The Poor Cobbler's Children...No Shoes....

Here she goes again! Tessie read about the "no shoes" problem yesterday. Her natural response was..."I am just a poor waif. If I had shoes, I would treasure them. They would get an honored place in my closet. The one that you really should finish...."

You know that she hides them, so that she won't have to wear them. Then she forgets about them.....Until they are mentioned by someone else.

She spent last night and part of this morning haranguing me about the snow boots. "You found them! Why didn't you give them back? I needed them when it snowed." Mind you, she stayed inside all warm and toasty and would have had a fit if we had tried to get her to go out in the snow.

When she tired of the snow boot question, she started in all over again....This time for thongs(aka flip flops), sandals and other summer shoes. I still call the between the toes sandals thongs. After all, that was their original name and they only became known as sloppy flip flops when some designer took over the thong name for uncomfortable underwear.

Anyway, back to the subject. The first pair I made were more beach scuffs that really sandals.


Red, white and blue. Very patriotic....She can wear them on Independence day.....Sure she will....

These are so simple to make that it should be a crime.

This is the only pattern you need and the only supplies are either some fun foam or cardboard, some colored paper and some ribbon and glue....Oh and a sharp pair of small scissors.

Who needs fancy leather for summer?

With that one pattern piece, I made lots of different styles. I happened to have some fun foam that was self stick. For some reason, the only color I could find was white. That problem was easily solved. I have lots of ribbon that is about the same width as the thickness of the foam. I also have colored card stock.

I put the pattern under Tessie's foot and demanded that she hold still if she wanted new shoes. She did as well as could be expected, with Widget poking around behind her. I fitted a piece of ribbon across her foot and long enough to go to the bottom edge of the sole on each side.

I glued the ends of the ribbon onto the edge of the foam with white glue, starting in the center back. Then I ran another piece of ribbon around the edge of the sole, covering the ends of the first piece of ribbon as I went.

Of course, as I had anticipated, one pair was not enough. So, I did a pair of blue thongs with cream colored soles. I glued an insole of blue card stock to the top of each shoe. To do the thong, I took a tapestry needle and pulled the bunka down and back up through the same hole and glued it in place. Then I took each end and again, fitting them to her foot, glued them to the edges. The strap ends should go a bit further back than the other ones, so that they will stay on her feet.

Next was a pair of orchid colored ones. These I did, using the cardboard. I cut the same sole and then glued the back part to another piece of cardboard and cut out a heel.

The tops of these are made on the insole. The ribbons are wrapped around a piece of card stock or heavy paper, cut to the same shape as the sole. After they are glued around to the back, the whole thing is glued to the sole. You may want to clamp them until they are dry.

I thought that three pair should be enough for one day....Nope......"They don't match my dress! I need green! I went through the thong process, once more. I used green ribbon and beige insole this time.

Are you keeping count? We are up to four pair at this point.... I started putting things away. Tessie glared at me and said...."Where are my snow boots?"

I told her, "I have absolutely no idea where they are. I am not in charge of footwear in this house. I can't even keep track of my own, let alone yours."

"You owe me! I want my snow boots!" she wailed.

Out of desperation, I said, "If you will be quiet for a week about any kind of footwear, I will make you three more pair of sandals. You won't need the snow boots for the rest of the summer, but if I make you three more pair of shoes, you will have a different pair for each day of the week.

Tessie is no fool. She grudgingly agreed to the plan. She is now the proud owner of fourteen new shoes. Notice that I didn't say anything about her wearing them....I figure that it will take her about a week to misplace all of them. She will wear each pair for about three and a half minutes. Then she will make a fuss and say that her feet hurt. She will then take them off and wander away, wiggling her toes as she goes.

Then I will carefully put them in her new townhouse closet. She will never think of looking for them there....Thank goodness! The next step would be a new outfit to go with each pair of shoes.

I am going to go and put away the mess that we made for seven pair of shoes that will never be worn....I wonder......Is there a miniature recycling center anywhere in the area?

See you tomorrow.