You know what I love about Sundays? That I am able to rest. No one expects you to be incredibly productive on Sundays, so you have the freedom to do so if you are all revved up to get something done, or you can lay back and relax until the next day. I usually like a balance between the two -- doing something that I enjoy energetically but not things that are stressful or unpleasant when possible.
Today I took on a project that I have held onto for quite a while that sounded so much fun. I saw these awesome sandals on Etsy where you can change out the colors of the straps and tie them up differently to create infinite look possibilities. Being curious more than stingy, I wanted to find out if there was a way to hack some ordinary sandals to make them more like the base model for these magical, customizable ones. Let me show you how they turned out!
I bought sandals that were essentially set up like this to begin with:
by Billabong
Mine at the toe had a strap that obviously looked like it was a loop, so that if you cut the strap that goes lengthwise down the longest part of the sandal, it could be pulled out and leave a little loop at the top of the sandal. Having loops on the sides, or a piece that could be glued down to make loops on the sides, is the other thing you need to make your own customizable sandals. Take a look at the real deal on the Etsy shop and see how you need at least one pair of loops on the sides of the sandal to put ribbons or cloth through to make it work. I'd also recommend getting ones of good quality that have comfortable soles so you aren't in pain walking around in them. Got it?
Mine ended up like this after cutting out the parts of the sandal that I will replace with ribbon and gluing down part of the sides to make my own loops:
Those pieces of leather on the sides are secured down with glue specifically designed for durability and able to be used with leather. It was about $6 at JoAnn fabrics. (Use a coupon, they have tons!)
This is what it looks like with ribbon pulled through the loops. Also purchased at JoAnn. I determined that you are best off getting about 3-4 feet of ribbon per sandal, depending on how much you want to be able to wrap it around wherever and however many times you want. You wanna keep them from falling off, you know?
And the end result... (drumroll!)
They are so cute!!! I think you'd have even more leeway to be creative if you had two sets of loops on the sides, one closer to the base of your toes and one back by the ball of your foot. (Again, the Etsy shop has the design down perfectly and is what you want to emulate. Or just buy. For the quality and versatility, those sandals are a pretty good deal!)
I can't wait to buy some lace and other, more colorful ribbons to use, or some thin cloth strips to try out, too! These will be so much fun to change around depending on your outfit. And even better, if you want to make it match something new, just pick up a little more ribbon on your way and slide it through, almost making a whole new pair of shoes for just a couple bucks!
On, and in case you were wondering, my toes are painted with my FAVORITE polish: Kim-pletely In Love, Nicole by OPI. Yes, it is a Kardashian Kolor. (Yes, I spelled those right.) But it is so smooth and the perfect shade of pink, and has the best teeny-tiny blue glitter in it that makes it different. I'll be running out soon -- gotta go get more sometime! I live in a pitiful, girly world. But at least I have pretty toes! ;)
I hope you had a Sunday as relaxing and fun as mine, or some other day of the week to enjoy!
Love, Lara
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