How to Decorate Sandals with Beads and Jewel Findings

When it comes to youthful, trendy looks this summer, plain is out. The fascination with art among tweens, teens, and young adults is evident in the areas of eccentric hairstyles, body piercings and tattoos, as well as apparel.

As summer arrives, it comes to no surprise to see kid's, junior's, and adult's sandals bejeweled. Despite having the luxury of being able to buy jeweled and beaded sandals at retailers, I find more thrill in DIY sandal decorating using beading kits. Detailed below are three creative projects for decorating sandals with beads and jewels.

Beaded Spiral Sandals

The materials and steps for making beaded spiral sandals as seen in the photo include the following:

Materials:

Plain open-toe leather (moccasin), cotton, or stretchy material sandals

3-4 large gemstones/rhinestones (glass or marble)

various types of seed beads or tiny jewel findings

super glue

Steps:

1. Glue three to four large gems to sandals spacing them around three inches apart.

2. Outline the large gems with glue and place like seed beads or tiny jewel findings over the glue.

3. Continue spiral fashion, varying each layer with different types of seed beads or tiny jewels

Beaded Strip Sandals

Materials:

Plain open-toe leather (moccasin), cotton, or stretchy material sandals

beading loom

beading thread

needle

seed beads

super glue

Steps:

1. Create four to six beaded bracelets on a beading loom that are of the same length as the top of your sandal.

2. After removing the bracelets from the loom and tying each end, glue them in adjacent columns over your entire sandal.

Beaded Motif Sandals

Materials:

Plain open-toe leather (moccasin), cotton, or stretchy material sandals

large motif stencil

seed beads or tiny jewel findings

super glue

fabric paint

Steps:

1. Place the large motif stencil over your sandal and fill it in with glue.

2. Before removing the stencil, cover the glue with seed beads or jewel findings.

3. Carefully remove the stencil after a few minutes and outline the beaded motif design with a thick layer of matching fabric paint.

With these summertime DIY sandal craft projects in mind, you are on your way to beaming with fashion. Decorating plain leather moccasin Earth sandals works really well since many of them are designed with comfortable gel insoles, allowing you to wear them for a very long time. Not only will you personally enjoy your decorated sandals, but you will make your friends and family members happy when decorating sandals for them as summertime gifts.