Shrinky Dinks Aren't Just For Kids Anymore!

Hello again, my friends!  Remember me saying that I was going on a trip to Alaska?  (If you missed it, see here)  Well I'm here now and am not able to bring you my craft posts.  Don't fret though, because I've got a guest blogger taking over my blog for the week.  Now everyone welcome Laurie to Cut, Craft, Create.  See you all on here again SOON!
With Love,
Kelsie Ann

Hello everyone!  I am Laurie and I'm excited to be filling in for Kelsie this week.  See the cool necklace pictured above?  I made that for Kelsie and she liked it so much that she asked me to post a tutorial for it.  You would never guess it, but it's made out of shrink plastic (that plastic that we used to play with as kids.)  Remember how you would look through the oven window and watch it magically shrink up? Well, I discovered you can buy the plastic plain without any designs printed on it and you can design your own unique jewelry.  It comes in many forms:  colored, clear, matte, and even printable plastic that you can print on using any inkjet printer.

I used the matte finish shrink plastic for my necklaces.  Cut out whatever shape you want your necklace to be.  You can use a paper cutter, or a punch, or just plain old scissors.  Keep in mind that the plastic will skrink to about 1/3 to 1/2 its original size and becomes 9 times thicker.  I like to use DecoArt brand Dazzling Metallics Paint to color the plastic.  There are several different colors to choose from and it works well because it's thin and if you try to use too thick of a paint, it will just peel off when it shrinks.  I also like it because it sparkles and makes the necklace look sort of metallic.  You will want to use a light color.  Just brush it on both sides of the plastic with a foam brush.  I have also used alcohol inks to color the plastic.

I then stamped a design on the painted plastic using a rubber stamp.  Don't forget to punch a hole in the plastic BEFORE you bake it.  It will be much too hard after it comes out of the oven to try to punch a hole in it. 

Follow the directions on the package for heating in the oven.  The particular brand I used only took 3 minutes at 300 degrees.  After it comes out of the oven, insert a jump ring through the hole and hang it on a chain.  And that's it... SO SIMPLE!  Here are a few examples of some I made today.  I jazzed them up with some sparkly beads I hand on hand.  I made a snowflake...

And a flower...

And another flower...

Ok... I really like flowers :)  The mettalic paint doesn't really show up well in pictures, but believe me it is really sparkly.

I want to thank Kelsie for letting me fill in and I hope you enjoyed my project and are inspired to create your own necklace, or charm bracelet, or embellishment.  The possibilities are endless!