Shrinky Dinks 'tangled Autumn Leaf
 

The changing colors of autumn generally motivate me to create some sort of leaf card; here's what I've been working on this weekend. It's easy. It's quick. And it's oh so much fun!

Happy Autumn! :-D

[IMG]//www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2572313?&limit=last1[/IMG]

Not sure why my photo isn't showing up.... Here's a link to the card: Shrinky Dinks 'tangled Leaf by Debbie Do - Cards and Paper Crafts at Splitcoaststampers

The Details . . .
 

1) draw or trace your leaf image onto the shrink film with an oil-based paint pen (I used Sharpie brand with extra fine tip) making it about twice the size that you want your finished charm to be -- mine was approximately 4" at it's widest points and ended up being about 2" at it's widest points

2) decorate the inside with your paint pen

3) when it's dry to the touch, carefully cut it out, punch a hole in it, and bake it (paint-side up) according to manufacturer instructions on your shrink film

4) once it's shrunk to size (it will lay flat), remove from the oven and carefully shape it while still warm

5) Add a wire ring and attach it to your card

And there you have it!

What a great effect!

Thanks!

Thanks for sharing, Deb - I think it's beautiful!

Thank you, Dina!

I must admit, I thought this activity would be a bit more appealing to people than it obviously is. :oops: I had fun with it and plan to make a few more today.

I love shrink art and I love your card. For our first Christmas as a married couple (39 years ago), my husband and I decorated our tiny tree with shrink art copied from a coloring book and salt clay ornaments. I still put the shrink art ornaments on my tree. (the salt clay ones didn't survive the test of time). I should make some with my granddaughter this year.

Thank you so much.

How special that you have such wonderful memories of your first Christmas together and still have the shrink art ornaments to boot! As much as I have always loved the idea of shrink charms, I had never really found a use for them until five years ago when I personalized one of my grandson's birth announcements with a simple circle charm containing his name. And now these little leaves that I'm having SO much fun with!

I guess it's the kid in me that gets a kick out of creating something cute from a flat sheet of plastic that shrinks in the oven. Will definitely be doing this with my own grandkids.

Love your technique and card! Just thought of about a million things I can do with shrink plastic. Thanks!

Thank you, Debbie! Have fun.

It looks wonderful! Shrinky Dink has come a long way since I first used it as a child. I love it!

I love Shrink Art and I must say that this is beautiful!

Thank you, Kristy! And that it has.

Me too, and thanks so much!

Since seeing this the other day I now have a dedicated shrinky-dink pinterest board lol
Will have some kids here in a couple of weeks and thought it would be fun to try with them ... went looking through my stash and found just one sheet of the stuff but did you know you can apparently use number 6 plastic?
Now to find some of that!

I did see that somewhere about the #6 plastic, though I'm not exactly sure what it is or where to find it. I too went in search of Shrinky Dinks inspiration on Pinterest and was quite surprised by how artistic some folks get with it!

I read tutorials about decorating the plastic with colored pencils and alcohol markers, but I didn't personally have much luck with either of those...I suspect it takes a bit of practice. This is when I decided to try the paint pens and incorporate the 'tangling. I love how forgiving this technique is -- once it shrinks, imperfections become far less obvious.

Will have to look you up on Pinterest.

Shrinky Dinks isn't just for kids! I use shrink art pieces on cards frequently...then I have to answer questions about where I buy my charms! Love it!

Yup...SD art seems to be popular with young and old alike! I'm all about making my own card embellishments, so I'm having fun with it.

The plastic containers that are used for meats from the deli (often referred to as "liver lids") work just like shrinky dinks, and when I was working with kids in Campfire, they would give them to me free. We used Sharpies to color American flags and shrunk them down to make charms. It is fun to watch them curl and wiggle and finally flatten out!

Thanks much for the info! Will have to give this a try. :-)

You might really enjoy watching Barbara gray from clarity stamps with shrink stuff. Its funny and interesting too!
Barbara Gray & Dean Wilson with more Shrink Plast�: Barbara Gray & Dean Wilson with more Shrink Plastic - YouTube