I Love to Create: He Loves Me! Flip Flip Craft Project

He Loves Me Flip Flops Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Flip flops are the shoe of choice these days and it's pretty fun and easy to trick out your own pair. The fancier styles at the shoe stores can run upwards of 45.00!

Seriously, folks, it's a rubber shoe. Are you kidding me?!

So...being the crafty kinda gal that I am, I make my own. Here's a daisy themed idea you can take in all sorts of directions depending on the trim and flower you use. This is a great project for these last dog days of summer when the kids are all chanting an endless chorus of, "I'm bored."

(Note: Use the glue outside to ensure proper ventilation. Let the kids design and you take care of the glue.)

Avalon opted for a far less complicated project using googly eyes and mini bow ties! How cute are her shoes?!

Materials
Rubber Flip Flops
1/2" Daisy Trim
2 1 1/2" Fabric Flowers
2 8mm yellow cat's eye glass pillow beads
16 4mm Tulip Glam-It-Up Iron-On Crystals
Aleene's Platinum Bond Super Fabric Glue
Aleene's Platinum Bond Glass and Bead Slick Surfaces Glue
Beadalon Supplemax

Tools
Scissors
Butter knife

1. Glue the trim to your straps using Aleene's Super Fabric Glue. Use a butter knife to shove the trim into the space between the flip flip strap and the shoe bed. Run a thread of glue along the bottom of the trim and press firmly on strap. Allow to dry for 24 hours.


2. While glue is curing, take a multi petal fabric flower apart by removing the stem. Save one of the piston segments and the two largest petal segments.


3. Thread one end of the clear monofilament into the bottom hole in your flower, through the two sections, the piston and your bead and then back through.


4. Tie the flower on the thong portion of your sandal using a Surgeon's knot to secure. Cut off excess monofilament. Center bead so it is flat inside of the flower and be sure to tie the knot tightly enough that the flower remains stable.



5. Since the straps are rubber, I decided not to iron the crystals on. Instead I used Aleene's glue for slick surfaces and put a small dab in the center of every other daisy and firmly pressed each crystal down.

6. Allow glues to dry for 24 hours.

Here's Avalon's Fabulous Design:

Googly Woogly Flip Flops Copyright 2009 Avalon Potter

I Love to Create: Altered Chinese Paper Lanterns

I’m delighted to join the ranks of crafty bloggers for I Love to Create. Here’s my first installment in my bi-weekly Kid/Teen Craft blogs. All of these projects are “Mom Crafted, Kid Approved.”

We’ve been redecorating my daughter’s room and she wanted to get some Chinese style lanterns to hang from her ceiling. We found these for 3 for $5.00 at Five Below. They have a built in battery operated light! We wanted to give them a little pizzazz, so we punched out circles of patterned tissue paper and adhered them with Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue. Then we added some Tulip glitter and ric-rac trim accents. We love how these turned out and they were so easy and fun to make! Avalon did a more streamlined version that looks fabulous!

You can find the larger lanterns online and do a series of these in different sizes and shapes...I’m seriously thinking about putting some in my studio. Try using different sizes and shapes of punches and adding some Tulip flat back crystals to give them even more sparkle!

Altered Chinese Paper Lanterns
I Love to Create
Margot Potter

Paper Chinese style lantern
Patterned tissue paper
Ric-rac trim
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Tulip GlitterDimensional Fabric Paint in Crystal Sparkles
Scissors
Fiskars 1” and 1.5” paper punches
Card stock sheets
Bubble wrap

1. Stuff your lantern carefully with bubble wrap to give it structure.

2. I chose tissue paper for the polka dot accents because it’s thin enough to easily adhere to the surface of the textured lantern, thicker paper doesn’t work as well because it’s too stiff to be molded to the base.

3. Fold the tissue paper over heavy card stock and insert into punch. Smooth any wrinkles with your fingers. Punch shape. (Designer tip: The card stock gives you some structure so the tissue paper will cut more easily, without that base the tissue will tear.) Cut 5 large and 5 small circles.

4. Spread a thin layer of Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue on the back of your tissue paper circles using your finger tip. (I chose this glue because it’s not too runny, adheres quickly and it didn’t saturate the tissue paper, this is a better choice for this specific project than decoupage medium.)

5. Apply the tissue paper circle to the desired spot on your lantern, carefully working from top to bottom gently smoothing the tissue on to the lantern. Take your time and be patient!

6. Continue adhering circles working around your lantern. Allow them to dry.
7. Spread a layer of Tulip glitter on some ric-rac trim.


8. Adhere small segments of pre-cut trim to the front of the larger tissue paper circles. Allow to dry.


9. Use your finger to spread a thin layer of Tulip glitter on the surface of each of the small circles. Allow to dry.

Avalon and her Altered Chinese Paper Lantern!