Flip ~ Flop ~ Flun ~ ...Kick off the Summer with some cute Flip Flop DIY Tutorials that are so easy !

 

 

 

~ SUMMER FUN ~

 

June 21st marks the first official day of summer .. and it's time to slip on those summer flip flops !

 

However if you're one of those that live in the drier and warmer climates year round like we are ..flips flops tend to be the mode of transportation for your feet pretty much year round...

 

I own a dozen pair of flip flops and they are my first choice in footwear these days .not because I'm that in love with flip flops.. but my feet are. I've got feet that have lot's of issues and shoes and my feet don't make a happy couple.

 

I love cute flip flops ..but lately I haven't found any that have that cute quotient I'm looking for .. they all seem a bit plain so I started looking for ways to make them cute, classy and sassy !

 

And here are some super cute ways to dress up some inexpensive flip flops for yourself, your kids, or your friends ..what great summer gifts !

 

So this first pair is so classy ..

 

I could see wearing these to church with a beautiful long white skirt ... Or a summer wedding ..

 

I love all the pearls and beads ...and there's a step by step tutorial showing you how to  make them .. with all the fabulous beads out there for jewelry making these days you could get super creative and do these up in colored beads .. and they used a pair of the easily found rubber flips flops that I just saw at Wal -Mart and the Dollar store for Just a buck .. ( do you know why we refer to a dollar as a buck ?) check the end of this post for the answer. 

 

 

 Tutorial HERE

These cuties have been dressed up with ribbons by the ribbon lady ...

 

How cute would these be with a denim skirt or denim shorts ! .. and love the touch of the black jewel in the center of the ribbon rosette .. 

 Tutorial HERE

These just say "Summer Fun" ... I love the mix of the tie died rosettes and the striped flops ...

 

The color combo just makes me smile ..

 

 

I imagine just about any young lady or teenage girl would be thrilled to recieve a pair of these or even sit down and make a pair with Mom , Grandma and some friends ... so check out the tutorial ...and make a girls day to make some personalized flip flops ..

Tutorial HERE

 

 

 

 

For those of us who have more flips flops than necessary ..LOL  ..

 

I thought this tutorial for turning wire hangers into flop holders was awesome .. so so easy ..

 

And I love how they used metal shelf brackets  and pipe to create a low floor space hanger for organizing them in the closet ..

 

 

 

 

 Jean Lover's Unite !

 

For those of you that Love Denim and have some old jeans that you don't wear anymore ..this is a great way to upcycle them and make some blue jean flip flops ..

 

 I think I would refer to these as my Kick Back Flip Flops ...

 

 Tutorial HERE

Mom's and Grandmom's ... do you have a little snugglebug that tip toes around on those tiny little feet ...

 

Well here's some super girly ruffled flops that are absolutely darling... I want these in my size ! and I haven't dressed up my toe nails in polish in a long while but this sure makes me want to ...

 

over at the motherhuddle ..they teach you how to make these for your little snugglebugs ...

 Tutorial HERE

Cottage Charm for your Feet ... These remind of a day at the beach .. walking the boardwalk and letting the ocean breeze kiss my face .

 

 

I love the striped bows ..and especially the body of the flop dressed in a cute floral pattern ...

 

Another simple yet easy way to dress your flops for that summer vacation .

 

 

 

Tutorial HERE

 

 

Baseball Moms and Gals ... Here's the Flop for you !

 

 

Simple rubber flop with too too adorable baseball flower ..

 

I couldn't find a  link to show how to make these cuties .. But ...

 





I found this picture tutorial on how to take apart a baseball and turn it int a flower ..seems pretty self explanatory .. and pretty easy .. if you're young man plays ball I know that they end up with old baseballs they quit using so ask the coach for one of those throw aways ...

 

 

And Lastly ... with 4th of July on the way ..  I couldn't pass up these "Patriotic Cuties" ...

 

Looks like some cute "old navy" Flops .. wrapped in patriotic ribbon with ribbon bows ...

 

Another Fun and Easy way to dress up some inexpensive flops with the kiddos ... How fun for them to make a pair to wear on the 4th of July !  You could even add a few extra sparkly rhinestones !

 

 

There's dozen's more ways to DIY your own flip flops .. I was amazed at all the ingenious and yet simple ways to dress them up I found in my search .. If you have a pinterest account .. in the search box type " DIY Flip Flops" ..and the ideas are endless ..

 

 

~ Happy Summer Y'all ~

 

 

and Yep ..here's why refer to a dollar as a buck ...

