolling with the Magic May 10, 2016 at 5:59 pm Reply

These shoes are amazing! I may have to give this a try even though I’m not the craftiest person. 🙂 Too cute not too.
Mary May 17, 2016 at 2:36 pm Reply

These are awesome!!!! Any tips for staying in the lines (I am terrible at that part)?
- Lin May 23, 2016 at 12:53 pm Reply
  
  I had never worked with the Sharpie Stain markers, but I loved the way the black one worked for outlining. I’m going to try another pair using those exclusively, and they would be a great option for staying in the lines! They are located in the fabric paint section of your craft store.
Lynn Wiltse May 18, 2016 at 9:13 pm Reply

These came out amazing!! Do you think it would be hard to make/trace a template?
- Lin May 23, 2016 at 12:52 pm Reply
  
  Thanks! The hardest part would just be getting the template to bend around the shoe. Print the BB-8 Marking Picture that is linked in the post and use that as a template, just enlarge the individual circles you want to use so that they fit the size of shoe you are working with, then use a bit of masking tape rolled on the back to stick them in place. Trace lightly so you can adjust the areas that don’t trace quite as nicely as you wish. The R2-D2 is mostly straight lines, so I used a clear sewing ruler to draw that shoe.
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