Friday, July 6, 2012

Raggedy Flip Flops


My sister sent me an idea of replacing the rubber tops of flip flops with fabric and knots and I liked the idea a lot, but I didn't know how they would hold up. I started experimenting with my daughters' new stash of $1 flip flops we bought last week. I let the girls pick out the fabric and the flip flops (with a bit of direction from mom). I borrowed the general idea from another source, but this finished product is my own experimentation.

You'll need:
4 long strips of fabric, flip flops, scissors and flip flop glue



 Tie tightly so the short end is toward the toes.

Wrapping the short end inside, wrap around over the top toward the inside all the way around until you get to the center. You may want to glue as you go for extra strength.


Repeat with other side.


Tie knot around the top center.


Tie a bow tightly and trim long ends of fabric.


 Glue knots in place at base and bow.

Just add feet.

Thanks, Julie!



Sunday, July 1, 2012

A Very Seussical Birthday

Stages Theater is one of my favorite places. One of the things I love about it, other than the fun and reasonably priced shows they put on for kids, is that they are an educational theater. They use as many children in their shows as they can and the kids get a true experience of hard work with fun, and get to work with some really great adults (like me, of course!)

I was thrilled when my daughter decided she would rather invite a handful of school friends to Stages' summer musical, Seussical instead of a having a big princess party. (It makes for a much more fun cake). It was almost too easy: get tickets, reserve an inexpensive room upstairs from the theater and I was done. I felt a little guilty that I was putting so little work into the party, but that would soon change.

Of course, the invitations needed a Seussical flair, so I went to work with my creative rhyming skills, which are lacking, but I would never admit that to you because I want you to think I'm amazing.

It was a little book:




The next step was figuring out the party favors. I didn't want to send home a bag of junkies that Moms will toss out when the kids aren't watching. I'm a big fan of consumables...crayons, gum, notepads, etc...anything that will eventually go away.  I decided to on something useful and consumable. I found a jpeg of the cat in the hat and designed a little iron on-transfer for some t-shirts I bought at JoAnn.  Then I added a giant lollipop or unicorn pop to thrill the kids. I would like to publicly apologize to the parents for the daily "mom, can I eat my sucker now?" that they will have to deal with.

The boys got gray.

Then on to the cake. I think I may have set the bar too high too early. My girls think I can do anything. Without batting an eye, the birthday girl decided that she wanted Horton, Sour Kangaroo, the Cat in the Hat and Things 1 & 2. Hey, no problem! I have all the time in the world to figure out how to do not just one character, but four. When I balked at it, she said, "Mom, you're really good at cakes. You can do it."

Yep, the bar is too high, and the little smarty pants knew just what to say to get it done. So, here it is.

She had to make sure there was the speck on the clover.



We all had a great time and I got to introduce a few kids to one of the happiest theaters in the Twin Cities.