How’s the weather where you live? Have the first rains started to fall? We’ve already started picturing puddles and thought of a DIY project to get us ready so the rain won’t catch us off guard when it arrives. We’re also taking the opportunity to remind you that we’ve already shown you how to customize umbrellas, although it was still August then, so you may not have saved the idea because it seemed a long way off.
And this is what we came up with: customizing rain boots! The typical rubber boots we use in the rain, which started becoming popular a few years ago and began appearing in department stores, sporting-goods stores, shoe stores… The simplest versions, which come in a solid color without any kind of decoration, are very reasonably priced, but of course… They’re very boring. And precisely for that reason, they’re perfect for our plans!
And since you already know we love variety, today we’re bringing you three DIY ideas for customizing rain boots. Let’s get to them!
HOW TO CUSTOMIZE RAIN BOOTS:
We’ve come across lots of possibilities, but as always, we’ve brought you the easiest ones… life is complicated enough already! ;)
1. The most obvious option: paint them!
It really doesn’t matter whether you’re good or bad at drawing. If drawing isn’t your strong suit, you can always use some kind of template or simply dive into abstract art, choose something as simple and effective as polka dots, draw your initials, or go for a naïve style: that way, if they look like a little child made them, you can say that’s exactly what you wanted.
What can you use to paint them? According to our research, you can use anything from a permanent marker (they come in some very pretty shades, such as gold and silver) to fabric paint (which is resistant to washing and therefore to water).
Take a look at the fabulous boots Jen from My Own Road made. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be as artistic as she is. That said, think carefully about the design if it’s going to include details: it’s sure to help to make a sketch on paper first.
2. An old sweater and some buttons.
That’s all you need for this second option. Recently, we told you how to make a hat by recycling a sweater. For that DIY, we used the body of the sweater, the part below the sleeves. But since nothing goes to waste here, for this way of customizing rain boots, we’re going to use those sleeves (although they won’t work if they’re too narrow).
Cut the sleeve at the end closest to the body—in other words, the widest end. Use something to make sure the cut is straight, because that’s the part that will stick out over the boots. The idea is to cut a tube that’s long enough to insert into the boots’ shaft and fold outward. Measure it by placing the sleeve inside the boot before deciding where to cut.
Decorate with some buttons in the same color as the boot, and you’re done. You can see the process (including painting the boots beforehand) in English at Pocket Full of Whimsy.
3. Clips and interchangeable bows or decorations.
For this third way of customizing rain boots, you’ll need ribbon, a needle and thread, the boots, and the typical clip-on earrings (or just the clip—really, the earring is the dispensable part). The idea is to make a really pretty bow with the ribbon (or T-shirt yarn, or whatever you like), secure it with a needle and thread so it doesn’t come undone, and attach it to the clip.
We absolutely love this idea of clip-on decorations. This way, you can put them on the back, on one side, or even on more boots and shoes if you want. It’s a very simple but highly effective way to add a personal touch with lots of class. The best part is that you can also swap the decorations by having several clips with different embellishments: and this is where your imagination has every opportunity to shine. What would you attach to your rain boots to customize them?
This idea, which we spotted at Kittenhood, is one of the most popular. Although there are other ways to add a bow to rain boots, they usually involve cutting and/or adding buttonholes. This seemed like the cleanest option to us and, in addition, the one that allows for the greatest degree of interchangeability and combination of the decorations we want to add.
What do you think? Can you think of any other easy, budget-friendly ways to customize rain boots and be the queen of every puddle? Try it with your kids’ boots too, and you’ll see how much they love the result.
Oh, and don’t forget that we have new fabrics in the shop: we can’t stop bringing in more and more—the new collections are incredible!
We’ll see you next week with more news, ideas, tutorials and lots of beautiful things!