Tulsa Craft Mafia

Your shrink plastic Valentine can take many forms – you can turn it into a pin or pendant for her to wear, or a keychain for him to keep with his keys, or just a little charm for your sweetie to keep with them everywhere they go, to remind them of you!

Materials

Shrink plastic – ink-jet compatible or regular, depending on how you want to transfer your image. Found at Hobby Lobby.

Colored pencils or ink jet printer

Scissors

Toaster oven / conventional oven

Mod Podge or other clear finish

Optional – pin back, large jump ring, key chain, magnet disc or ribbon / necklace chain. Found at Hobby Lobby.

1. Design your charm –

Option 1 – draw your very own original artwork to use for your Charm. It doesn’t have to be gallery-perfect, your Valentine will appreciate that you drew it! You can be funny, cute, serious, irreverent – you choose! Sketch your design on paper until you are satisfied with it and ready to transfer it to the shrink plastic.

Option 2 – The Internet is a great way to browse for design ideas. And if you don’t feel like being brave and designing the charm yourself, there are plenty of free “clip art” designs you can find out there. However if you are going to download a graphic to use, be sure that it is free and clear of copyrights – don’t steal!

2. Transfer the design to the shrink plastic

Trace or re-sketch or print your design onto the blank plastic, following the directions that come with the type of shrink plastic that you bought. Remember you’ll need to draw or print it much bigger than you want the finished product to be – it will shrink to approximately 25% of the original size. YOU WILL WANT TO MAKE AT LEAST ONE TEST ITEM BEFORE SHRINKING THE REAL THING so print more than one, or scribble something on a separate piece of plastic using similar colors to use as your test item. Cut the item out and punch a hole with a single hole punch if you are making a key chain or necklace, etc.

3. Shrink your charm

Carefully follow the instructions provided with the shrink plastic to shrink your charm. TEST OUT THE PROCESS FIRST before putting your one-of-a-kind charm in the oven, particularly if you’ve never used shrink plastic before. Watching your item curl in on itself while shrinking can be pretty scary if you’re not prepared for it!

4. Finish your charm

Take a small paint brush and put 2 coats of clear finish on the charm. At this point, you can give as-is a little keepsake your Valentine can carry around!) or add any of the following:

• Add a magnet on the back and you’ve got a refrigerator magnet
• If you punched a hole in it, add a jump ring and a short piece of ball chain and you’ve got a key chain charm – use a longer piece of chain or ribbon and you’ve got a necklace
• Put a pin back on the reverse side and your Valentine can wear it as a brooch
• The possibilities are endless!

5. Give your Valentine their hand-made charm and they now have something unique, personal, and made with love, just for them. Happy Valentine’s Day!