DIY: Creepy Crawler Flip Flops

DIY: Creepy Crawler Flip Flops...for the little guys (and reptile loving little girls) in your life

 

 You can pretty much glue anything to the straps of a flip flop to turn them into something special.  You just need the right type of glue. I found this out the hard way with this project.

 PERSONAL SIDE NOTE: It was a little uncomfortable making these flip flops because anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of lizards - not real ones, not cartoon ones, not plastic ones, not even pictures of lizards.  I had a bad experience with a lizard when I was a child.  And, we have been on the outs ever since.  They run too fast. They always end up in the wrong places, i.e. on your body somewhere.  And, there is something completely unsettling about a creature whose tail can snap off from their body and keep wiggling around minutes after detachment.  It got so bad I saw a therapist to help get over my fear.  It worked.  And, I can now see a lizard without having a full blown sweaty meltdown.  But, I hadn't tested actually holding a lizard (even a fake one) until this project.  Mission accomplished...but not without some moments of shoulder shuddering and "Ewww" outbursts from yours truly. 

The Task: 

 My bestie's son LOVES lizards.  She tells me all the time about his backyard "lizard hunting" adventures with his dad.  So far, he's been unsuccessful in his quests.  But, he hasn't given up.  I wanted to make some flip flops for kids and ran into a pack of plastic reptiles.  I immediately thought of my little lizard hunter and decided to make him a pair of flip flops for the summer.

The Ingredients: inexpensive flip-flops (Dollar Tree again), water resistant crazy glue (VERY IMPORTANT if  you want your plastic creatures to stay put), some binder clips, rubbing alcohol

The Purchase Locations: Dollar Tree

The Cost: Approx. $3.00

It only took me: about 30 minutes (only because me and the glue were not getting along) PLUS a 24 hour drying time

How to:
1. Wipe off the plastic straps of your flip flops with alcohol. 

2. Decide the layout you want for your reptiles.

3. Add a few drops of water resistant glue to the plastic flip flop strap and to the bottom of your selected reptile.  Place the sticky reptile on the strap.  Use a binder clip to hold the reptile in place for 24-hours.

4. Repeat until your flip-flops are full of creepy crawly reptiles.

 

5. Let the flip-fops dry for 24 hours.   

 

6. Remove the plastic binder clips after about 12 hours (just to make sure they don't get permanently glued to the flip-flop)

 Enjoy!!!  

 

TIP 1: You really can glue anything to the flip flip strap.  Just make sure it is not too heavy or bulky so the wearer will be comfortable.

 

TIP 2: My trusty E6000 glue failed me this time.  The reptiles did stick to the straps but they could be easily peeled off.  I know little boys and I know they like to take things apart.  I didn't want to make it too easy so I opted for a stronger glue.  Plus, I figured the flip flops are bound to get wet so water resistant glue would be a good choice.  It was.  I didn't get it right until my third gluing attempt.  The second attempt, I tried regular super glue.  Terrible idea.  If you ever want two pieces of plastic to NOT stick together, use regular super glue. 

 

DIY: Studded Flip-Flips

DIY: Studded Flip-Flops!!

Summer is coming! Summer is coming!  So, this month I will be featuring a variety of DIY Flip-Flops.  

The Task:  Flippie floppies don't need to be boring OR expensive.  So, grab a pair and spice them up a bit.

The Ingredients: inexpensive flip-flops (got mine from the Dollar Tree), studs, E6000 glue

The Purchase Locations: Dollar Tree, downtown LA rhinestone shop for studs and glue, rubbing alcohol

The Cost: Approx. $3.00

It only took me: about 10 minutes

How to:
1. Wipe off the plastic straps of your flip flops with alcohol.  I do this so the glue will stick better.

2. Decide what pattern you want for your studs.  I just lined them up about 1/4 inch apart from each other.

3. Add a drop of E6000 to the back of one of your studs and place it on the plastic flip flop strap.

4. Repeat until your flip-flops are full of studs and fabulous.

Enjoy!!!

