It is hard knowing how to start and end this post, I am very excited about the information I am sharing, but with all of that excitement comes a little melancholy. This will be my last post as one of the CLASSroom designers, a calling that has been much beloved by me and has given me many challenges and opportunities to share my great love for the delightful hobby of crafting. I have appreciated every comment that has ever been left on my posts, and have been inspired by the other designers in the CLASSroom as well. I am not going too far, I will continue to maintain my blog, and hope that some of you will continue to visit me there as I share whatever my latest creations will be. I feel very fortunate to have worked with Ellen and her amazing team for the last couple of years, and am immensely grateful for the friendships that have come from this adventure.
With all of that being said, I have a tuturial that has been rolling around in my head for a while, and I can't wait for you to try it!
Shrink plastic is one of those magic crafts that I played with as a kid that never lost the magic, key chains, bracelet and necklace charms, window decorations and such were all projects that I had tackled and loved making.
Now that we have Ranger to provide us with all kinds of creative materials, we can take Shrink Plastic to completely new places, including but not limited to buttons.
This sweet card used Ranger Shrink Plastic, Memory Box Whimsy Circle die cut,Prima Romantique patterned paper in 8" x 8", Perfect Pearls Mists in Forever Blue and Biscotti, 1/2" White ribbon, Color Wash in Sailboat Blue, Maya Road Paper Posies, Jet Black Archival ink, and Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type in black.
Here is how to begin, start by cutting a piece of the Shrink Plastic to a managable size for the die cut, mine is 3 1/2" wide by 5".
Sand one side in a cross hatch manner. That just means go from the top left corner to the bottom right and then the top right to the bottom left.
Run through your die cut system and remove the excess.
As you can see I used regular circle shapes as well and stamped on those to add extra interest, color and dimension. Don't forget to punch holes in the centers so you can tie or stitch them onto your projects.
Heat your oven according to the instructions on the packaging. Our oven was already to use after dinner had been made so I put the pieces on a heat resistant surface and set the timer for 5 minutes and then checked them every 1 minute after that until they had finished the shrinking process.
To achieve a complimentary color scheme I used the Color Wash by placing the button into a baggy and spritzing with the color wash and rubbed it around until it had a nice coverage, it was then set aside to dry while I used the same treatment for the ribbon.
With the ribbon I did add a tiny bit of water so it would create a little bit of uneveness in the ribbon finish as it dried. Remove the ribbon and if you wish to accelerate the drying process you can use your Heat It tool.
Spritz your papers, tie your bow through the button and put the card together as desired.
I enjoyed this creative process so much I made an extra card, it was with all of the CLASSroom visitors in mind, because without each of you, we wouldn't have this wonderful opportunity to share what we love.
This card has many of the same components, using the Romantique paper and Cosmo Cricket letters, but the Color Wash is Meadow, and there is a Glassine envelope as well as some delicious 1/4" silk ribbon.
Many thanks to all of you, I have enjoyed having such delightful companions for this creative journey. And most of all, my deepest gratitude to Ellen for all that she does and for the friend that she is to all of us.
B-
