Frida Kahlo TOMS & a FREE Printable!

New Year, new projects. I recently spoke to a fellow who really really wanted me to paint his girlfriend a pair of TOMS with Frida Kahlo on them. She really wants Las Dos Fridas on the top of them, he said. Can you do it?

All I could think of was, I wish I had a pair of shoes with Las Dos Fridas painted on them, man!

Instead, we settled on something a little bit different.

I prefer to buy my TOMS locally. Gives me more time to create magic!

Working with a stencil kind of tricky. I always use a #11 X-acto blade to cut out my stencil.

You can totally Google "Frida stencil" and a ton of options come up. But unless the artist gives you permission to use their image, it's not cool to just take it and use it. This is why I always create my own design. Yes, knowing Photoshop helps, but you could totally accomplish this using a cool photo apps like Posterize and PhotoTropedelic.

The key to creating a sweet stencil is to have quality design and a bottle spray glue, like Aleene's Repositional Spray. It helps hold your stencil in place and ensures clean lines around your design. So...just what can you do with a Frida stencil? You can:

• Make a tote.
• Put it on a scarf to make it extra snazzy.
• Stencil it onto primered canvas and create your own Frida paintings.
• Put it on sofa pillows.
• Hook up an apron.
• Cut up a funky tee and adorn it with Frida's face.
• Create a "wallpaper" pattern on an accent wall.
• Stencil it on wrapping paper or a gift bag for the Frida-lover. 
• Or you can do what I did....put it on a pair of shoes! Specifically, TOMS shoes.
 

I have a little something something for you, guys. It's a Frida Kahlo Printable Stencil! Yes. This is what it looks like. The image is 4 x 6 inches, so you can make it bigger or shrink it down, totally up to you.

Isn't she pretty?

This is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Now back to the shoes. Painting shoes is a little tricky because they have curves and dips. You just have to be willing to work with curves and dips. This is real life, people.

After laying out the entire design in white, I began to add color on top.

In the meantime, indulging in some mindless entertainment while I work. "Feel the rain on your skin..."

My weapons of choice when painting fabric shoes--Soft Fabric Paint by Tulip from iLovetoCreate.

Close up.

And the final result:

I've waiting to paint Frida on a pair of shoes for a long time. It was so fun! If you are interested in getting a fab pair for yourself, please check out my Etsy store for more details!

We all must have stencils on the brain because Kathy Cano-Murillo just posted a cool DIY project, Jumbo Fabric Stencils, over at Diary of a Crafty Chica. Go check it out! Enjoy your printable, friends. Please post any pics you take of your Frida projects on the Pearmama Facebook wall because I want to see what you come up with. Enjoy!