I love doing this!
It's the only reason that I buy rubber stamps. I'm not much of a paper crafter, and I used to see all these cute stamps and wish I had a reason to buy them. Well, here it is! And it's a great craft for kids and adults alike. It's particularly good for those tweens and up who think they may be too old to craft (which, as we know, is completely silly)...
Oh, yeah. Here's what we're makin':
Cute little shrinky-dink pendents!
Okay, so first you need some shrink plastic. I use this kind--I totally think it's the best, and the matte color makes a nice, but not too thick, charm.
The plastic looks like this:
The best ink for your stamping is Staz-On, because it dries quickly and won't smear...So you just stamp away, and then use scissors to cut it out, or a paper punch to get a nice shape:
Make sure to leave room to punch a hole at the top:
A standard-size hole punch will give you a nice 1/8" hole after shrinking. Once you let your ink dry for a few minutes, you can use some permanent markers to color some of your designs, if you like:
Let that dry too, and then, you are ready to shrink! You can put them in the oven, following the manufacturer's instructions, and they come out just fine. I find it easier to use a heat gun (scrapbookers use it for embossing), because it's lots faster...
I like to use aluminum-foil underneath (in the oven, too) so that the charm doesn't stick to any paper once it's hot. I also use a pencil or the end of a paintbrush to hold it down so the heat gun doesn't blow it away!
In about 10 seconds, it curls up, shrinks, and flattens out again--all tiny!
Once it is flat, turn off the heat gun (or take it out of the oven) and place something flat on top for a moment (I use an acrylic block for clear stamps. A drinking glass works fine, too.)
Press it for a few seconds, and when it cools off a bit, you have a charm! Yay!
Here are some of the ones we made today:
nesting dolls...
mary janes!...
cute little girl...
Girl Scouts (great activity with a troop, I promise!)...
etc...
And here is another thing to think about: If you don't want to use jumprings, but rather a cotton cord like this:
...all you have to do is punch a bigger hole to start with. I used what looks to be a 1/2" circle punch. Looks like this before shrinking:
Don't forget to spray with clear sealer when done, or paint with clear nail polish. That way, your necklace will last forever...
(This is a special kind of shrink plastic that you can put in your printer! I did some Alice charms...)
The possibilities are endless, I'm telling you!
Have fun!
oh my goodness! how you have time for all of this blows my mind. i would get stuck in the stamp isle and get all confused and never make it out. ;) xo
Posted by: Jade | July 28, 2009 at 08:23 AM
great idea!!! Love how they turn out and your necklaces look great as always : )
Posted by: Kari Anne | July 28, 2009 at 11:36 AM
what a cute idea!!
Posted by: Hyein | July 28, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Thanks, you all! Jade, you know, and I know, that you get more done than 10 other women. You're so silly.
Posted by: Amy Hanson | July 28, 2009 at 08:12 PM
They are all adorable. Thanks for sharing this great info.
Ruth
Posted by: Ruth | July 29, 2009 at 06:17 AM
Oh my God this brings back memories... I know I did something like this way back in my past, but I can't remember if it was plastic or some sort of ceramic material. Anyway, great job and thanks for sharing :)
Posted by: Leanda | July 31, 2009 at 09:27 AM
Oh, this is a wonderful project. I love it, love it!
Posted by: Christine | July 31, 2009 at 03:12 PM
Can't wait to do this, there are so many great ways to use these charms.....thanks for the great ideas!
Posted by: Sara Rivka | August 02, 2009 at 01:57 AM
i can't believe you have been doing this amy! and didn't tell me until last week you little bugger. i love this and as simple as you make it sound i still will need help. next week lunch. let's just say i'm late to the party on this!
Posted by: michele reagan | December 01, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I love your idea. It is very good way to keep children busy as well make them talented.
Posted by: Vintage Brooches | December 29, 2009 at 03:58 AM
just wondering what kind of markers you used to color them with. I tried Sharpies but they seem to dry out on the plastic.
Posted by: jeanne boyle | December 30, 2009 at 06:15 PM
hey how bout this for mothers day....we can do either footprints or handprints too
Posted by: klancy | April 07, 2010 at 08:28 PM
that's so cute... and innovative...
Thank you for sharing the method!! as well as this sweet pic!!
Posted by: Account Deleted | May 16, 2011 at 05:31 AM