Sneaker tread makes a wonderful stamp. Combined with a stencil and fabric paint, they add texture to any design and they also work great on paper.
First, print or draw design on cardstock or freezer paper and cut it out using a craft knife. Then, use stencil adhesive or iron the stencil onto fabric. Also, make sure to place a piece of cardstock inside the shirt to protect from any paint seeping through.
Next, use a foam brush or a paint roller to apply paint to the bottom of a clean shoe. Make sure to use an opaque fabric ink if stamping onto a dark t-shirt.
Stick your hand in the shoe (I didn’t do this, but it’s much easier) and stamp the tread onto the receiving surface. Re-ink and stamp again, until you have the stencil area filled in. You may need to use a scrap piece of card board to mask off the edges, depending the placement of the shoe.
Remove the stencil and heat set the fabric paint if needed. *Tip: I like to use parchment paper over the paint to protect my iron. It also allows me to dry the paint with heat.
I used a wet scrub brush to clean off the bottom of the shoes and the paint came off easily. This took me all of 15 minutes to complete, so easy and fun!
July 10th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
what an ingenious idea!!
July 11th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Great idea!
July 12th, 2007 at 5:27 am
Love it!!!
I’m so gonna try it!!!!
Thanks for sharing the clever idea!
July 12th, 2007 at 8:18 am
That is a nifty idea! And they come up with so many interesting looking patterns for shoe treads.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:26 am
[...] Amy at Craft Chi shows you how your sneaker treads will make fabulous stamps! Link. [...]
July 12th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Thanks an idea! I tried it already and it’s fun..
July 12th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Tikru- Your welcome, I saw your post. Your shoe prints came out really nice. Thanks for the comment.
July 12th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
[...] Blogger Amy Ybarra Murphy (Craft Chi) has a way to create some cool treads on your threads: “Sneaker Stamps.” [...]
July 15th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
That’s such a great ideia!! I’m using those stamps in cards and stuff like that right away!!
July 27th, 2007 at 8:36 am
hahahah… you’re so creative!
July 29th, 2007 at 7:39 am
fantastic idea , i also want to try thi. Thank you
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:35 am
Fantastic! Love new and creative things . THanks for sharing
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:20 pm
That is an ingenuous indeed, always amazed at the creativity of some people.
August 7th, 2007 at 3:49 am
very simple and creative idea.I am gonna add it in my blog.
August 7th, 2007 at 4:36 am
That is such a cool idea! So creative..thanks for sharing
August 11th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
this is awesome! I am going to have to try this! Thanks for sharing!
August 17th, 2007 at 3:35 am
How creative! I would have never thought to do something like that…Will definitely try that!
August 17th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Ohhh nice! I haven’t seen that one before
August 20th, 2007 at 6:10 am
this is so fab! im so gonna try it!
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:46 am
Haha what a great idea! One could really have fun with the stencils and decorating shirts like this.
September 29th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
I love this idea. Would you mind if I use your picture and link to this post in the Crafts for Kids column on the Crafty Moms blog?
September 29th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
[...] For detailed instructions on how to create the t-shirt shown here, please visit the original post on the Craft Chi blog. [...]
November 3rd, 2007 at 12:32 am
What a creative idea, my daughter will love this.
December 5th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
as a second thought, the pattern that was left on the paper with the heart shape cut out and the paint remnants isn’t by itself a bad design! it would be great to be able to incorporate that onto the shirt!
February 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
great idea! thanks for sharing. Bubble wrap also makes a cool stamp.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:54 am
That is absolutely awesome and I’m totally going to link to your site. I love all of your projects and really appreciate the time you put into making them tutorials. Rock on!
June 25th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I love this idea. This is such a neat way to find tools without spending a whole lot of money and still have a wide variety.
http://www.momstop.blogspot.com
July 30th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I thought I was a clever person that utilized all sorts of unexpected objects to craft items. You beat me hands down with this one! It also gave me a chuckle and a great flashback of one of my nephews. He’s in his twenties now but when he was very young, about 4, he based his choice of new shoes on the print that the sole of the shoe created. This went on for a few years. I hadn’t realized it until now that that’s probably why I automatically filp a shoe over and inspect the sole when I visit a shoe store. Thanks for the great idea and for reminding me of a great memory!