Flip Flip Re-Fashion

I'm not exaggerating when I say my frustration over the price of kids shoes has reached a boiling point!!!  When I can buy shoes for my "skis" of feet for a lot less than $30, how is $30 or more for something to cover a little persons foot for a few weeks before they outgrown them rational????  Determined not to give into the insanity I am improvising. 

While rummaging through a bunch of old baby clothes the other day I found these cute sandals that my little guy wore one time so instead of just handing them down to our little girl I added a little paint, frill and bling to be fitting for my little fashionista!

This is how they turned out!  Hard to believe they are the same sandals.. right??? 

Since these already had some turquoise on them I decided to go with it and spray painted the entire flip-flip turquoise.  Because these are foam and they liked to soak up the paint it did take a few quick coats to completely cover the old design.

Once the shoes were good and dry I grabbed some scrap fabric and cut two strips for the ruffles.  Mine are about 1 1/2 to 1 inches wide... the length should be about double the length you want your ruffle.

Now just fold it over and sew the long ends together.  You could be fancy and sew them wrong sides together and then turn the tube right side out, but since the is going to be on the bottom side glued to the sandal I was lazy :)

Next, iron or flatten your strip so that that seem is in the middle on the bottom side and then sew a loose gathering stitch down the center.  Remember DON'T back-stitch at the beginning or end!  Basically you are sewing another line of stitches on top of the first from the other side.  Then just carefully pull the bottom thread to create your ruffle.

Now it's time to attach.  I tucked the unfinished end under at the edge of the strap and used a little hot glue to  keep it in place.

 Next, stretch out your ruffle across the strap until you get it how you want it to look.

Glue all along the strap, pressing the fabric just for a second until it is set.  I added a little gem just for fun.  My littlest model was napping during this project so sorry there are no pictures of these babies in action.  But they are pretty darn cute!!!

So cute that I have another pair with a little different twist in the works.. stay tuned for those tomorrow :)

Enjoy, Lindsey