Temp Tattoo Shrinky Dink Jewelry

I made this jewelry over the weekend and thought I would share with you how I made it.
The jewelry is made from shrink plastic.  I used recycled plastic containers to make mine.  Plastic that has a recycle #6 on it, usually strawberry containers or take out lids, works like shrinky dink material.  So save up those containers for some shrinking fun!

Anyway, here is what you will need for this project.

Shrink plastic or recycle #6 plastic
Sandpaper
Temp Tattoos and a damp towel
Hole Punch
Oven and a cookie sheet
Acrylic Sealant
Jewelry Findings




Let's get started!
If you are using recycled containers, cut out a nice flat area that contains no writing or label.  Rough up one side of the plastic with some fine sandpaper. Next, cut out the temp tattoos that you like (remember that these will shrink considerably).  Arrange them on the plastic to make sure they all fit.  Once you have them arranged the way you want, peel off the protective backing and apply the tattoos to the rough side of the plastic (just as you would on your skin with a wet towel).

When the plastic shrinks it will be very difficult to cut, so now is the time to cut the jewelry into the shape you want it to be.  Be sure to leave enough room to put a hole for a jump ring or cord. The holes shrink too, so I use a hole punch and eyelet maker to put some decent sized holes into mine. (The penny is there for size reference.)

It's all cut out, and the holes are punched!   Time for the shrinking magic!

Place the pieces tattoo side up on a cookie sheet or aluminum foil, and put them in an oven at around 250-275 degrees.  If the oven was preheated, the plastic will probably shrink right away.  Larger pieces tend to curl up, but usually lay flat again as they shrink.  Once the pieces have shrunk, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes.  Look at the size difference! The other cool thing is the tattoos shrink right along with it.  Neat, right!?

Just spray them with an acrylic sealer for added protection, and add the jewelry findings of your choice.  Enjoy your trash to treasure!

We Made Paper Mache Jewlery with Inkjet Transfers Today!

So I saw a tweet today from SisterDiane linking to a site with a tutorial on making paper mache pendants.  The site is Make Paper Crafts.  It has lots of cool projects on how to make jewelry and other things, all out of paper.
Well, after reading the blog, I went into Cora's room and she was cutting paper into tiny pieces....so I thought, she's already got it started.  Let's make some paper mache jewelry!

First, I cut out some shapes from a thick cardstock.  We made a rectangle, circle, and heart.  Then we covered the shapes with watered down glue, and all of the bits of paper she had cut up.  Once they were dry, we painted them with acrylic paints.
The next part was the cool discovery for the day.  We wanted to put inkjet printed pictures on them. Transfers are cool, but inkjet transfers can be difficult.  I have heard of doing inkjet transfers with transparency film before, but I had none on hand, so I had to improvise.  For some crazy reason, I thought if I could adhere cling wrap to paper, I could run it through the printer.  So, that's exactly what I did.
I took a sheet of paper, and put a piece of cling wrap on top of it (both the same size).  Then on top of that, I put a scrap piece of fabric and ironed (on a low setting- poly/rayon) for a couple seconds.  The cling wrap adheres to the paper, but not the fabric.  I ironed it until all of the cling wrap was melted down.  It does shrink towards the middle, so I left the fabric on for a couple seconds before removing, so the paper doesn't distort before it cools.  Then I ran it through the printer (printing on the cling wrap side of course).  You have to adjust the picture placement, to make sure it prints toward the middle of the page on the cling wrap part, and be sure to mirror images for text.
There are 2 ways to use the transfer now, with the paper attached or you can peel the cling wrap off (yes, believe it or not, it peels off).  I found it difficult to use when it was peeled off, because it wants to roll onto itself, so I left it attached to the paper.  I just wanted the ink off of there, so as soon as the image printed, I cut it out and put it face down on my pendant.  I rubbed the back a bit, and the print was transferred from the cling wrap to my pendant!  Cool right?
Since this wasn't a flat surface, they are kind of blurry, but we were still happy with the results.  I sprayed them with an acrylic sealer too, so the ink doesn't run if it gets wet.  Here's how they turned out.  The transfers are the flower (very light and hard to see), the lucky clover (which I accidently smeared, because I'm not lucky), and the bird on a mushroom.  Hey, I got 1 out of 3!  I know...I suck, but you can always paint over them and try again!

I think it would be cool to try this cling wrap method in other crafts.  Maybe print a picture on it, let it dry, peel it off, and then iron it (with something covering the cling wrap of course- never iron directly) face down onto another surface...like napkins for a party or something.   Lots of cling wrap possibilities!  Wait...that came out wrong!  Anyway, you get the idea.  Give it a try!