Alcohol Inks!

Although I like the print on these shoes I really don't like wearing shoes with so much white on them. No matter where I put my eyes I am distracted by all that white flashing around on my feet. To avoid crashing into things while walking inattentively...

... I did some research, asked some friends about shoe painting, and decided to try alcohol inks. Joann's was kind enough to have a set of teal alcohol ink pens on sale for half off.

Everything painted on the shoes was done with the same pen--different surfaces took the color in different ways, as you can see. I even painted the shoelaces. I'm not quite happy with the rubber sole parts, but I'll keep adding another layer of ink until it looks a bit better. In the meantime, I'll just walk faster and tell myself that the streaks will never be noticed by a passing rider on a galloping horse (actually a possibility in New Mexico, where cowboys abound). 

Now I still have all those ink pens. And I see on Pinterest that DIY alcohol inks are a thing, so I could expand beyond shades of teal without breaking the bank. What will get painted next? Wine glasses? Ceramic tiles? Who knows?