Kitchen Faucet Fix

I'm so thankful for the internet and people who take the time to post how-to tutorials!  Our kitchen faucet has been leaking for a long time - at least a few months, if not longer.  We didn't have the extra money to call in a professional so there it sat, leaking every time we turned the faucet on.  Today, I finally became fed up.  I searched online for a 'how to' video and found one!  It was so easy!  I fixed our faucet by myself in less than a half hour!  I'm so glad I didn't call a plumber because that wouldn't have been a complete waste of money!  My next fix it project is our bathtub faucet.. it leaks worse than our kitchen faucet does.  But I'll be honest - this fix scares me A LOT!  It seems a lot more complex than my kitchen, but I will tackle it... eventually - when I get fed up with it :)

Here is the 'how to' that I watched: http://www.ehow.com/video_15854_fix-leaky-faucet.html

T shirt skirt & sandals

Oops, I've been home for a week!  And in that week, I decided to do some crafting and thus making my living room and craft room a mess... again!  I really should learn how to pick up after myself ;)  Anyway, last summer, I made a navy blue t-shirt skirt and I absolutely love it!  I bought a really cute button up t shirt while in Denver that matches perfectly.  However, I did not have any sandals to wear that match... and I spent all my spending money while in Denver :)  Pinterest to the rescue!  I found a blog that shows how to make your own sandals from flip flops that hurt your feet, so I tried it!  And I LOVE them!

Pictures and a how to?!  Sure, why not :)  In fact, I'll do two in one post, first I'll link you to the blog for the skirt - I don't have the pictures along the way, so I'll let the original blogger show you :)

The Skirt (The picture is of mine)

This is the blog that I found the tutorial on: http://sewlikemymom.com/the-shirt-skirt/

On to my shoes!!!

I found the idea on pinterest, thanks to this blog: http://annekata.com/2010/07/make-your-own-summer-sandals/

Here is the step by step, how I did it :)  I used hot glue, only because that was all I had.  When I get waterproof stronger glue, I will reinforce them.  They did hold up during my night out though!

This is the original pair of flip flops.  I LOVED them, but the plastic straps rubbed on my pinky toe and *always* gave me blisters.  I tried my hardest to wear them year after year, hoping that my skin would harden and not blister and every year, I'd get big blisters!

I started by cutting off the plastic strips down at the base.

This is what they looked like after I cut the straps off.

Using the left over t-shirt from my skirt, I cut 4 wide strips for the straps (2 for each shoe) and then 4 long skinny strips to be used for the ankle straps.

I measured 1 1/2 in long lines in the base of the shoe.  2 on each side.  These are where the wide straps will be placed.

The arrows point to the two lines on one side.

I took a utility knife (you could use a craft knife) and slit open where I drew the lines.

I put hot glue in the strip first (not shown), and then I pushed one edge of the wide strip into the slit with the corner of my ruler.  After I shoved the fabric in, I added more glue on top of the fabric and then on the bottom.

I repeated the last step 3 more times for each shoe.  I crossed the straps to create an 'x' (much like how the plastic used to be). 

This is the top view after both were done.

These are the ankle straps.  I pulled the strips of fabric tight, so they curled up and stretched out.  I tied two together to create one ankle strap.  In the end, I made two long straps from 4 short ones.

Underneath the heal, I glued the knot to the shoe.

The strap comes up and ties around the ankle.  When I tried the shoes on, the wide straps in the front had stretched and were way too loose.  My feet kept sliding out of them.  It took me a good hour of trial and error to figure out how to tighten the straps without pulling them out and re-glueing them.  I forgot to take pictures of the trial and error part, however I did get a picture of the final outcome :)

Again, this is the final!

You can see, I took the original flowers and added them to these.  I finally tightened the straps by pulling them in at the 'x' and safety pinning them.  Then I cut out two more thin strips and pulled them tight.  I looped those around the pins and tied them into the original ankle strap.  The flower was the perfect cover up for the ugly fix :)  And because they were made from the same t-shirt that my skirt was, they match perfectly!!!