Polyshrink question

[ND Stamper]

We will be using Polyshrink for a Vacation Bible School project in June. I purchased some, but they didn't really come with direction on how to shrink the images. Can anyone help me?

[Lisa S]

polyshrink directions


I like to put a piece of non stick craft sheet in the bottom of an old shoebox, then I used non stick tweezers and my heat gun to shrink it

HTH

Lisa

[Judyw]

I put my polyshrink item in a ceramic bowl. I hold onto the item with a popsicle stick and heat it with my embossing gun till it shrinks. Sometimes I have to have something heavy handy so I can flatten it while it is still hot. I know people often bake them in the oven, but I don't know how, you'd have to google it, I guess.

[ND Stamper]

Thank you to all who have responded. We will have an interesting time with this one. I guess I'm going to have to play with it a little to see how it's going to work. ;)

[RAWS]

Once you start, you will have fun with it. Kids I have worked with love it, and become very creative. Both boys and girls equally had fun with this. Just to let you know, we "burned up" an inexpensive heat gun. I think we just over heated it. I had an extra on with me, but I now have an paint stripper gun that works great.

[birdbrain]

I have a little toaster oven in my stamp space that I use for Polyshrink (and other things). This may be a little more safe for kids, you can bake several at a time, and it's not so hard on your heat tool. Also, you don't have to worry about your project blowing around. Bake at 250 degress until it stops shrinking and lays flat...easy.

[birdbrain]

Um, yeah, that's degrees NOT "degress"...geez!

[ND Stamper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdbrain

Um, yeah, that's degrees NOT "degress"...geez!

LOL!! Thanks.

We will probably be putting them into the oven at church. What should we put them on - cookie sheets??? should they be covered with parchment paper???

I used to do this as a kid, but don't remember how they were baked and my mom isn't around to ask.

[birdbrain]

I just put them on the tray that fits in the toaster oven, but in the past, when using the regular oven, have used a regular stainless or glass tray. Don't see why parchment paper wouldn't work, but I don't think it's necessary.

[MochaLatte]

The pack that I have says to sandwich it b/t two pieces of vellum on a baking sheet. -I don't know if that is necessary though.

[ND Stamper]

Maybe I can ask another question. What type of markers work well? I was thinking permanent markers? Remember these are kids that are going to be doing this project.

[RAWS]

The stuff that I used had a ruff texture. We just used colored pencils. The color will intensify when it shrinks.

[starsia70]

Kids will love to watch the stuff curl up as it shrinks then flatten out if there is a window in you oven. You can use chalk, pencils or sharpies to color, the color will intensify so encourage them to color lightly. There are lots of fun things kids can do with shrink. I have made pins and bracelets and magnets work. I have stamped with permenant ink and also just traced pictures out of kids books with a sharpie. kim

[Ribbons and Ink]

I think it depends on the type of shrink you bought too. I know the one I bought needed to be stamped on with StazOn but I recall having a choice in the store of different kinds that took ink differently. I tried coloring with SU! markers and they worked as long as I didn't touch the StazOn (it would smear if the markers touched it). I am planning on making a charm bracelet and I think I am going to try using sharpies to color them this time.

Oh, I also baked mine on a piece of brown paper / lunchbag. They curled up then flattened back out and that is when you take them out of the oven.

Have fun making these!!

[alcesalces]

My 6 year old DD and several friends made Shrink Plastic necklaces at Valentine's Day and of the 4 craft projects the girls liked the shrink the best. I precut the shrink and used a corner rounder on the edges so they wouldn't be sharp after it shrank. I think the necklaces looked better that way. The girls used colored pencils to color and I shrank them in the oven.

[Str8Fan]

Okay the one I have has these directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Stamp only with alcohol based inks. It recommended StazOn. Stamp on the rough side and then you could color on the smooth side.

After cutting around the image, place on a paper bag, into the oven for 30 seconds. After it has shrunk and flattened out, leave in for 5 more seconds. Take out the whole paper with the shrinked items.

