How to Ice Dye Shoes with Fabric Paint

Have you noticed tie dye has been a HUGE trend this year?! It’s making me wish I had saved all my tie dye shirts from the 90’s. Luckily, Tulip Color has everything I need to tie dye at home! It’s back-to-school season and even though I’m not actually going back to school, I’m craving some cool kicks. What better way to show off my true colors (you KNOW I love color!) than with tie dye shoes on my feet? Unlike traditional tie dye methods, I can’t actually tie up my shoes so I’m sharing with you this sneaky technique using Tulip Fabric Paint and some ice. I even added some sparkle with a 3D glitter star!! Keep reading to learn this super cool technique and watch a speedy video of the process. I promise it’s TIE DIY for!

The following DIY tutorial and video is sponsored by Tulip Color. Concept and content are all my own. A few of the below links are affiliate links and if clicked, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Materials

• Tulip Soft Fabric Paint – 2-3 colors of choice (Note: Even though these paints are labelled “matte” they do have a slight shimmer which is more obvious once the paint dries)
• White shoes with fabric upper 
• Painters tape 
• Gloves
• Clear cups
• Stirring sticks 
• Water
• Ice cubes
• White cardstock
• Wire rack and plastic container 
• Adhesive remover, cotton balls and cotton swabs 
• White pencil
• Small paint brush
• Tulip Fabric Paint in White
• Tulip Dazzling Glitter Dimensional Paint in Silver and Diamond.

Instructions

Watch this video to see how to ice dye shoes

1. Remove shoelaces and tape off the soles of your shoes. Stuff the shoes with plastic or other material to hold their shape. 

2. Cover your working area and put on gloves. Take your fabric paint of choice. Mix 1 Tbsp paint with 2-3 Tbsp water. (You can estimate – it just needs to be opaque and pourable.) Repeat the same process with the other two colors. Feel free to mix colors to get the shade you want! I mixed green, blue and white to achieve the pretty teal color. 

3. Rest a wire rack on the plastic container. Place your prepped shoes on top. Lightly spray the fabric area with water. Attach sheets of cardstock to form a ring around your shoes. Pile the ice cubes on top and around your shoes. 

4. Carefully pour your fabric paint mixtures all over the ice cubes and your shoes. The “dye” will seep between the ice creating a tie dye effect as it melts. Once the ice has melted, remove the cardstock ring and clean up excess paint from the rivets with cotton swabs.

5. Allow shoes to dry overnight. Peel off the tape from the soles of your shoes. Remove any remaining paint and tape residue with adhesive remover. I found it easiest to remove the bulk of the paint with cotton balls, then remove the bits of paint in the grooves using the cotton swabs.

Optional: Add a sparkly 3D star!

Trace a star shape on the outside of your shoe using a white pencil.

Fill in the star with white fabric paint and allow to dry.

Outline the star using silver glitter dimensional paint and fill it in with diamond glitter dimensional paint.

The diamond paint will dry clear and sparkly!

Kick up your feet and enjoy your new shoes!

I hope you enjoyed this COOL project as much as I did. If you end up making this project, tag me on Instagram. I would love to see and share your creations.

For more projects and inspiration using Tulip paints, visit TulipColor.com!

Go back to my blog for more colorful inspiration.