Here’s a pdf poster and image that you can print and colour in, add your own stuff to, then put in your window to say thanks to all the essential workers.
Right click and save image or scroll down and download the pdf.
I’d love to see your version of it on social media – wildbunnyarts everywhere.
Have you seen the animated masterpiece that is Into the Spiderverse? I loved it so much that I came out of the cinema just dying to emulate those Nikes that Miles Morales was wearing.
My son was the one who saw a YouTube ad for the film and told me about it. He’s a mad superhero fan and his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me over the years. Let’s just say that I’m a late starter to the genre but am hastily making up for lost time. Being a parent gives you some whopping responsibilities but it also allows you the chance for a second childhood.
I can’t drop any spoilers here for the movie but I was captivated by it’s visual style. Miles Morales, his friends and family appealed massively to me and made the storyline as joyous as the way that the animation looked. Those kicks of his got some real adventure time.
When I got home and googled Nike Air Jordan 1’s , I discovered that I wasn’t the first person to imagine some Into the Spiderverse themed creps. Nike had got there first, but, they weren’t exactly what I had in my head. They are also largely sold out in the UK, or available for 2.5-3 hundred quid.
My vision came true and here are my very own Mike Morales Spiderman shoes. I liked them so much, I made them into a (very short) movie.
Happy New Year everyone and here’s to a healthy, happy 2019 to you all.
2018 has been an amazing year for WildBunnyArts. I recovered from the events of 2017 and used this year to gain new skills and continue my professional development. From zero to hero in screen printing and design software, I’ve gone from being frustrated about getting one-off t-shirt prints done, to building my own printing press and learning the art of the hand screen printing, as well as he graphic design skills required to design and print unique t-shirts.
Custom Converse and hand-painted Vans have remained a core element to the business. I made the sideways step into leather painting, and had some amazing commissions for customised Dr Marten shoes and custom Nikes.
One thing I love about painting shoes- as well as providing an amazing personalised gift – is when my customers ask for fan art. These shoes were lengthy to complete but I had great fun with them, and of course I had to watch The Big Lewbowsky so that I could get a feel of the character for the artwork.
It’s an exciting journey and I enter 2019 buzzing with new ideas and projects. One of my focuses at the moment is to get writing here more regularly so that I can communicate with you all here, as well as on my social media channels. What would you like to see?
As we stroll into the soft sun of Autumn and feast our eyes upon the rich russets and golden browns of the falling leaves, we may not want to be wearing our lovely customised Converse, or custom Toms any more.
Now is the time to get your Doc Martens out again and be able to happily skip through the mud and puddles (and snow?) without worrying about getting soggy socks.
Maybe you’re getting bored of your monotone black DM’s? Maybe you want your footwear to be as bright and as colourful as your soul? As beautiful as you are?
You know what to do. I’m here if you need me.
Custom Dr Martens. Hand painted with Angelus. No, the paint won’t wash off.
A good friend of mine and I were talking about different ways to personalise shoes and apparel. So behind the scenes, I have been experimenting with different print methods. I have tried to get one-off print jobs done but I couldn’t find people willing to print just one t-shirt, so, I thought, I would just do it myself. I can hand paint onto fabric and this does last a long time but it also takes me a long time and I wanted to offer something else, a little cheaper. If you’d like to have a go yourself, here is a summary of my research so far:
Did you know that you can print your own shirts and bags using your printer and freezer paper? All you do is reverse the image, print it onto freezer/greaseproof paper and immediately (it has to be immediately) iron it to the shirt. It lasts longer if you use a fixative substance like Retayne. So simple, and a method available to anyone with a printer, and iron and some non stick kitchen paper.
Again using the printer you already own, you can buy photo transfer paper which like the freezer paper you print onto and then iron onto your choice of shirt, or even shoe. It helps here if you have a clear image. I used an image of a pug and it worked ok, but the colours looked a bit murky and on a t-shirt, there is a definite stiffness, a coating on the fabric. I don’t know whether that was my budget printer ink or the method itself, or even if I needed a bit more practice but I felt that method was handy to know but not what I was seeking. It has washed well, but cracked over time. I tried applying the image to a shoe but it’s kinda hard ironing onto a small curved surface and I messed it up.
Photo transfer medium lets you print onto normal printer paper and transfer it to your desired surface. This is an interesting method, with no irons involved and it works really well but does leave too much of a stiffness on the fabric which is not ideal for a fabric such as a t-shirt. It has not cracked in the wash though and the design lasted through different temperatures. It would work better on an already stiffer fabric like denim , or on a bag, or even a wood block maybe. It’s a bit like a glue, you put the stuff on, pop the printer paper on, (following the instructions on the product) wait for it to dry and then rub the paper off. Magic!