Make sure that if you want holes (for stringing or beading) that you punch the hole before heating/shrinking. I would suggest using the large eyelet punch because when it shrinks, the hole is very small.

Good luck and have fun!

[pixiepinkgirl]

Hi Karen,

I love Poly Shrink - Shrinky Dink what ever you want to call it lots of fun!!! My Mom didn't let use her oven often for but my best childhood friend's Mom did. Guess it kept us quiet. Anyway I am attaching a tutorial I put together for a friend that is long distance and hope it helps. Plus http://www.luckysquirrel.com/info_getinfo.html is an awesome resource. The only thing I would caution about using the oven is that though the plastic itself is safe be aware that what you color the images in with or on the plastic might not be. Just wouldn't want you to create any fumes or things that might spoil your church suppers. Hope this helps and have fun! Stacey

[ND Stamper]

Thanks to everyone for the information. I'm going to play with it for a bit before VBS so that hopefully they won't be a problem. I hate to see a kid color something and then have it get wrecked in the oven.

[stamplovinglatina]

These are great instructions for shrinking the plastic. I have a question, if you are using it for a charm, what kind of 'ring' you use to put it in a charm bracelet or necklace? Do you do it before shrinking it, or after it is shrunk? Thanks!

[MochaLatte]

Jewelry 'jump' rings will work and come in various sizes. I would punch the hole in the plastic before shrinking, but add the ring after. That would give you a better idea of the right size you would need.

[Ribbons and Ink]

Yep, that is what I'm planning on doing. I made this project (sorry for the crappy photo) using a 1/4" handheld circle punch and threaded linen thread through it. I haven't tried to see if the jump rings I purchased fit through the hole yet, i hope they do... probably a good idea to check huh?? ;)

[Stampinsue]

If you don't want your colors to run after coloring, spray with a fixative. I then seal with crystal effects. It looks great on a pin. Chalks work really well. I've found that water base markers run.

[StillInThirdGrade]

I always sand mine first (horizontally, vertically, and diagonally), then stamp with craft ink (if it's a bold image) or Stazon and Sharpie (if it needs to be colored).

[mclem]

Last year I made a light bulb and wrote GLOW for Jesus on it, then I punched a hole in it before I shrunk it with my embossing gun. The kids then used the charm to make a necklace with glow in the dark pony beads (from Michael's). Although it was quite a bit of prep work, the kids loved it!

[imlauretta]

I have used shrinydinks plastic to make Christmas decorations. I pre-sanded the wrong side of my decoration, then traced my chosen design (wrong side up so letters need to be mirrored) with a fine tipped sharpie. I coloured them with regular pencil crayons before cutting them out. Once shrunk the designs had nice fine lines and great rich colours. Even the metallic pencil crayons worked really well. Nothing smears or runs. I then backed them with magnets to use on the fridge.

[ND Stamper]

Here's my plan - see if you think it will work.

Since the first story is Christmas - there is an image of Jesus in the manger and a cross above him. I plan on copying the outlines onto the polyshrink with permanent marker (after I have sanded it). *I'd love it if the polyshrink would go thru the copier, but I won't go there*

Then have the kids use permanent markers to color the image. (They color on the sanded side as well?

I will then shrink them. I was also thinking magnets for the refrigerator.

Where's the best place to pick up the magnets with sticky backings?

[pixiepinkgirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stamplovinglatina

These are great instructions for shrinking the plastic. I have a question, if you are using it for a charm, what kind of 'ring' you use to put it in a charm bracelet or necklace? Do you do it before shrinking it, or after it is shrunk? Thanks!

Glad I could help a bit Depending on the size of the image I have set an eyelet in the plastic prior to shrinking with very nice results!

[Judyw]

I punch the hole before I shrink the image. Experiment and punch a larger hole than you want, that area will shrink too. You can use a split ring or a jump ring to make the polyshrink item into a charm. You can buy either at a bead store or at a craft store. A split ring looks like a mini keychain and a jump ring is a circle with a split in it. A small pair of pliers (also can be purchased at a craft store like Michales) may be halpful for holding these and attaching them.

