Suggested supplies to make your own customized swarovski crystal flip flops:
Swarovski crystals in your selected size, a crystal applicator with a tacky wax tip to pick up and affix your crystals exactly where you need them, rubbing alcohol, flexible industrial-strength adheisve (E6000 works well, it will not dry rigid and will give to the natural movement of the strap), flip flops, and sand paper or steel wool.
If you are planning on making a design with the crystals, sketch it out on some graphing paper to perfect your design and pre-arrange the crystals to make application easier. Some cute designs I’ve seen are flowers, leopard prints, and rainbow gradients. For flowers, you can use a larger sized crystal for the center and smaller ones for the surrounding petals.
Start out by roughing up the straps a bit with the sandpaper or steel wool, which will create a better surface for the crystals to bond to. Once you have finished sanding, clean the straps thoroughly with rubbing alcohol to strip away any oils or dust that would weaken the bond.
It will be easier to apply the crystals if a bit of crumpled newspaper is tucked under the straps to create an even surface to apply the crystals to and to prevent the straps from moving and becoming misshapen.
It makes things go quicker if you have the crystals already set out (right side up) in close proximity to your workspace. That way you will be able to quickly pick up the crystals with your applicator and elimiante the need to pick out a crystal and turn it the right side up each time you need one. Try to avoid touching the crystals to prevent oil transfer from your hands (that could weaken the adhesive bond).
There are two ways that you can apply the adhesive to the strap. You can either glue each individual crystal, or apply the glue in small sections and then apply multiple crystals. The process of dabbing on a small drop of glue and then applying an individual crystal can become tedious quickly.
If you are fully encrusting your flip flops, I would recommend applying the glue in small sections and applying multiple crystals. The glue begins to cure relatively quickly, so do the crystals in small sections to ensure maximum adhesion. If you are doing a minimal design, it will make more sense to dot on the glue rather than appying more than you need.
All you need is a light touch to pick up a crystal with your applicator. If you push too hard, the crystal will not come off of the wax when you place it on the flip flop. The crystal may have some residue from the wax once it is placed on the strap. Do not worry about this, once the adhesive is fully cured you can go back and wipe it off with a paper towel.
When you have finished applying the crystals, put your flip-flops up somewhere where they will be undisturbed for around 48 hours. It is very important to make sure the adhesive is fully dry before even thinking about wearing them.
I haven’t had any crystals fall off of my flip flops yet, but the best thing about making your own is that you can easily replace any crystals that might pop off.
