Now don’t think for one minute that I am the super crafty mom who spends the entire summer patiently and lovingly providing enriching projects for her kids to do each day. I freak out too much about spills and messes and such for that. (Never mind that my house is a wreck otherwise with LEGOS lying in wait in the carpet EVERYWHERE and piles of paper and almost-junk-mail threatening to avalanche off my desk at any moment.) But please don’t let a kid get glitter on my fancy dining room table that I got for free just before it made its way to Goodwill or drop play-doh remnants on the floor. Clearly, that would be too much to bear. I have one, maybe two craft projects that I might be able to accomplish over the whole summer. Maybe even the whole year. Decorate your own flip-flops, kids.
My kids and one of my daughter’s friends had a blast doing this project. It was rainy yesterday afternoon, so it was the perfect opportunity to do this. I also did this project once with a moms group and the craftier ones loved it too. I could see this being a fabulous craft for a girl’s birthday party, especially a summer or pool birthday party. My 7 year-old boy loved this too, so you could probably do this with boys if you have the right kind of decorations for it.
The Easy-Peasy Steps:
- Buy plain cheapo $1 flip-flops. The Dollar Store has them. Wal-mart has them for only $.98.
- Raid your craft supply closet or buy a collection of potential items to use for decorations. My kids particularly loved Washi Tape for this session. My craft closet is not very extensive, but I provided spool ribbon, Washi Tape, glue-on jewels and sparkly flowers, printed fabric for cutting into strips, glitter, water balloons (sounds crazy but these make a really cool flip-flop if you tie them [unfilled] onto the straps of the sandal), artificial flowers, googly eyes, etc. You will also need some kind of strong glue. I found something at Hobby Lobby called “flip-flop glue” that we used this time. You will need to see what works for you–getting glue that holds and then waiting long enough for it to dry is the most challenging part of this project. If you have kids who are sports fans or love a particular school, you could provide ribbons and such that are the school or team colors for a fan flip-flop.
Ribbons, fabric, Washi Tape, glitter, and sparkly things, oh my. 
My kids loved the Washi Tape and sparkly flowers. - Put down some newspaper or a disposable tablecloth on the table and let the kids go.
- Let the glue dry.
- Show off your fancy flip-flops.
I favored the fabric and ribbon look. 
Fancy flip-flops. Note: Depending on the strength of your glue and how you decorate your flip-flops, these are not going to be the most durable flip-flops you have ever owned. These are not made for surviving mud puddles or rock climbing.
Do you still recommend flip flop glue? I am trying to decorate flip flops with grosgrain ribbon. Have used hot glue and e6000 and not working.