Sorry I'm late to the party! Congratulations Chris!!!!
I've never planted any shoes myself but Becky, your idea for the flip flops is getting my juices flowing. I've got a friend who has a birthday coming up and she LOVES flip flops and she has a fence where she could hang them! I'm wondering to keep the weight down if I could paint plastic pots instead?
Plenty of Krylon Fusion kicking around here.
Also, I've got a few photos of planted shoes some friends made. I think I posted them on Lynn's Cubit last year and even though they're not mine maybe I could post them to give everyone ideas?