Summertime Fun — Flip Flop Exchange

We are having such a great time this Summer! One of the first things we’ve done is participated in a really cool  Flip Flop Exchange. My friend Becca from The Texas Darlings set it up — it’s her second year doing it.

She matched everyone who signed up with a partner. I signed up my girls and they were so excited to have a pen pal. We were asked to find flip flops for our partner and include things in the package that would be fun for Summer and/or from where we lived.

So we purchased some flip flops and spent one afternoon embellishing them for our pen pals. And then a few days later our packages started to arrive. You should have seen my girls’ faces when they opened their packages!! What a cool experience. And boy did we get some cool things!!

Hannah’s adorable flip flop friend is Georgia,  a 9-year old girl who is from Virginia — which is funny because Hannah just did her state report this year on Virginia! She has been wearing her flowered pink flip flops non-stop! they are so pretty! She put the bear right on top of her bed. And her mom blogs at www.amycoose.blogspot.com.

Ella was shrieking she was so excited to open her package. She hardly ever gets mail. And what treasures she found inside!!! She loves her flip flops and immediately started coloring in her new book.  Ella’s sweet flip flop friend is a little 5-year old friend from Texas, whose mom blogs at  http://niki-itsjustus.blogspot.com/.

I look a little crazed — but I’m crazed with excitement about how fun my package was! I scored big time. Ruffled flip flops – could they be any cuter – NO! And really cute Red, White & Blue cookie cutters. Plus personalized cards. My cute flip flop friend is Shannon @ http://theshortmom.blogspot.com/.

And they are so excited to keep in touch with their pen pals. It’s such a great experience for them to get to know someone else who lives all the way across the country. What a fantastic idea. Thanks Becca!!!

You should join in the Flip Flop Exchange next year at Becca’s. it is such a fun thing to do. And your kids will love making a new pen pal friend!!

XOXO

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20-minute Flip Flop Project

Here’s a fun project to do this Summer. My kids loved being able to pick out the fabric and embellishments so their flip flops were 100% their own creation.

I bought cheap flip flops from Old Navy. They have flip flops in almost any color you can imagine. Two pair = $5 and they are even $1/pair when they are on sale!


Here’s what you need:

Flip flops
Fabric scraps
Button covers (optional)
Buttons
Hot glue gun
Gorilla Glue or other heavy-duty glue
Felt

We made variations on a few flowers for our flip flops. Here are the directions for each type of flower:

Basic Flower:

1. Cut out one large circle of material and two smaller circles out of a different material. I had some t-shirt material left over from a t-shirt refashion, so I used that for some of the smaller circles. The size depends on how big the flip flops are and how big you want the flower to be.

2. Cut out a felt circle a little smaller than the largest fabric circle.

3. Take the larger circle, make a little fold in the center of the circle and hot glue that together. This makes the flower more 3-dimensional. 

4. Hot glue the two smaller circles on top of the larger one.

5. Hot glue the flower to the felt circle. {this makes the flower more stable}

6. If you want to use a button cover — make the cover. Then hot glue the fabric-covered button to the top. If you don’t have the materials for a fabric-covered button, you can add a regular button to the top. I found some sparkly buttons on sale at JoAnne Fabrics.

7.Use Gorilla Glue or some kind of strong glue to attach the flower to the flip flop straps. I put a few dots of Gorilla Glue in the center of the “v” on the flip flop straps and a few more dots going up each side. Then I pressed the flower into the glue. Then I let it dry overnight.

Rolled Flower:

1. Cut out one large circle out of scrap fabric. I cut up an old mesh bag for this material. Also cut out two felt circles a little smaller than the large circle you just cut out.

2. Now take a strip of fabric about 3 feet in length by 1 inch. I used old t-shirt material.

3. Fold the material in half.  Make one fold, then hot glue the material together. Continue folding the material and hot gluing it so it forms a circle. Twist the material one turn and hot glue it as you twist. Do this until you have formed a large circle that is a little smaller than the circle you cut out of the other fabric.

5. Hot glue the rolled circle flower to the large circle. Then attach the flower to the felt circle.

6. Gorilla Glue the flower onto the flip flops {see “Basic Flower” above for details}. 

 Gathered Flower:

1. Cut four 2-inch wide by 20 inches strips of fabric — in two different, complimenting patterns. Using your sewing machine, sew a line down each fabric strip using the widest setting available. Your fabric will automatically gather as you sew. 

2.Cut out two 3 inch circles of felt. 

3. Run a line of hot glue around the edge of the felt circle.

4. Attach one of the fabric strips to the hot glue line, keeping the edge of the felt circle in the middle of the fabric strip. You want the ruffled fabric to hang over the edge so the felt circle doesn’t show. You will have some material left over — this is approximate.

