Flip Flop Decorating Party [Part 1]

There is so much that can be blogged about concerning the successful Flip Flop Decorating Party we had on Saturday!  I think because I was hosting the event, I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked, so I'm depending on a couple other ladies that snapped photos, to share theirs with me.  Once I have them (and I'm planning on getting them soon), then I will post "Flip Flop Decorating Party [Part 2]."  I'll say... it'll be posted by the weekend.  In the meantime, I'll share my iTunes "Beach Mix" playlist I played at the party, Elaine Kotter's "Famous Tangy Meatballs" recipe, and the "How to Make Interchangeable Flip Flops" tutorial I used on my flip flops, with you.


The Beach Mix

It was fun and time consuming to come up with songs that mentioned the ocean, the sea, waves, the sun and other lyrics that reminded me of the beach.  I was surprised at how many songs came to mind.  I aimed for mainly worship songs or other songs with a Christian message. 

Ocean Floor (Audio Adrenaline)
Summertime (Audio Adrenaline)
Life (Beckah Shae)
Walk on the Water (Britt Nicole)
Listen to the Sound (Building 429)
Who Am I (Casting Crowns)
Shine (Collective Soul)
Stars (David Crowder Band)
Dive (DC Talk)
Past the Breakers (The Distillery)
Be the Centre (Jami Smith)
Beautiful Lord (Leland)
Stronger (Mandisa)
Pocketful of Sunshine (Natasha Bedingfield)
Something Beautiful (Needtobreathe)
In Wonder (Newsboys)
Sailing On a Ship (Phil Wickham)
Jesus Lord of Heaven (Phil Wickham)
Heaven & Earth (Phil Wickham)
My Praise (Phillips, Craig & Dean)
Anchored Deep (Scott Cunningham)
Oceans From the Rain (Seventh Day Slumber)
Wash Me Clean (Shawn McDonald)
Your Love Never Fails (Sixteen Cities)
Ocean (Ten Shekel Shirt)
Your Love, Oh Lord (Third Day)
Hold On [Telemitry Remix] (Toby Mac)

David Crowder's song "How He Loves" came to mind ("If His grace is an ocean we're all sinking") and I would have added it, but I could only buy so many iTunes.

Q.  Are there any other songs you can think of that could be added to the mix?
       (Please post your comment below)


Famous Tangy Meatballs Recipe

- 1 bag First Street plain 1 oz size meatballs (found at Smart & Final)
- 2 12 oz bottles of Heinz chili sauce
- 1 cup Welch's concord grape jelly

1.  Preheat oven at 400 degrees.
2.  Pour the whole bag of meatballs into a 9x13 baking dish and bake for 20-30 minutes.
3.  Mix the chili sauce and grape jelly and pour over the meatballs.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
4.  Pour into a crockpot when done and set to warm.

I doubled this recipe for our party of about 28.  I think each bag had 40 meatballs in it.  We ended up with enough leftover meatballs to enjoy sub sandwiches for a couple days!  I also made potato salad, Dalana made a spinach artichoke dip, Sierra made cookie dough brownies that went really well with Kayla's homemade vanilla ice cream!  There was lots of yummy food!


How to Make Interchangeable Flip Flops

I used this tutorial to decorate my flip flops.  I chose a color I thought would match everything I have and would work as a good base for the different colored accessories I could make to go with specific outfits of mine.  I got my flowers off a pair of bobby pin hair accessories that I got at Claire's a couple years ago.

The green backing was already coming off one of the bobby pins, so it wasn't hard to pull off.  Once I removed the bobby pins, I glued the green backing to the flowers.  I then glued the flowers to the pins I got at Walmart in a package for only $2.  I got a package of alligator clips too.  It took a few squirts of glue to get the flowers securely glued to the pins since their bottoms had a curve.  Each time you apply the glue, follow the instructions in the tutorial, allowing the glue to set for 2 minutes.

For the interchangeable ribbon part, I took a short cut and put two spots of glue so I didn't have to wait another 2 minutes to allow the other side to set.  You just have to be careful when you do the first wrap around the flip flop strap.  FYI, E-6000 is very tacky and can come out quickly.  I had to use a paper towel to stop the glue from coming out of the tube.  I think the more you use the glue, the less it just keeps coming out like that.  Anyone have any tips for that?


The Sneak Preview

If you missed the photos from my Flip Flop Decorating Party [Sneak Preview] post, then go here.