How to Decorate Canvas Shoes

Create some AMAZING looking shoes with just a few items you probably already have around the house! It’s not just canvas shoes you can decorate, it’s canvas anything really! Whether they are new or old, you can get creative and start decorating shoes any way you want.

My boys aged 7 and 3 created these super cool rainbow coloured shoes all on their own. You really CAN’T mess them up and they are so much fun to make AND wear!

Anyone can make these awesome creations!

What you need:

Light coloured canvas shoes
- Ours were from H&M but you can find them in lots of places. There are similar ones on Amazon too.
Permanent markers – we used Sharpies
Rubbing alcohol
Spray bottle, dropper or syringe
Masking tape
Fabric shield (optional)
Eager children (not a necessity, but highly recommended)

Step 1: Prep the shoes

If your shoes have laces, remove them. Then tape the rubber part of the shoes so that you avoid getting any colour on them. Especially useful for kids (or adults) that are super excited and eager.

Step 2: Go Crazy with the markers

If you have a particular style in mind then you probably want to think about the colours you want to use. Working with lighter colours first before moving on to darker shades.

J wanted a specific rainbow gradient, so he planned and lined up the colours in the order he wanted to use. And THEN went crazy.

DD just went crazy and grabbed whichever marker he could get his hands on. So I hid all the dark colours as I didn’t want their shoes to come out looking like they had been trudged through muck.

Tip: Make sure to leave some gaps between the colours for them to bleed and to change colours frequently.

Step 3: Apply the rubbing alcohol

Once you are happy with your design, add rubbing alcohol all over the shoe. I tried spraying it on, but found using a syringe the easiest way to apply a liberal amount all over without getting it all over my table and wasting it.

Watch the colours spread and those harsh marker lines blur and blend!!! It’s soooo beautiful.

Step 4: Water shield those bad boys (optional)

This is an entirely optional step! Once you have applied the alcohol and waited for it to dry out thoroughly. Your shoes are ready to be worn! However, I decided to water shield ours because, why not? I mean, Sharpies are oil-based so the colours will not run off in the rain. But I wanted to create a durable water barrier that kept their shoes drier for longer. I use the Scotchgard Heavy Duty Water Shield for quite a few of their things! I love it!

After treating the shoes with the water shield, leave them for 24 hours to dry.