[Sharon Stamps & Scraps]

I have seen shrink plastic for ink jet printers at my LSS, so that would work in an ink jet copier, but not sure about a laser copier.

I've always used Staz-on & sharpies on shrink plastic, so I'm glad to see the ideas using chalks, colored pencils, etc. Would watercolor pencils work, or do you use something like prismacolor?

Sharon

[ruby869]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MochaLatte

The pack that I have says to sandwich it b/t two pieces of vellum on a baking sheet. -I don't know if that is necessary though.

I always put a piece of vellum on top of the shrink plastic and found that it keeps it from folding on itself while it is shrinking in the oven. Also, the plastic shrinks very flat so I rarely have to flatten it after it comes out of the oven.

[Erica Fields]

WHow! I've gotta try the vellum. I always get nervous (and excited--doesn't take much huh?) when I watch it do the shrinky thing.
Erica

[mizcinna]

Are you talking about - shrinky dink? You get it from Michael's - the Shrinky dink - is a 8 1/2 x 11 shhet - best is frosted (but it comes in white and even colored sheets) - you desgin, stamp, or color it - than it goes in the oven on a cookie sheet (place it on paper - a stampin up work sheet works very nicely - the directions are on the package - after you pre heat oven you place in it for 3 or 4 minutes - not only will the items shrink - they flatten - but you must not take it out too early - they actually just take a bit longer than the directions say -if you want to make items that can be hung, etc. - punch a whole in them before yiou heat - if you color using permanent markers(like sharpie colors works perfectly) - at Easter I used shrinky dink to make Easter cards with an eagg pop out - they are really fun - you can make your own personalized embellishments.

Cindy

[ND Stamper]

Thanks to all who helped me out with their responses to this thread. The kids at church LOVED watching the shrink art twist and then come flat again.

One thing I did learn. If you are going to use a 1/2 sheet of polyshrink, a FULL sheet of vellum layed on top works great. I tried with a 1/2 sheet and it didn't help to keep it from folding up on itself. Also, the 1/2 sheet is too big for a toaster oven (at least the one I had). The vellum almost caught on fire! And, I think if I hadn't had the vellum there, the plastic would have since there is an element at the TOP of the oven as well. SO, be careful and WATCH WATCH WATCH!!!!

[ruby869]

Glad the kids had a wonderful time. It is neat to watch the plastic shrink. I was wondering what temperature you were cooking the plastic as the vellum started to burn. I was the one who posted that I always use vellum over the plastic but I always cook mine in the home oven, not toaster oven. I tend to set the temperature a little lower and wait longer for the plastic to shrink. Once I set the temperature a little higher, the plastic shrank faster but it gave off a burn odor. Since then, I went back to using a lower temperature oven and waiting longer for the plastic to shrink. This works fine and I don't have to worry about toxic odors in the house.
Stella

[ND Stamper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruby869

Glad the kids had a wonderful time. It is neat to watch the plastic shrink. I was wondering what temperature you were cooking the plastic as the vellum started to burn. I was the one who posted that I always use vellum over the plastic but I always cook mine in the home oven, not toaster oven. I tend to set the temperature a little lower and wait longer for the plastic to shrink. Once I set the temperature a little higher, the plastic shrank faster but it gave off a burn odor. Since then, I went back to using a lower temperature oven and waiting longer for the plastic to shrink. This works fine and I don't have to worry about toxic odors in the house.
Stella

I baked them at 325. The problem with the vellum was there was an element above and when the vellum curled a bit along with the plastic - it touched the element. I also found that you need a vellum sheet that is bigger than the plastic or it will just curl along with the piece. We had 1/2 sheets of shrink and I ended up using a full sheet of vellum on top.

I think the oven could have been turned down a bit. The pans stay hot and the polyshrink starts to react almost as soon as you put them on the pan.

[Stampinsue]

I usually put a piece of heavy cardboard on top of the cookie sheet and then put the polyshrink on the cardboard and put in the oven at 350. Someone taught me this way years ago.