Flip Flop Fun Series Guest Post: Funky Boy Flip Flips from Freckles Crafts

I told you before how I met the most incredible group of girls while attending Creative Estates, right?  Today I am so excited to share another great friend I met at the conference.  Rebecca from Freckles Crafts is super sweet and has a fantastic craft site for children. 

Her blog has great family and children ideas while her shop sells fun craft kits.  Rebecca has craft kit options for both boys and girls.  Her Craft Camp really caught my attention! 

Don't miss her new USA Blocks!  She is giving away a set!  Go here to find out how to enter this great giveaway.

School is out and I'm sure you are looking for ideas to avoid summer boredom.  Let Freckles Crafts help you plan a summer of fun!

I am so excited to be a guest on A Couple of Craft Addicts and even more excited that it is Flip Flop week!  I have a slight flip flop obsession, and once it turns warm enough for my toes to escape the confines of winter boots you are sure to see me sporting a pair!  My boys definitely take after me in this department, and when Heather asked me to do a tutorial on how to embellish flip flops I just knew I had to make some for the kids.  There are so many cute flip flops for girls.  You can find them embellished with butterflies, buttons, flowers, glitter, ladybugs, and every single Disney Princess.  And for boys…there is not much choice.  So when you can’t find what you are looking for then customize your own!  In this tutorial I will show you how to make a pair of pirate and rock and roll themed flip flops.

So here is what you need to get started:

·         Flip flops (I got the plain rubber kind at Old Navy.  Two for five bucks!  Score!)

·         Embellishments. (Anything that can withstand the wear and tear kids put on their shoes  can be used(i.e. puddle jumping, climbing, kicking their brother J).  I used rubber thumbtacks that can be found just about everywhere from the craft stores to Target and Walmart.  They are usually located with the teen room design stuff.  I found mine in the clearance bin at Michaels for $.79 for a pack of 9.  (Score two for me!)  You can also check the scrapbook department at your local craft store for embellishments.

·         Vinyl words (Arrr and Rock Star)

·         E600

·         Clothespins

·         X-Acto Knife

·         Mod Podge and Paint Brush (not shown)

·         Clear acrylic spray

Directions:

Begin by removing the thumb tack from the rubber front.  To do this, use the X-Acto knife to make a small slit on the rubber back and then pop the tack out.  Don’t worry about having a cut in the back because you will not see it when it is attached to the shoe. 

Once you get the tacks removed you can begin gluing the embellishments on to the flip flops.  Decide how you would like the embellishments to look on and lay out your design.  Wen you have your design plan add a small dot of E600 on the back of one of your embellishments and glue it directly to the flip flop strap.

Here is how the pirate embellishments look glued to the straps.

It takes some time for the glue to dry so here is a little tip:  use clothespins to hold the embellishments in place while you move on to the next step!  Works like a charm!  I also put a paper towel around the toe strap to hold the straps up while the glue dried.  This seemed to help keep the embellishments edges tight on the straps.

Cut your vinyl letters.  I used my Cricut and cut the letters to be ½ inch size using the George Font.  If you don’t have a cutting machine then you can use an X-Acto knife to cut out the letters or use letter scrapbook stickers.  Apply the letters to the straps and apply a thin layer of Mod Podge over the letters to secure them in place.

The last step is to spray the straps with a light coating of acrylic sealer.  This will help the shoes to be water resistant and keep the vinyl letters in place. Tip: cover the shoe part with a paper towel so only the straps get sealer on them.  If you don’t do this the shoes will be pretty slippery.  Not fun for little ones who will run right out of their shoes!

So here you have it!  A quick and easy project that took boring flip flops from this:

To This:

Super cute right?  Thanks A Couple of Craft Addicts for allowing me to share my tutorial with you!

Thanks for sharing this fun tutorial Rebecca!

Flip Flop Fun Series Guest Post: Incredible Refashion from Flamingo Toes

Today we have a special guest.  I met Bev from Flamingo Toes at Creative Estates in April.  She was one of the girls I instantly clicked with and I absolutely adore her.  She just happens to live in one of my favorite vacation towns so I know I will be seeing a lot more of her!  In addition to being funny and charismatic, she is also unbelievably talented!  My mouth literally dropped when I saw what she did with her flip flops in this post!  If you don't already know and love Flamingo Toes, go spend some time there and see why I think Bev's awesome!

Hi!! My name is Bev and I blog over at Flamingo Toes!

I'm so excited to be here as a part of Jessica and Heather's great Flip-Flop Refashion series!!!

I am loving all the ideas!

Over at Flamingo Toes I love to do sewing projects, home decor, and knockoffs!

Here's just a few of my projects . . .

I had a blast doing the flip flop refashion for this week!

