Flip Flop Wreath {a Fun and Frugal Summer Craft}

The long, hot days of summer have arrived, and so has the daily search for fun (but not too pricey or complicated) activities to do with your kids.  Flip flop wreaths are a great summer craft that are creative, easy, and not at all costly. Flip flop wreaths, or “door décor” (depending on their shape) provide you and your child the chance to let your imaginations run wild, and to use up craft or toy items you may already have around your house.

Before you head out to a dollar store to buy the flip flops, check your closets, toy bins, and crafting supplies. Any lightweight item that can be hot glued onto your wreath is a potential decoration for this craft: plastic sand toys and sunglasses, shells, fabric or paper flowers, small toys, artificial greenery, ribbons, and beads. Make note of what you already have, then head to the store.

This time of year, dollar and big box stores have an abundance of inexpensive rubber flip flops. Let your child pick out the colors and themes that are their favorites. Fun ones I’ve seen this year include unicorns, doughnuts, Disney characters, llamas, and flamingos.  Beach, tropical, baseball, and patriotic themes are always easy to find in summer as well.

To make a classic, round wreath-shaped craft, you’ll need a minimum of four pairs of flip flops. For linear or vertical stacked shapes, you can use only three pairs. Any and all sizes of flip flops can be used, depending on how large you’d like your finished craft to be, and a layered look that utilizes large sizes with smaller ones on top is very cute.

Dollar stores are the best place to find the decorations you’ll attach to your flip flops, if you need all new ones, or are supplementing with what you already have from home. Small cardboard or wooden signs with words and pictures are great options for adding to your wreath. 

When home, gather together all your items, along with these simple tools: a hot glue gun and a few glue sticks, scissors, and some twine or ribbon. That’s it!

First, lay out your flip flops on the floor or on a table in whatever shape you like best, to create your base.  Rubber flip flops adhere together very well with hot glue, so you don’t need to use any kind of metal or wood wreath hoop.  Smaller kids will need an adult to work the hot glue gun, and no matter what your age, it’s helpful to use the eraser end of a pencil or a wooden popsicle stick to press items together for a bit while the hot glue sets.

Glue the flip flops together first, let dry, then start to glue on all your enhancements. The decorative possibilities are endless, so let your kids’ artistic spirit guide the fun. Your final step is to adhere twine or ribbon so that you can hang your display.

For my beach themed wreath shown here, I chose items with turquoise, green and blue colors, to match some craft ribbon I had at home. From the dollar store I purchased the flip flops ($1.99/pair), some cardboard signs, a plastic pinwheel, and a fabric flower lei. The total cost for this wreath was $12.

Check out Pinterest for dozens of inspiring ideas and have a crafty summer.