NOTE: I made a pair with raised "bullet" studs.  The studs started to fall off after I wore them a few times.  (I'll post these soon) So, I suggest flatter studs.

DIY: Adult Tutu

 

DIY: Adult Tutu...because big princesses need tutu's too :-)

These tutu's were made for the 2014 Revlon Run/Walk. They complimented our "Pretty Girls Fight Cancer" shirts perfectly!

It's super easy to make your own.  Just check out my DIY from: http://loveleahlynette.blogspot.com/2014/01/tutu-from-jurnees-terrible-tu-tus-2nd.html.   It's the same concept with just a few changes.

The Ingredients: This time I used four rolls of 6" tulle, measuring tape, elastic, a 24 inch long strip of cardboard (you can cut this from a box), scissors, two rubber bands

The Purchase Locations: idearibbon.com (the tulle - very, very cheap here),  Downtown LA craft depot (for the elastic)

The Cost: Approx. $5.00

It only took me: about 30 minutes

How to:

1. Take one roll of tulle at a time and wrap it long ways around the 24 inch long strip of card board. When all of the tulle has been wrapped around the cardboard, place a rubber band around the top of the strip and one around the bottom of the strip.  This holds the tulle in place.  Cut the tulle at the top of the cardboard and cut it at the bottom.  Now you have several strips of 24 inch long pieces of tulle.  Repeat this step for each of the rolls of tulle.

2. Measure your waist.  Take between 2-6 inches off (depending on how stretchy your elastic is) and cut the elastic to that length.  NOTE:  The elastic tends to get stretched out as you loop the tulle around it.  So keep that in mind when measuring. No one wants a droopy tutu.  Sew or safety pin the strip of cut elastic together.  Stretch it around something solid (a piece of cardboard, a book, your knee, whatever) so you can start looping the tulle around the elastic. 

5. Take two pieces of tulle (one on top of the other) and fold them in half.  Lay the tulle behind the elastic band so the looped part is on top of the elastic and the rest of the tulle is hanging beneath the elastic band. Grab the two loose ends of tulle, wrap them forward around the elastic band, place the two end pieces between the loop on top of the band.  Then, pull to create a knot.  Repeat this step until your tutu is complete.
Enjoy!

New Baby Girl...New Sparkly Shoes

These were a gift to a 'new mommy' in my life.

Check out: http://loveleahlynette.blogspot.com/2014/02/diy-sparkly-baby-rhinestone-converse.html for details on how to make these.

This time I added a rhinestone heart to the shoe.  I drew the outline of the heart with a sharpie.  Then, I glued the heart on top of the outline.  And, I added rhinestones all around. 

I also used some cute pink and green ribbon for shoelaces.

ENJOY!!  

DIY: Sparkly Baby Rhinestone Converse

After my post a few weeks ago about the Converse I decorated for my niece, I got a request to make another pair.  Yay!  Here's a little picture tutorial.  You can check out my post from Tuesday, January 28, 2014 "Pink Rhinestone Converse Baby Shoes" for the written step-by-step on how to make these cute little shoes.

 

There were a few differences between these shoes and the last pair I did. 

1. These shoes were a Converse All-Star size 4 and they were soft bottoms. They were only $20.00.  I was told the baby wore a size 10.  So, I ordered an "Infant Size 10" online and got a pair of gigantic shoes.  I could almost fit them. I'm not sure what kind of infants Converse had in mind when they made those shoes. :-|  So, I went to the store and saw that Converse baby shoes run from 0-4.  And, they are soft soles.  Although, the 4's do come in hard bottoms sometimes.   Either way, the rhinestone application was still the same for the hard vs. soft bottoms.  I just want everyone to be aware that, to Converse, an "infant" is the size of a 7 years old. So, keep that in mind when you order. :-)

2. This time around I put the E-6000 glue into a plastic applicator with a tip on it.  This made glue application much easier and a lot less messy.  You can purchase the tubes in bulk from a craft store (approx.. 8 per package) for about $3.00.

