diy dyed toms

My old Toms.

How was your weekend? I tried to be productive...but this amazing weather just makes my brain reject school work. So, instead I did crafts! Downside: now I have to cram a weekend's worth of homework into one evening. Upside: I have lots of craftiness to share with you lovely folks this week! Yes, my priorities are in line. Why do you ask?

First thing on the agenda this weekend? Dying my old Toms. I have had my Toms for years now and they've definitely seen better days. When I originally purchased the pair above, they had been hand painted. You can still see the remains of that paint job on the elastic band. Yeah, I paid extra for the hand painting. Don't remind me.

As one might imagine, these suckers got nasty after a while and I was finally forced to toss them in the washing machine. It did take out the dirt and grime...but it also took out the color! I was left with an extremely faded and sad looking pair of Toms. Boo hoo.

Shoe bondage.

I haven't really worn my Toms much since the Washing Machine Incident of 2010. It's hard for me to talk about even now. (tear) So this weekend I decided to give these babies a new lease on life. A good dye job can work wonders my friends.

For this pair, I wanted something bright and fun, but dark enough to cover up the old color. I chose iDye brand dye in the Kelly Green shade. If any of you are considering doing this (or any other dye projects), I definitely recommend that brand. They have TONS of colors (like at least seven shades of green!) and it comes in a nice little packet that you just toss in the water. So easy and the color ended up being a perfect match to the color on the package.

So I tied those babies up (to give them a tie dye effect) and gave 'em the plunge...

Kelly green Toms!

Here's the after. I absolutely love the color and I like that it only absorbed into the actual material, not the sole, elastic band, or tags. Perfect, no? I can pretend that I did that on purpose but it's totally a happy accident. I also like that you can see the pattern of the original paint job, but it just adds to the tie dye effect. So cute!

If you want to dye your Toms...or anything else for that matter, just follow the directions on the dye package. The only step I added was binding them up in twine beforehand to create the tie dye effect, but that's totally optional depending on the look you're going for.

I should warn you though...once you dye one thing, you may be hooked. I'm now scouring my apartment for other things to dye. This could become a problem...I've already been eyeing a pair of white jeans and some white bathroom rugs that are practically begging to become a new (and improved) color. I might need a professional intervention. Just saying. I also dyed something else in this batch but that project will have to wait for now...

Now go dye something, fool!