Flip Flops!!! the best accessory of summer

Who doesn't love a good pair of flip flops? 

 I think I have found my new obsession. Rather then hairbows that my girls wear, I can wear these too! The pink and blue flops I made for my sister-in-law's birthday. So, happy birthday Connie! And here is how I did it...

Cut the original plastic straps off. Then I added four strips of fabric about an inch wide to the sandal. Pulled all four through the center hole and tied them so the knot fit in the hole, then glued, then trimmed. 

After that I twisted two stands of fabric per side. Then threaded it through the side hole. There are your straps.

I made a fabric flower in the same manner I make my flower rose hairbows. 

Added bling because I know my sister-in-law would like that. Hot glued that sucker on the top.

And Voila! 

(please don't look at my toes which are in desperate need of a pedi). 

On to the pink sparkle. I left the existing straps and simply hot glued glitter ribbon.

 Added one of my favorite hairbow flowers...

And there you have diva flip flop #2. 

Next go round I think I will use a black sole. I think it would make the additions pop more. Oh, there is nothing I love more then a fun pair of flip flops. I will post more when I make them. At least one pair per swimsuit! Summer here we come!

Mod Podge Dry Erase Board

 As I was making my "to do" list for the day I thought of something. It would be so nice to mod podge scrapbook paper to this ugly board and make it pretty. Then looking at the long list of things to clean I decided it would be more fun to do a craft then do all my "to do's." 

Simple. 

All you do is:

1. apply mod podge to the board 

2. slap on the paper

3. run a credit card over it to squeeze out bubbles and excess glue

4. trim with exacto knife once it is dry

And TA DA!

Now on to the rest of my "to do's." I didn't list all the things that needed to be done around this house. It would scare you. 

Bleach Pen Shirts

Anything 100% cotton you better watch out. I have a new obsession. Really easy. Draw on a shirt with a bleach pen. Like the Tide pens except it is Clorox. This isn't a new idea, but the first time I tried it. I used the entire bleach pen in one afternoon. I was kinda dizzy to say the least. Not really.  

The teal on in the top left was my demo shirt. It already had paint on it. I learned that you have to get it started on something other then your nice shirt. It comes out liquidy like ketchup at first. You would never open up a bottle of ketchup and put it directly on a nice grilled hot dog. Same concept. 

It works best if you use 100% cotton. Synthetic fibers don't bleach as well, or not at all. I tested out a small dot on the underside of the hem to see how well the fabric would work with different shirts. Easy way to test the 60% cotton 40% polyester. It worked on one but not the other.  

I really loved the concept of the palm trees. I pulled the design from a screen printed shirt from American Eagle. But the 100% cotton shirts really accept the bleach. You might want to let it set for a shorter time. Some places said 30 minutes. I wish I had only let this one sit for 10 minutes. You can tell when it starts to bleed. So since the trees' leaves bleached larger with less detail then I wanted I added some paint. Just tulip fabric paint watered down in pink and brown. I thought it added more depth. And at the bottom it says "Nothin could be finer then to be in Carolina." If you don't know, it is from an old song. I am referring to the beaches and state in general, not the school. 

And this one I was inspired by a wall mural I saw on pinterest. And isn't pinterest the best thing in the world? I did take the design to the back of the shirt as well. This shirt has spandex in it. I also got impatient so the bleach made some neat halo effects. 

Hand Print Salt Dough Ornaments

This year I had a few of the cousins over at my house. We decorated gingerbread houses and cookies. They were beautiful, but I didn't take pictures. It was too crazy with a house full of kids to remember the camera! But I had two nieces over. And since they are 3 and 4 months old, they weren't too interested in the decorating. So I looked up a recipe for salt dough ornaments and made a little something.

4 C flour

1 C salt

1 1/2 C warm water

bake for 1 hour on 350 degrees

easy right!!

 I added the name and date with an all (it's a tool, but I don't know how to spell it. It is pronounced "all", tooth pick would word too). Rather then dragging it, I did dots closely together. This way you don't get the pulling that distorts the letters and the puddles at the ends of the letters. 

And Viola!
They are a much softer pink. The camera made them really dark.

Mod Podge Christmas Ornaments tutorial

These are really simple ornaments to make. They work great for utilizing those beautiful Christmas cards from years past, a favorite Christmas print, or perfect for customizing with a monogram or personal note. Even a wedding invitation, a birth announcement or another significant even can be used as keepsake for the tree.

These were one dollar at Hobby Lobby, but on sale 50% off. Yeah me. Sad thing is they sell out quick, so there were only 4 left. Last year I ordered them from http://www.createforless.com/. You have to order in a large quantity and I didn't need as many this year. They are just basic paper mache ornaments in the Christmas craft section. 

I Mod Podge the images to the front and back of the ornament. I trim one side before starting the next. It works best when it drys and using an exacto knife with the image face down. If your cuts are perfect sand paper the edges. It gives it a nice clean edge and distresses it too. 

Then I paint the edges. This step can be done first if your painting tends to be a bit messy. 

Next I add a layer of mod podge to both sides to seal it. Then I add a paint and water mixture to both surfaces to give it a tea stain look. If the paint seems to be a bit dark or you don't like the brush strokes take a paper towel and wipe some off.

To complete the ornament I add a ribbon around the edge. I center the ribbon on the bottom with hot glue. Then add hot glue along the sides in one to two steps until I reach the top. Tie the bow and add another drop of glue behind to secure the bow.

I made 80 of these last year (with lots of help) for the ladies in my church. I liked it so much I decided to make them for my neighbors this year.

Glitter Letters for Stockings

When I hand the stockings each year I have a letter with each one. That is actually how I decided on my itty bitty girl's name. I did her letter and then I was like "okay, that name is the right one." But... It was time to change the monograms the stockings. The letters blended into the silver of the stockings. I was looking for a punch of blue for the mantel.

It was really complicated...

 Take plain wooden letters.

 Paint them a base color. The glitter might not cover every nook and cranny, so this step is important. You most certainly don't want the wood to show through. 

 Brush on white glue and cover, and I mean, cover with glitter.

 And there you go. Just a little blue to brighten up the silver mantel.