 

The most likely explanation why a dollar is called a Buck is that the word Buck was derived from the word buckskin. Buckskin was used for trade between Indians, Native Americans and Europeans in the days of the frontier, from 1748. As the skin became a less common medium of exchange the word 'buck' was likely to have been adapted to use for the dollar currency which had replaced it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turning Homemaking into Fun and Saving a little money along the way with Sugarpie Farmhouse

 

Well Hey Y'all ... Hope you have all had a lovely week and are having a lovely start to your weekend.

 

Today I spent the morning at the Vintage Marketplace visiting several of my friends whom are selling their wares there .. and Flossie Dog went with me .. She had the best time and wow was she ever tuckered out this evening.. She was as snug as a bug in a rug , curled up in her bed. We were all real quiet so to not disturb her ... But I imagine she'll get rested up tonight and be all wound up for another day of play tomorrow ...

 

 

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So My Start to my weekend has been awesome even though this is going to be a working weekend for me. May was really busy for us and I'm doing some catch up work to make sure everyone gets their farm goods in the promised time so they can begin decoratin' or gift givin' with their new goods.

 

 

The 2nd start to a great weekend was opening an e-mail that's been sittin' in my inbox since monday from my Dear Sweet Friend Aunt Ruthie of Sugar Pie Farmhouse ..

 

It was hard not opening the e-mail all week but I had to save it for an evening when I had plenty of time to enjoy it and really savor it .. and tonight was the night.

 

Of course after I got through the e-mail ... I just had to share about it with you all !

 

 

Aunt Ruthie  has been so blessed to be a stay at home Mama to 4 lovely children 3 of which are grown up now and have families of their own and 1 of which is on the verge of being all grown up ..

 

Being a mama to 4 .. just like other mama's out there Aunt Ruthie has some wonderful tips, Inspiration and encouragement on Homemaking and she's just released her first 2 Videos ...

 

 

 

She teaches you how to make your own Laundry Soap ... In her fabulous farmhouse kitchen and girls ..you may have to watch her video several times like me just to keep up with the directions because your eyes start wandering checking out her cute granite top table or her adorable glass front cabinets .. Oh my what a kitchen ..  but then you get drawn back in to Aunt Ruthies farmhouse charm and her clear, precise and simple directions to make your own laudry soap in a jiffy and save money doing it .. Who doesn't want to save money these days ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You also get a 2nd video .. and seriously she comes up with the cutest titles ..

 

"Cup 'N Saucer Chat ...

 

Oh Lordy is that just adorable !

 

 

I didn't want the chat to end .. I loved it .. and she had a little blooper which she left in which I loved it just made my heart smile and I got to giggle with her .. I'm sure it's not easy makin' a video. I did a video tutorial once several years back .. and Oh my there was alot of time and effort that went into it .. take after take trying to get all you want to say in and say it right ... so I applaud Aunt Ruthie for her videos ..she did an amazing job and she's just a natural on the camera .. Her true personality that I know from our get togethers when she ventures out here to CA really shines through ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Yep .. she included several other bloopers for her audience to enjoy .. bloopers are the best ..!

 

 

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You all might be wonderin' about now .. You've said so many nice things about Aunt Ruthie's new Video series ..did you get paid to write this .. and the answer's no...

 

Aunt Ruthie is a friend of ours .. and I've known her for many years as aquaintance and then friends .. we are sisters in the Lord and we love to lift up and encourage each other as well as those that follow our blogs.

 

Life should really be about encouraging one another ..boy wouldn't that make the world a better place ..

 

So I'm just givin' a sweet little shout out that if you'd like to know more about homemakin' and soap makin' and get to know Aunt Ruthie a little more personally .. well gals go grab up her videos which you can do HERE

 

 

 

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Well take care and have a great weekend .. Keep smilin' .. Cause the Good Lord Loves You ... You're Pretty Special to Him !

 

 

 

 

Inspiration Friday ....Lampshade Xmas Tree Tutorial

As Promised earlier this week ...I'm here to share How to Make your own Lamp Shade Christmas Tree ...for those of you odd balls like Abbey and I that want "DIFFERENT" ...!

Here's the wonderful Lamp Shade Christmas Tree in all it's glory ...and we're sure there are so many other ways to create and decorate your own ..as Abbey and I have had endless ideas on how to make these trees ...in different ways and different styles ...but since there's just 2 of us ...it would be fabulous to see all you sweet blogland chickadees make your own and then share with us pictures of your own take and design.

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So Here's What you need.....

Obviously some old Wire Framed Lamp Shades ....(if the shades are still covered that's ok too)

A Base of some kind ....(let your imagination come up with something unique from your junk pile)

3/8 inch Threaded rod which can be found in the Electrical Dept of your local home improvement store. ( Ours only came in a 10ft. length and we wanted a 6 ft length ..so the guys at the store were kind enough to cut it down to our desired size)

3/8 inch Nuts (locking nuts would probably be preferrable)...you'll need 2 per lamp shade...