5. Run a line of hot glue in the center of the ruffled fabric circle that you just glued. Now take the alternating fabric strip and press it into the hot glue, make sure that the fabric underneath is still visible. This second circle should make a circle in the center of the felt so that no felt is visible once it is all glued down. 

6. Attach a button or fabric-covered button cover to the center of the felt circle. 

7. Attach the finished flower to the flip flop straps using Gorilla Glue or another heavy-duty glue. Allow to dry overnight.

There are so many different embellishments that you can add to flip flops to add some color to them. Have fun experimenting! Some other ideas that would be fun and easy would be:

• Hot gluing a silk flower with a fabric-covered button in the center
• Gluing jewels to the tops
• Cutting up old fabric scraps into strips and tying those along with colorful ribbons onto the flip flops
• Glittering up the tops of the flip flops

 XOXO

http://www.tatertotsandjello.com

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20-minute Flip Flop Project

Here’s a fun project to do this Summer. My kids loved being able to pick out the fabric and embellishments so their flip flops were 100% their own creation.

I bought cheap flip flops from Old Navy. They have flip flops in almost any color you can imagine. Two pair = $5 and they are even $1/pair when they are on sale!


Here’s what you need:

Flip flops
Fabric scraps
Button covers (optional)
Buttons
Hot glue gun
Gorilla Glue or other heavy-duty glue
Felt

We made variations on a few flowers for our flip flops. Here are the directions for each type of flower:

Basic Flower:

1. Cut out one large circle of material and two smaller circles out of a different material. I had some t-shirt material left over from a t-shirt refashion, so I used that for some of the smaller circles. The size depends on how big the flip flops are and how big you want the flower to be.

2. Cut out a felt circle a little smaller than the largest fabric circle.

3. Take the larger circle, make a little fold in the center of the circle and hot glue that together. This makes the flower more 3-dimensional. 

4. Hot glue the two smaller circles on top of the larger one.

5. Hot glue the flower to the felt circle. {this makes the flower more stable}

6. If you want to use a button cover — make the cover. Then hot glue the fabric-covered button to the top. If you don’t have the materials for a fabric-covered button, you can add a regular button to the top. I found some sparkly buttons on sale at JoAnne Fabrics.

7.Use Gorilla Glue or some kind of strong glue to attach the flower to the flip flop straps. I put a few dots of Gorilla Glue in the center of the “v” on the flip flop straps and a few more dots going up each side. Then I pressed the flower into the glue. Then I let it dry overnight.

Rolled Flower:

1. Cut out one large circle out of scrap fabric. I cut up an old mesh bag for this material. Also cut out two felt circles a little smaller than the large circle you just cut out.

2. Now take a strip of fabric about 3 feet in length by 1 inch. I used old t-shirt material.

3. Fold the material in half.  Make one fold, then hot glue the material together. Continue folding the material and hot gluing it so it forms a circle. Twist the material one turn and hot glue it as you twist. Do this until you have formed a large circle that is a little smaller than the circle you cut out of the other fabric.

5. Hot glue the rolled circle flower to the large circle. Then attach the flower to the felt circle.

6. Gorilla Glue the flower onto the flip flops {see “Basic Flower” above for details}. 

 Gathered Flower:

1. Cut four 2-inch wide by 20 inches strips of fabric — in two different, complimenting patterns. Using your sewing machine, sew a line down each fabric strip using the widest setting available. Your fabric will automatically gather as you sew. 

2.Cut out two 3 inch circles of felt. 

3. Run a line of hot glue around the edge of the felt circle.

4. Attach one of the fabric strips to the hot glue line, keeping the edge of the felt circle in the middle of the fabric strip. You want the ruffled fabric to hang over the edge so the felt circle doesn’t show. You will have some material left over — this is approximate.

5. Run a line of hot glue in the center of the ruffled fabric circle that you just glued. Now take the alternating fabric strip and press it into the hot glue, make sure that the fabric underneath is still visible. This second circle should make a circle in the center of the felt so that no felt is visible once it is all glued down. 

6. Attach a button or fabric-covered button cover to the center of the felt circle. 

7. Attach the finished flower to the flip flop straps using Gorilla Glue or another heavy-duty glue. Allow to dry overnight.

There are so many different embellishments that you can add to flip flops to add some color to them. Have fun experimenting! Some other ideas that would be fun and easy would be:

• Hot gluing a silk flower with a fabric-covered button in the center
• Gluing jewels to the tops
• Cutting up old fabric scraps into strips and tying those along with colorful ribbons onto the flip flops
• Glittering up the tops of the flip flops

 XOXO

http://www.tatertotsandjello.com

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