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Charming Shrink Plastic

By April Staker
Off Road Inksters
Intermediate Scramping Team Designer

There are so many things you can make with the shrink plastic.  You can make ribbon charms with the punches you bought two years ago and haven’t put to good use yet.  Make “Microscope Slides” with the clear plastic.    Make your own slide frames.  You could make just tons of things with the plastic.  Be creative- it is such an easy thing to use once you get past thinking you ruined it during the shrinking phase!

Supplies

• Another Year Stamp Set (TAC)
• Noir Palette Hybrid Ink Pad (TAC)
• Moonlight White Brilliance Ink Pad (TAC)
• Pearlescent Orchid Brilliance Ink Pad (TAC)
• Pearlescent Yellow Brilliance Ink Pad (TAC)
• Versamark Ink Pad (TAC)
• Pink 12" x 12" Cardstock (Leaving Prints)
• Yellow 12" x 12" Cardstock (Leaving Prints)
• Turquoise 12" x 12" Cardstock (Leaving Prints)
• Black 8½” x 11” Cardstock (TAC)
• White Cardstock 8½” x 11” (TAC)
• Yellow Striped 12" x 12" Paper (Making Memories)
• Pink Gingham 12" x 12" Paper (Making Memories)
• Translucent and Black PolyShrink Shrink Plastic (Lucky Squirrel)
• Prismacolor Pencils: Carmine Red, Blush Pink, Aquamarine, Deco Blue, Deco Yellow, Canary Yellow (Sanford)
• Word Plaques (Making Memories)
• Shaped Clip (Making Memories)
• Journal Jewelry Small Typewriter Words (7 Gypsies)
• Sandpaper (Dollar Store)
• Ribbon (Michaels)
• Computer Font Cajun Boogie and CK Sassy (Both downloaded off internet)
• Tag (Paper Reflections)
• Eyelet Punch and Setter (TAC)
• Clear Embossing Powder (TAC)
• Paper Trimmer (Fiskars)
• Scissors (Fiskars)
• Glue Dots (Glue Dots Int’l.)
• Pop Up Glue Dots (Glue Dots Int’l.)
• Diamond Glaze (Judikins)
• Scrapbook Mounting Squares (3L)
• 3-D Mounting Squares (Making Memories)
• Heat Gun (Marvy)
• Hammer (“borrowed” from mom like 14 years ago)
• ½” Hole Punch (EK Success)
• Paper Piercer (Provo Craft)

Instructions

1.  Cut your cardstock, photos and paper to the following dimensions

        Yellow Striped Paper:
                6½" x 12"= Top Color Block (rip bottom)
                5½” x 12”= Right Color Block (rip side)

Yellow Cardstock:
                4½” x 12” = Bottom Color Block
                4½” x 3¼”= Photo Mat
                3¼” x 6” = Photo Mat
                6¾” x 2” = Accent Block

        White Cardstock:
                4½" x 4½"= Journal Block

        Pink Gingham Print Paper:
                4¾” x 4¾”= Journal Mat
                1½” x 3”= Accent Block
                3” x 5¾”= Photo Mat
                1¾” x 6¾”= Accent Block (rip top and bottom)

        Turquoise Cardstock:
                7” x 12” = Color Block (rip bottom)
                5” x 5” = Journal Mat
                4¼” x 3” = Photo Mat

        Black Cardstock:
                1¾” x 3¼” = Accent Block
                2¼” x 6¾” = Accent Block

        Photos:
                5½” x 4”= Top Left, Title Page
                4” x 4¾”= Bottom Left, Title Page
                4” x 4½”= Bottom Right, Title Page
                4” x 2¾”= Left side photo on second page
                2½” x 5½” = Middle, second page
                4” x 6” =Top Right, second page
                4” x 4½”= Bottom right, second page       

The Technique:

2.  Using the tag as a template trace 3 tags onto the shrink plastic.  Cut these out.  Sand them lightly with the sandpaper.  This roughens the surface up so that you stamp won’t slide around as easily and the ink will adhere better. 

3.  Ink the stamps with the Noir ink pad.  Carefully stamp the image onto the tag as shown in the pictures.  Using the Orchid and Yellow Brilliance inks stamp “Happy Birthday” in alternating colors onto the tags as shown. 

4.  Allow the ink to dry.  After the ink has dried color the images in with the colored pencils. 

5.  Use the hole punch to make the hole for the ribbon. 

6.  Poke the paper piercer through the hole in a tag and keep the tag from flying off of your work space as you heat the shrink plastic with your heat gun.  The plastic is going to spin in circles and wrinkle and warp and look as if you’ve completely done something wrong as you apply the heat.  This is part of the fun (especially if your kids or darling husband come in and inform you it doesn’t look right).  Just keep heating that plastic.  It will shrink and all of a sudden it will just lie down and flatten itself out.   I like to smash it really flat with an acrylic stamping block as it is cooling down. If you do not have a heat gun, you can use your oven to shrink the plastic according to the manufacturer’s directions.  It works very quickly in the oven as well. 

7.  On the Black Shrink Plastic, stamp with the Moonlight White ink.  Trim the image and shrink as directed above except hold the charm down with gentle pressure from the paper piercer instead of piercing it!

8.  Thread ribbon through the tags to complete them. 

9.  Type your journal block (or write it by hand if you are better than I am at that!). 

10.  Assemble your page as shown.  I used the Diamond Glaze to glue the ribbon down.  The tags and cupcake charm are lifted with Pop Dots and 3-D Adhesive dots. 

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