Crocs are such comfortable shoes that they have become a summer classic, although their different versions allow us to use them throughout the year.
But it may happen that you see them as very simple or that you feel that something is missing, so I invite you to follow this step-by-step tutorial to decorate your crocs as you like.
Have you thought about wearing croc charms? croc decorations are a trend, they give your personal style to the usual crocs. The problem is that there are few jibbitz models in the official store and they are expensive.
I suggest you make your own jibbitz! But don’t worry if you don’t know how to make jibbits, in this article I will teach you how to create your own croc accessories.
Let’s get started!
How to make croc charms? Tips and materials
There are many tutorials online on how to make jibbitz with your own hands in different ways. You can find it with polymer clay, resin, etc.
But in this one, I will give you a step-by-step guide to the method that worked best for me. In this case, I chose to buy croc buttons to simplify the tutorial and because they are available at a very low price in the market. However, you can also do this step by hand with some resin and a mold.
For this tutorial you will need some materials:
- Strong glue
- Crocs button
- Shrinky Dinks Ink Jet Paper
- Scissors
- Printer
- Oven
- Parchment paper
- Resin or Mod Podg
Shrinky Dinks paper is a product that reduces large pictures or drawings into small pieces of plastic. For this tutorial, you can draw on paper (in this case I recommend that you choose to use transparent shrinky dinks paper) or directly print the images you want.
You should know that this paper shrinks to about ⅓ of its original size, so I recommend that you make your drawing or print at a 3×3 inch size so that when it shrinks down, your jibbitz is 1 inch.
Let your imagination run wild to create the jibbitz that will make your Crocs look different. To do this, use the images that you like the most, you can even make themed pairs.
I share a list of different categories of images that you can choose for your jibbitz:
- Super heroes
- Characters from series, movies or video games
- Music bands
- Disney Characters & Princesses
- Variety of flowers
- Animals
- Astros (stars, sun, planets, moon, etc)
- Zodiac signs
- Food (fruits, vegetables, fast food, etc.)
- Emojis
- Clothing, car or technology brands
Another way to create your jibbitz can be using buttons of shapes and colors that you like, gems or small toys.
This way you won’t have to print pictures, you just have to stick your decoration to the croc button with a strong glue.
How to make jibbitz? Step-by-step guide
Have the necessary materials on hand to start with the tutorial. I will explain to you step by step how to make jibbitz so that you can customize your crocs as you like.
Are you ready? Let’s start!
Step 1
Print the images on Shrinky Dinks Ink Jet paper, I recommend that the images you choose be approximately 3 inches in size.
For this step, use a Word document or some design program to place the images on the design sheet and adapt their size. Set the transparency of the images to 50% to lighten them as the ink will darken after baking.
Leave enough space between the images so you can easily crop them.
You can choose the images you want, of your favorite characters, of your pets or the characters of a movie.
Be sure to follow your Shrinky Dinks instructions when printing your designs, as you may need to adjust some settings on your printer first.
Step 2
Cut out your designs with scissors. Do it as close to the contour as possible. Take your time to make it neat.
Step 3
Place parchment paper on a baking tray and place the Shrinky Dinks that you cut out earlier on top.
Bake your images at 300°F (149°C) for 3-5 minutes or until completely shrunk and flattened. As a precaution, keep the distance between your designs.
If your Shrinky Dinks aren’t flat enough after 5 minutes in the oven, take them out and flatten them with a heavy object, such as a glass or a book.
Step 4
Once your designs have cooled down you can cover each piece with UV resin to seal the image. If you don’t have resin, you can use Mod Podge or clear acrylic paint.
This step is optional, but it is important. It helps to protect the image, to give shine and make them last longer.
Step 5
Lastly, once the resin has cured or the acrylic paint has dried, use a strong glue to stick the flat side of your jibbitz backing to the middle of the croc button.
Let the glue dry for 24 hours before placing the jibbitz on your croc.
Here you can see how to use the Shrink Plastic paper to make really cute figures to personalize your crocs:
Now you've got some cute crocs!
Once you finish doing this tutorial on how to make jibbitz you will have your jibbitz ready to decorate your crocs for any occasion.
With this technique, you can customize your crocs with the crocs decorations you prefer.
If you are a Marvel fan, don’t forget to include Iron Man, or if you prefer video games, you can’t miss a Super Mario Bros jibbitz. Make as many accessories as you need to decorate them.
Put your jibbitz on your crocs and run around town wearing their new charms!
You can also learn how to make a beaded bracelet to make a gift for your best friend.