Decorated flip-flops made perfect party favors for our poolside tea party.
Butterfly flip-flops purchased at Wal-Mart for $2.50 a pair got a makeover for the first official day of summer. Because I used hot glue to make these, I decorated them before the party rather than letting the little ones help me with the project. The girls were excited to find a pair at each place and enjoyed modeling them during the evening.
I used a variety of grosgrain ribbons for this project, including narrow polka dotted ribbons in soft shades of pink and turquoise. A 5-yard roll of 3/8-inch ribbon should give you enough ribbon to wrap the soles and straps for a smaller size pair. Wider coordinating ribbon formed the bows. Mixing and matching ribbons made for cute combinations, resulting in a unique pair for each girl.
To begin, run a bead of hot glue around the sole, pressing a length of ribbon into place as you go. The next step is to wind ribbon around the straps. This step took me about 10 minutes per shoe. Start by applying a drop of hot glue to the underside of the strap. Press the end of the ribbon into the glue and wind the ribbon around one time. Then apply glue a little at a time across the strap, winding the ribbon tightly around the strap as you go. Slightly overlap the ribbon as you go so the strap will be covered completely. Be careful of your fingers during this process, and keep a glass of cold water nearby in case you get burned by the hot glue. For the final step, glue a bow to the top of the flip-flop, finishing the streamer edges with a no-fray solution.