I have wanted to learn about printing for a long time and have been eyeing up courses locally but they are prohibitively expensive and require early and daily attendance which is just not possible for a single mother. Then by sheer luck, I stumbled across an online course called Learn How to Screen Print. So I dived right in. It’s an extremely intense course and requires a fair bit of familiarity with Adobe Photoshop, but I figured I could handle that. The learning curve is steep but right from lesson one , I realised that screen printing was the thing I had been looking for.
Before I had finished all of the modules I had built my own press for less than a tenner (and some wood I had round the house, I’m an inventor, I hold onto useful things), ordered a couple of inks, a screen and a squeegee and printed my first t-shirt using the stencil method, with a less than cheap but still very useful and eternally versatile Silhouette cutting machine.
Screen printing by hand is so satisfying and the waterbased ink I use is such a wonderful smell. Unlike other methods or other inks, the waterbased ink becomes one with the fabric and lasts as long as the shirt does, with no peeling or cracking.
I think I’ve made every schoolgirl printing error now, so, if you know of any fixes to common mistakes or have tips on how to avoid them, please, let me know in the comments below. They will be gratefully received.
I often get asked when and how I started to draw on shoes, and where the name WildBunnyArts came from.
I’ve loved to draw and paint for as long as I can remember but customising shoes began when I had some Toms that had faded but the fabric and soles still had life left in them. I dyed them black, painted a little dandelion on them with some fabric paint and stuck some rhinestones on them. I had a new pair of shoes and nobody else had a pair of hand painted Toms like mine.
Back at the time that I started to paint shoes, I began to be aware that I was being stalked. Things had been happening that I couldn’t understand but what I did not know was that my son’s father was stalking me. We were going through the family court system at the time and when the court was presented with the evidence that he was stalking me, they gave him the go-ahead to continue, saying that because of the ongoing proceedings, it was “research”. The police thought differently though and after several breaches of a restraining order he went to prison.
In 2015 I was working as a blogger and web designer but because of the stalking I closed down that business. I would have been out of work but I had painted a few pairs of shoes as an unique thank you gift to some amazing people. The amazing Dawn from thinkitchangeit.com had provided me with therapy to help me process the family court and stalking (p.s. she also cured me of my bird phobia). Some of her friends loved my work and they wanted to buy hand painted Converse too. She encouraged me to set up an Etsy shop selling custom Vans and Converse, painted Dr Martens and Nikes, and the rest is history.
Why the bunny? My son and I invented the name together one year, to honour the street bunny. Our street was home to an escapee rabbit – she belonged to someone, but kept escaping. This bunny would not remain caged! To my amazement, they survived the cold, the snow and any predators.
She’s a beautiful bunny but she used to hop away at an impressive speed if you approached her. The week we chose the name, my lad managed to get close to her and even pick her up. His joy was unparalleled, and he brought her into our garden for a play.
She appealed to my rebellious spirit. The spirit that refuses to be caged and will survive, no matter what. It’s an ethos that I wholeheartedly embrace.
There’s a little vid on my YouTube channel, if you’d like a peek at her.
Custom Jordans, custom Nikes, hand painted Doc Martens or even your choice of leather footwear or apparel will make you stand out from the crowd this season with warm and dry toes.
ShoeTattoos can now boast a really decent stack of Angelus brand leather paints which are the very best paints available for leather customisation.
I can paint the leather, midsole, heel tab and bumper. The soles can be done but you’ll need a sole protector if you want the paint to last there.
All designs are my own except for the calf boots, which are fan art taken from a picture by the incredible artist Tom Lewis. He’s absolutely incredible, well worth a click through and browse.
Wild Bunny can paint your shoes any which way you’d like. But have you thought about replacing your bog standard laces with something a bit more feminine?
These Doc Martins looked pretty good once I had finished them.
But once Satinribbon shoelaces added the final touches, they looked spectacular.
I’ve added such laces to several of my projects now and I particularly love the dual colour ones.
When I first saw the laces I was concerned about snagging and wear and tear but I can honestly say that they still all look as good as new.
I really appreciate every sale I get and it helps to make our lives so much easier, as well as the joy I feel when I create something beautiful. Satin ribbon shoelaces is one of my valued customers – we met when I bought some laces from her and she is so helpful.
If you have bought from me and would like me to feature your business, get in touch.
Here are a few more pictures to inspire your lace choices:
If you’ve not already heard of the outstanding indie brand DresdecO you really need to go and have a look. I adore the Lady DresdecO lines, in particular the Couture Shoe Illustration lines.
So it was an honour to collaborate with this great illustrator and innovator and find that his tag line where Apparel meets Art was a perfect fit with my own customised wearable art.
ShoeDoodles only wears what she can be active in, her life and art compliment and reflect each other. DresdecO promotes movement and the fusion of art and life.
Find DresdecO on facebook, instagram & twitter.
