How to Make a Model Shoe

Old dress shoes are ideal for use as sturdy shaping models.

Making a model shoe is a creative way to express your love and passion for fashion. The trick to making a craft model shoe is to use an actual shoe for shaping purposes. The shoe gives you an object help you mold and form the design of the model. Use this craft project as an enjoyable weekend challenge to children as an exercise in expanding their artistic inclinations and imagination.

Things You'll Need

• Shoe
• Measuring tape
• Polyethylene sheet
• Marker
• Scissors
• Permanent epoxy
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup flour
• Pot
• Medium size bowl
• Newspaper
• White paper towels
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• 1/8-inch high-density urethane foam

Instructions

1. Place the shoe onto a flat surface. Measure the length of the left side of the shoe -- beginning at the bottom of the shoe. Cut 2-inch wide sheets of polyethylene plastic to match this dimension.

2. Move up the shoe 2 inches towards the laces and measure the length once again. Cut a second piece of polyethylene to match this dimension. Continue in this manner until you have enough pieces to cover the entire shoe.

3. Glue each polyethylene piece together with permanent epoxy to create what is a essentially a polyethylene cover sitting over the shoe. Allow the cover to fully dry for four hours before moving on. Avoid removing the cover from the actual shoe until later.

4. Combine the water and flour into a pot to make a papier mache mixture. Boil the mixture for three minutes. Allow five minutes for the mixture to cool. Pour the mixture into a medium size bowl.

5. Tear off a strip of newspaper. Dip and submerge the strip into the bowl. Press the saturated strip onto the polyethylene cover. The actual shoe provides helpful resistance to the pressing, preventing damage to cover. Repeat this process until the entire cover is layered with the papier mache.

6. Repeat the previous step with white paper towels. A layer of white paper towel-mache provides an ideal surface for acrylic paint. Allow 12 hours for the cover to fully dry.

7. Paint the cover with whatever colors you like. Paint the body of the shoe first. Allow four hours for the cover to dry. Paint laces and emblems onto the shoe with alternative colors. Allow another four hours for the cover to dry.

8. Carefully remove the cover from the actual shoe. Measure and cut a piece of polyethylene to match the dimensions of the bottom of the cover as the sole for the model. Bond the piece to the bottom of the cover with permanent epoxy. Allow the epoxy four hours to dry.

9. Carefully remove the cover from the actual shoe. Measure and cut a piece of polyethylene to match the dimensions of the bottom of the cover to act as the sole for the model. Bond the piece to the bottom of the cover with permanent epoxy to act as a sole for the model. Allow the epoxy four hours to dry before moving on.

10. Measure and cut a piece of high-density urethane foam to match the dimensions of the sole. Paint the foam whatever color you like. Allow four hours for the paint to dry. Carefully bond the foam to the bottom of the sole with permanent epoxy. Allow four hours for the epoxy to dry before handling or displaying the model.

References

• DLTK Kids: How to Paper Mache