So these are the basics and of course you may need some other goodies once you get started depending on how unique you get with your design.

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So First of all Abbey and I ...had this great Cast Iron base in our antique hardware drawer ...It had been waiting around to be used on just the right project ...and well finally the right project presented itself ....

Next ...we gathered (6) of our wire lamp shades all in different sizes ...the bottom ones were similar in size and the top ones of course smaller.

Here's a close up of what "threaded rod" is and how the nuts spin above and below the lamp shade center ...

Please keep in mind the threaded Rod is somewhat Flimsy ...so your tree will be slightly flexible when working with it.

Keep In mind ...with the rod one length and 6 shades and 6 ft of rod ...it's a process that takes a bit of patience ...Because you have to start spinning those fun little nuts into place...

1 nut spun towards the center ..then apply the lampshade ..then another nut spun down to the top of it ...then another nut on and into place then the shade and another nut on top of it ..and so the fun process goes. ( I mentioned locking nuts because these are another type of nut that locks in place unlike the type we used for our project ..Abbey and I think after fashioning our first tree that the locking nuts would have been the way to go... sot that the shades are held in place better...)

Once you have all your lamp shades in place and your base on .........

It's time to start covering that ugly threaded rod !!!

We opted for 3 inch wide strips of burlap that were about 6 ft. in length ..

We Tied off the burlap at the top ...and then started twisting it around the base ...then when we ran short we just tied the ends of the burlap lengths together and kept twisting it around the rod..... the knots just gave the center a wonderful old knarly look ....Plus because we used regular nuts the burlap helped secure the lamp shades in place better.

P.S. Originally as shown above we put the top shade facing down ... we later changed our mind ..and took it off ..then ran wire every which way between the frame ..so we could turn it into a nest. Then we re-fitted it on top with the open end facing up ..we filled it in with spanish moss ...and then added some Glittered birds to the top ....as shown in the finished Picture at the top.

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So that's it Bloggerettes ...it's really a rather simple process mixed with a bit of patience ...!

Abbey and I have never seen such a tree made ..so we think we finally came up with a fabulous unique design of our own ...However ..who knows ..maybe some Grandma ..in some small town of 15 somewhere ..we just don't know about ..has been creating lampshade Christmas trees since the 1960's ...ROFL !!

It's a Great Altered, Upcycled and Rustic Vintage Christmas Tree ...Perfect decorated in any color ..or any style ..and Oh my what a conversation piece for the holidays ..it's for all those relatives that just don't get us Vintage Junkies ...LOL !!!

Removing Veneer or Laminate from Antique Furniture Tutorial ...

FREE Doesn't always = EASY !!!

Last weekend ..while out galevanting around ..we spied this old cupboard outside a flea market on the roadside ..we Inquired as to it's price and were promptly told it was free for the taking ..and us Farm Girls couldn't resist free ...

However sometimes FREE comes with a price ...and that price is a 4 letter word we call " WORK " ..

The great thing is were not afraid of work ...but sometimes you run into a few issues you have to overcome ...LIKE ...

This is our Cupboard/Chest of Drawers ... we got ..and it's got lots of potential and great lines ...the One BIG issue was that it has a laminated top and doors ...the laminate on the top had lifted all around the edges about 1 to 3 inches in and was easy to rip off but from there in was this deep ridge of laminate that wasn't coming off ....So what were these farm girls to do ..but dig into our book of tricks and figure out the best solution to removing the laminate ...

If you have ever tried removing laminate before you may have run into alot of Frustrating issues ..if you tried sanding it off and spent endless hours with little results there's a good reason for that ..Laminate is a hard wood and adhered with hyde glue...Both near impossible to sand and if you do it's ALOT of work ..The Trick is Moist Heat !!

So Abbey and I thought we would give a tutorial this week while working on this piece on the easiest route to removing laminate that we know.

The tools you will need are ...

A good sturdy hammer


A sturdy 3 to 4 inch blade putty knife



a measuring cup for some water for your iron




a bowl with water and a wash rag or old cloth that can be ruined ..





And Most importantly the tool that is a MUST an old iron ... (we suggest picking one up for this ocassion at a yard sale , estate sale, or second hand store ..) It need not be the best iron just one that works ...

First ...Place your wash cloth or old rag in water ...get it good and wet not sopping but enough that it slightly drips ..

Lay it on top of the laminate areas only NOT on the bare wood if any is revealed .. Lay it folded in half.

