Flip Flop Crafts: A Great Summer Craft Your Kids Will Flip for

If you're looking for a quick, fun and fairly simple summer craft for you or your kids, then get out your flip flops. Yes, flip flops, the shoe of summer, are the basis for this craft. You can take a $3.00 pair of flip flops and make them something special and uniquely yours simply by adding flowers, ribbons, beads, fun foam shapes, glitter, rhinestones, fabric, or feathers. All you need is a glue gun, your children and your imaginations. This summer craft can also be a great small gift or party favor for birthday parties; you provide the shoes and supplies and the kids have fun and have a great pair of flip flops to take home.

You can use ribbon to wrap the straps of your flip flops: not only is this a good way to personalize your flip flops but it can also cushion your feet against hard plastic straps. If ribbon is not your style, try using leather strips, fabric, chenille yarn, or even a feather boa.

Push the strap down to push out the plug by the toes, or you may have to pry it out, poke the ends of two pieces of ribbon through the hole from the top and even them with the plug.

Attach the ribbons to the plug with a glue gun, if you are doing this with your children you may need to do the gluing to save their fingers, and then pull the plug back up tightly to hold the ribbons in place.

After waiting a few minutes to let the glue cool, wrap the ribbons around each strap and then repeat the first step at the other end of the strap. Now that you've gotten your straps wrapped, you can add other embellishments with a glue gun. Glue a large fabric flower at the spot where the straps meet. Glue a line of small fabric flowers or rhinestones along the ribbon straps.

If you don't wish to wrap the straps you can string small shells or wooden, glass, or plastic beads and attach them using the same steps as wrapping; push out the plugs and tie the end of the string around the plugs before gluing it down. You could also simply glue the shells or beads in a line on the straps. Remember to use a low heat glue gun and keep you children's fingers away from the gun.

Another option is to use the jewelry wire you can find at craft stores and make spirals to stick off of the straps, glue them under the fabric flower like vines or use the wire itself to make flowers. String some beads on the wire and then spiral it along the straps.

If you're going to use glitter use a small paintbrush to paint your design in the glue first and then sprinkle the glitter; do small sections at a time and have some paper underneath to catch the extra glitter. You can alternate glitter dots with rhinestones on the straps, make stripes of glitter, or paint the entire strap with glue and dust the glitter over it.

Don't settle for plain old flip flops when you can dress them up in a style that is uniquely yours; let your imagination take the lead and you and your children can have a great time with this summer craft and have a great pair of shoes to show for it.