Customize: Painted rain boots

I first presented this project 3 years ago at my old blog Hapa's eco renewals. Since I'm still wearing these rain boots 3 years later, I thought I'd share this fun makeover with you. Especially because the fall is imminent and it's so much more fun to sing in the rain with your new custom painted rain boots. Don't you think?

It's quite an easy process and the outcome looks great. But, I do have to warn you that this method is not perfect, the surface will start to crack a little and it will look a bit like craquelure after a lot of wear. Like an old painting. But I don't mind, for me it just gives it more character.

Here's what you need:
1. A pair of rain boots
2. Spray paint
3. Inspiration
4. Clear lacquer spray
5. Old newspapers
6. Acrylic paint in different colors, depending on what you want to paint
7. Some paint brushes

1. Wash your boots and prepare them for painting. This means covering any parts you don't want to paint and stuffing them with old newspapers to seal the openings. Spray paint twice with your color of choice. Two coats ought to do it.

2. I used Estonian folklore as my inspiration. It was wildly popular back then to use patterns from traditional needlework and paint them on rain boots. Of course I had to try it, too. I used acrylic paint to paint the flowers. Let them try completely and then spray with a clear coat (I used clear lacquer for wood). This will waterproof the paint and gives it a nice clean finish.

I'm infamously bad at drawing, so my flowers don't look so hot, but they still look pretty from afar. And who's going to inspect that close anyway, right?

If you'd like some inspiration, type "muhu sussid" or "muhu kummikud" into google image search and you'll find plenty of pretty patterns.

Are you guys ready for the fall? I'm not a big fan of autumn, because the weather tends to get really cold and chilly and rainy and just plain bad around here. But, these rain boots sure cheer me up.