Greetings Campers! In this episode we are celebrating summer! Sandals and summer memories!  Here in the desert, the heat is upon us! 110 degrees this weekend! I'm pretty sure summer has arrived. Every year I find myself wishing we had a pool!! 

When I think of summer memories growing up in Vegas, I think of swimming at the public pools,  walking to the arcade at the Chapparel Apartments in the next neighborhood (which was a looong walk!) and playing kickball in the street with our neighbors. When we got older, my sister and I, and just about all of Las Vegas back then,  would  head out to "the cliffs" at Lake Mead. It was just one big ol' party out there all summer long! Cliff diving, boating, and there may have been some alcohol involved. We had so much fun, it should have been illegal (and probably was, lol). 

I also think of spending summers in Florida with my grandparents.  I would help my grandmother by working the window on the lunch truck they owned (long before lunch trucks became so popular!) serving the best sub sandwiches on the beach! I can still hear her saying, "Always ask the customer if they want chips or a drink with their sandwich!"  I miss those days, my grandparents and the beach! Family, cool waves and my toes in the sand!

And since we are all going to have our toes in the sand or the grass sometime this summer, they may as well look cute! That is what this tutorial is for!  Decorative footwear. The beauty of these "barefoot sandals" is that you can wear them two ways! Barefoot, or with your favorite pair of flip flops! This is a fun, easy craft, and I will show you how I make these cute decorative beaded sandals. I made a pair for my sister and already shipped them to her. The pair that I'm going to make for this tutorial is going to be for my niece.

BAREFOOT SANDAL TUTORIAL


Supply List:

1) Hemp cord or similar (make sure it's thin enough for beads to slide onto)
2) Beads
3) Any other decorative hardware you want to add to your sandal
4) Piece of small bent wire (for pulling cord through beads) or large beading eyelet/needle

And that's it!

STEP 1


Cut two separate lengths of about 60 inches of hemp cord, one for each sandal.  A good way to make sure you have enough length is to wrap the cord around your middle toe and then your ankle about 4 times. If you want gladiator style sandals, wrap cord up the length of your calf and leave about 6 extra inches. You can always cut off any extra length. The sandals I am making are not gladiator style.

STEP 2:


Place beads in the order you wish to string onto hemp cord, or you can just wing it like I do and start beading until you figure out what looks cute or what you like! I just used the lid to my craft container to keep beads in place. Also, you can use whatever kind of beads you want.

STEP 3

Fold hemp cord in half evenly and measure about 2 inches down for the toe loop and tie a knot.  Or you can just place over your toe and knot where you like it.

STEP 4


Bend your piece of wire and loop both strands of hemp cord through at the opposite end bottom of strands as shown.

STEP 5


Place both pieces of wire through the bead.

STEP 6


Pull bead all the way through and down to the toe knot.

STEP 7

Now thread just one strand of cord through the wire.

STEP 8


Pull a bead through, or you can keep the strands doubled for a single line of beads instead of separate strands for your sandal. (you will see what I mean by taking a peek at Step 11)

STEP 9

Thread the second strand with a bead.

STEP 10


Thread about 4 or 5 beads down (depending on the size of your foot, which you may want to measure, or place sandal on your foot to see how far down the beads should go)

STEP 11


Then place a bead through both strands to lock the other beads into place as shown.

STEP 12


And now you are going to thread each strand separately with beads, these wrap around your ankle.

STEP 13


You can place sandal on your foot to measure length of beads you will need for each strand to wrap around to the back of your ankle. They should stop where they meet.  (Please excuse the ant bite on my foot!)

STEP 14

Double knot each end to hold beads in place.

STEP 15


Now just copy what you've done for the other sandal!

Now try on your sandal and tie around your ankle. You can tie it in the front or back. If there is too much cord, cut the extra now.

And there you have a super cute pair of barefoot sandals to wear!

THE END OF TUTORIAL

Go forth and run barefoot through the grass or the sand, with the sunshine on your shoulders and beads on your feet!  Enjoy making memories this summer!

Love and light,

Michelle :)