Let it sit a minute or two so the water penetrates the top layer at least ..Prepare your iron by adding water for it to steam if it has a steam button setting make sure it's ON .... make sure the iron is set on the hottest setting ...and then apply your iron atop the wash rag/cloth ...
(PLEASE USE CAUTION HERE) Once the Iron contacts the cloth remove your hand immediately ..it will steam ALOT ..and you don't want to burn your hands or arms !!! Make sure your children are kept away as well as your animals ....this is a VERY HOT project and all caution needs to be considered ...BE RESPONSIBLE and THINK !!!

(TIP) Always place your cloth near the edge of the laminate ....it's easiest working from the edges in to lift the laminate.

After the iron has set there for at least a minute or more (use your own judgement and experiment a few times to see if you can add more time for a better result) ...then remove it CAREFULLY ..the rag will stick to the bottom so be careful taking it off you don't burn yourself ( grabe the rag on an end the iron wasn't touching as the iron isn't going to cover the entire cloth)..at this point we put the rag back in the bowl of water ...

Then Grab your Putty Knife and place it at the moistened edge ..and apply it at a slight angle so as not to dig into the wood but to get under the laminate..then use your hammer on the handle end ..driving the putty knife under the layers of laminate in a forward motion.

Here you have to use your own eye ..the laminate will lift where it's moistened ..but once you hit the dry area stop ....or the laminate will lift the wood with it and leave you with gouges which you probably don't want.

Also somtimes the top layer of lamintae will peel off only and you have to re-apply the steam ...to remove the deep layer to reveal the wood. It's just a matter of learning as you go ..once you have made a few passes ..you'll get the hang of it and you'll be a pro at it.

You can see here in the center where the laminate still is ....on the front edge the dark laminate top was removed the first pass with steam heat ..so now we re-applied the wet cloth and iron to get the next layer wettened so the glue starts to lift letting that lower layer loose from the wood base ... This also gives you an idea of what the wood should look like in comparison to the laminate layers.

We worked at the center for about an hour and a half before it was totally removed and we learned if we applied the wet cloth to the areas we weren't chipping away at... while we were chipping away at another section ... the other areas softened up and when we applied the iron to them ..they peeled much easier ..so the moister the better and the Heat from the iron is a must ..the combination is the trick to getting this laminate up easier !

Now an hour and a half is a bit long ..but we were learning as we went ..however it's actually pretty quick considering the horror stories I have heard other's tell about in removing laminate ...

Also if you are workin alone I suggest you have a place you can position your piece of furniture in... like agains a wall so when you are banging away at the laminate to lift it ..you have some resistance so your piece doesn't start sliding from the jostling it's getting ...

Once your finished you'll be happy with the end result ...




Here's our end result of the top ..and I think we did a great job ...We had one little problem which I'll touch on below ...

But first of all I want to show you how the iron looks at the end so you don't die of heart failure and so you realize you " SHOULD NOT " use your good clothes iron to do this !!!

Yep it's thick with glue ..even though we didn't touch it directly to the top and layed it on the wet cloth ..still this is the result ..Now I have some ideas for cleaning this up but as of this post haven't done it ..so as soon as I do ..I'll let you all know how to clean this mess up if possible ..

The one issue we had as I mentioned above is if you keep hitting away at the putty knife when you get into dry territory ..it causes the wood to lift with the laminate ..and you get these little gouges ..Now I can fill it with wood putty or sand it out which is fine ( we plan on sanding the top anyhow) ..but now we have a bit more work added on ..so to save yourself keep in mind when the wood gets dry stop and moisten it again with the wet cloth and hot iron ..Ultimately you may have this happen but I wouldn't worry too much ..your working with an old piece and it's bound to have some character and charm marks anyhow ..your just adding a few it didn't have to begin with ...

Once you finish you'll be left with this ..a great big pile of laminate shavings ...good and sticky from the heated glue ...and ready to head out to the trash ...

That's it for this tutorial ...I hope it helps you out in the future or even now on a piece your working on ..

We haven't started on the doors I'm actually going to see how they look sanded out as the laminate isn't coming off severely there anyhow and I like a little bit of age and charm around the doors anyhow ..

I I have not explained anything well enough OR If you have any questions ..feel free to leave them in your comment and I'll answer your questions in a special post next week giving time for everyone to get there questions in...

If you need your question answered sooner due to the fact you are working on it NOW ...leave that in your post and I'll try and comment right away with an answer for you.

Until Next Time ..Over an Out from these two Sweet Magnolias Farm Gals ...

The Finished Piece ....


Some Antique Glass pulls ...Old metal Address #'s ...a few Suitcases for drawers ...and A crackled paint process for that nice old look !!!