Funky Book Design Shoes

Stand out from the crowd by creating a unique pair of 'book themed' shoes, a perfect gift for yourself or a friend.

Just follow these easy steps and you'll have your own pair in no time!

Step 1: Materials:

- An old book – try not to use thin paper as it will rip easily and would be translucent once glued on the shoe

- A pair of shoes – mine happens to be new shoes however old ones would work too as long as they are clean. Any colour will do because you will be covering up most of it, and any type of canvas shoe can be used

- Sealant Glue that dries translucent – I chose to use Mod Podge however other glues such as PVA will be fine as long as a paint brush can be used with it and it dries translucent

- Paint brushes – reasonably small

- Craft knife

- Scissors

- Ruler

- Paint (optional)

Step 2: Prepare

Take the laces out of the shoes and keep them for later. Cut or rip the book up so the text is horizontal and can still be read. Cut or rip them into sizes roughly 1 ½ to 2 cm width at first. You'll find that once you start gluing, different sizes and shapes may be needed.

Step 3: Glue

Before you start gluing make sure the piece you want to put on fits the shoe properly. I chose to rip most of the paper to give it an interesting look, and when I came to an edge of the shoe I used scissors so the paper would fit correctly. Try to get the paper to fit as close to the shoe edge as possible so when it glues, the edges can be tucked in. You can use a pencil tip or what I used was the end of tweezers for this. By tucking the edges in, it is less likely to rip later.

Using a paintbrush, brush on the glue on the opposite side of the paper you want shown. Glue onto the shoe and smooth the bubbles and creases out. Try and get the edges of the paper as glued down as possible however it does not need to be perfect due to later steps.

It also does not matter about the lace holes so layer the paper over those and when you smooth the bubbles out, press down over the metal frame of the hole to get the outline. Then, use a pencil when the glue is still wet and poke through the lace hole.

Step 4: Seal

Once the shoe sides are fully covered in the paper, it is time to seal it. Use the same glue as before and brush glue in a thin layer over the sides. Wait 20 minutes for the glue to dry before brushing on another layer. This will seal the paper and smooth the sides, making it more durable so it will last longer. If you want a shinier finish or added protection, add a few more layers of the glue.

To fully seal it, I decided to glue the edges of the shoes as well, so any paper unevenly glued over the sides would be stuck down. Brush a thick layer around the edge of the shoe and wipe away any excess which goes over the sides. The thicker layer will take longer to dry so be careful if moving it someplace else.

Step 5: Finish

For the finishing touches use the craft knife on the bottom edges of the shoes for any paper which has overlapped the sides. Use extra glue if the side comes loose afterwards, and tuck the edges in like before.

I decided to use paint to colour the inside flap black, as I thought it matched better with the paper. However it is your decision what to do and depends on the shoe colour you have chosen.

Otherwise just lace the shoes back up (wait for the paint and glue to fully dry) and your shoes are complete!