3. This time I switched out the laces for pink ribbon.  If you look at the picture of all the items I used to make the shoes, you'll notice two different ribbons than the ribbon in the finished product.  That's because those ribbons, while adorable, were too thick to put through those teeny tiny grommets.   So, my suggestion is you use thin, wireless ribbon for your shoe laces if you plan to trade them out.

4.  This time it only took me about an hour to complete the shoes.  I think it was because the shoes were teeny weeny and because I used that plastic applicator for the glue.

Enjoy!

Party Favors - Birthday Cigars

Cigars are a great party favor when you have men at your party.  Plus, a lot of ladies love them too. 

The Task: Make an alternative party favor for my "Fabulous" birthday party.  The first favor was a fabulous feather boa.  

The Ingredients: good, not-too-expensive cigars, clear zip bags for each cigar (the shop will give you these for free if you just ask), card stock, scissors, computer, printer, some type of computer program that allows you to do graphics (I used Microsoft Word), stapler, glue stick

The Purchase Locations: A Cigar shop in Downtown LA (referred by a friend who frequents the place, so the owner gave me a good deal), an office supply store

The Cost: Approx. $6.00

It only took me: about 20 minutes

How to:
1. Make a template for the cigar wrapper in your graphics program.  Create a 3 x 1/2 inch long rectangle.  Then, place a 1 inch oval in the center of the rectangle.  Add whatever graphics you choose to the center of the oval. (I added a star, my initials and the year).  Copy and paste as many wrappers as you can to each sheet of card stock. 

2. Print out the wrappers, cut each one out, then wrap each one around the center of the cigar.  Add a little bit of glue to the end of the wrapper to seal it around the cigar.

3. Place the wrapped cigar into the zip bag and seal the bag.

4. Make a template for the "Thank You for Coming" tag in your graphics program.  Create a 2x3 inch rectangle. Add whatever graphics you choose to the bottom of the rectangle.  (I added a star graphic and a "Thank You for Coming" phrase).  Copy and paste as many rectangles as you can to each sheet of card stock. 

5. Print out the "Thank You for Coming" tags, cut each one out, then fold each one in half and staple it over the top of the sealed cigar zip bag.

DIY: "Birthday Cake" Cake Pop Stand

I really like Cake Pops.  And, I think they make great party favors.  Also, they are less messy than a cake.  So, for my birthday, instead of a birthday cake - I made this...

 

 
The Task: Make a cake pop stand in the shape of a birthday cake to hold my cake pop party favors at my birthday party.

The Ingredients: 1 pack of plastic gift wrap (3 sheets), ribbon, flat head sewing pins, party hat, toothpicks, 3 floral styrofoam rings of various sizes, hot glue gun 

The Purchase Locations: Michael's Arts & Crafts (for the ribbon...always hit the clearance bin first; the larger foam ring), Dollar Tree (everything else!)

The Cost: Approx. $10.00

It only took me: about 30 minutes

How to:

1.  Cover each foam ring with a piece of plastic gift wrap.  I pinned the wrap to the bottom of each ring with sewing pins. 

2.  Wrap a ribbon around each ring.  I used sewing pins to hold the ribbon in place.

3.  Push 4 toothpicks halfway into the top of the largest foam ring.  Place the toothpicks around the ring a few inches apart for each other.

4. Place the middle sized ring on top of the larger ring and push it down over the tooth picks.  This makes the stand secure. 

5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the smallest foam ring. 

6.  Glue the party hat to the top tier.   

7. Get/Make some cakepops and gently push them into the tiers. 

This was the best picture I got of the final project...'cause the cake pops went FAST! 

This stand can be used over and over again!  Just separate the rings, remove the ribbon, remove the gift wrap and start over with new ribbon and wrap.