I didn't make it over to Old Navy for the big sale - but I did find some flip-flops at Walmart for $2.50. Not bad at all.

The only problem with them was the plastic part on top. Kind of hard and not so comfy.

So I cut it off!!

Here is what I came up with instead. . .

Pretty cute huh? And suuuuuper comfy!! I'm kind of all about the comfyness. ;)



So here's what you'll need to make your very own pair -

• Flip Flops

• Fusible batting (enough for one layer on shoes)

• Heavyweight interfacing (same as above)

•Floral fabric (probably about a 1/4 yard)

• Linen or something for top of strap (small amount)

• Cotton Cording



Start by cutting the plastic tops off of your flip-flops.

Cut out your fabrics.

Cut out a piece of fusible batting and heavy weight interfacing, the size of each flip-flop.

Cut out your fabric about 1 1/2" - 2" larger than your flip flop.

Cut out two rectangles of print and 2 of linen - about 4" x 8". You need enough to go over the top of your foot and wrap under for gluing.

Iron your fusible interfacing onto the back of your printed fabric pieces.

Place the heavy-weight interfacing on the wrong side and press your fabrics tightly around the interfacing, so it is pulled snug but not so tight that the interfacing isn't flat anymore.

Sew one linen rectangle to a printed rectangle - wrong sides together.

(If you don't like raw edges, sew them right sides together and turn inside out).

Cut a strip of linen about 2" wide and 3" long.. Fold over each side and wrap around the center of the rectangle to make a bow.

Sew the center of the bow down on the underside.

Put the padded base on your flip flop and put your foot on it. Place the top section where you'd like it over your foot and tuck the ends between the padded base and the flip-flop base.

Pin the rectangle in place. You want it snug over your foot but not super tight. You don't want blue toes after an hour or two.

Glue down the ends of the rectangle.

Add glue all over the flip-flop base. Make sure you get the edges well.

Place the padded base over the flip-flop base - clamp or set a heavy book on it so that the pieces stay together while drying.

I let mine dry overnight.

In the morning you'll have cute new shoes - but they need something more.

There is a small space between the padded base and the foam.

Run some glue along the edge and add cotton cording into the space, all the way around the flip-flop.

Tuck the ends between the padding and the foam so they don't show.

Make some little fabric flowers to add to the top. I layered the linen and print and topped it with a little circle of cording.

Glue those to the center of the top section and you're all done!!

Painting your toenails to match your new shoes is optional.

I hope you like them!!

Thanks so much girls for letting me join in the flip-flop fun this week!

Wow!  Thanks Bev!

Flip Flop Fun Series - Graffiti Doodle Flip Flops at 504 Main

Today is a big day for me.  I'm showing you how to make graffiti doodle flip flops.  

Why is this such a big deal?  Well.....because I'm guest posting over at 504 Main!

I was so lucky to meet Holly at Creative Estates earlier this year.  I literally met her a few minutes after I stumbled into the registration area by myself.  Holly and the wonderful group of girls I met in those first minutes made a huge difference in my conference experience.  They instantly made me feel comfortable and I ended up having so much fun with them the entire weekend!  Too bad the only picture I took with Holly was on my iPhone with terrible lighting! 

She is fabulous!  Putting her into a few words is tough...just go read her bio and be impressed!  Fashion designer, wedding planner, book author, mommy, wife, blogger, DIYer, etc., etc., etc.!  All of her talents combined make 504 Main a great place to spend some time!

Go see my tutorial and leave Holly some sweet comments!

Thanks so much to Holly for letting me visit!

 

Accessorize your Flip Flops

What is the easiest way to dress up a flip flop? Add a simple shoe accessory. These clips are great on any shoes but I love the way they make a regular flip flop fun.

BOWS:

Take a piece of fabric and cut two rectangular pieces equal in size. Then cut two smaller strips, these will be the center of the bows. Fold the rectangles in half wrong sides together and sew down one end and one side. Repeat with the other rectangle and the strips. Then flip all of the pieces right side out. Sew up the open side of the rectangles by hand so you have 2 rectangles with no openings. Next you will take your strips and fold them around the middle of each rectangle until you like the center of the bow. Sew the strip together with the closed end over the top of the open end. Finally glue an alligator clip through the center of the bow in order to clip it onto your shoes.

FLOWERS

Cut two circles out of felt the size you want your flowers. Use this as your guide to cut out your circles for your flower. Cut about 10 to 12 circles for each flower. Take one circle and fold it into a pie piece. Sew the tip of the pie piece to the center of the felt circle.
Continue to sew all the tips to the felt circle in a circular motion. This is a layering process. Continue to sew them until you have enough to cover the entire felt piece and your flower is full. Sew alligator clips to the back of the felt and place on your flip flop.