Not Your Grandmother`s Cameos

FAST, FRESH, AND FUN
SHRINK PLASTIC JEWELRY!
$21.95 | Can. $26.95
Popular with kids for decades, shrink plastic is back
and all grown up as an exciting trend in jewelry
making. You can now buy many types of shrink
plastic in craft stores and online. Best-selling craft
author Kathy Sheldon teaches you to draw, color,
stamp, and even print designs and photos onto the
plastic, cut or punch it into various shapes, and
then shrink it in an oven, toaster oven, or with a
heat gun. Add some basic findings, such as jump
rings or ear wires, to make your own stylish jewelry.
Sixteen leading jewelry designers and crafters
present instructions for more than 30 gorgeous and
inspiring projects—from fantastic necklaces and
bracelets to cute brooches and rings—so you
can take shrink plastic to a whole new level!
KATHY SHELDON
CRAFTS | JEWELRY
SHRINK!
SHRANK!
SHRUNK!
SHRINK! SHRANK! SHRUNK!
“Shrink! Shrank! Shrunk! provides
all kinds of creative jewelry from
shrink plastic that everyone will
enjoy making and sharing!”
–Betty J. Morris, Inventor of Shrinky Dinks
MAKE STYLISH SHRINK
PLASTIC JEWELRY
With bonus
doodles from
Aimee Ray
to trace or
print onto your
shrink plastic
jewelry!
ISBN 978-1-4547-0349-5
Please connect with
Lark Jewelry & Beading
on Facebook:
Asheville
larkcrafts.com
facebook.com/
LarkJewelryBeading
K ATH Y S H E L D O N
coauthor of Fa la la la Felt
LARK JEWELRY
& BEADING
contents
8
Introduction
10 Shrink Plastic Basics
The Projects
26 Tiger Lily Earrings
29 Flower Power Necklace & Ring
32 Springtime Francie Earrings
34 Bucket and Shovel Brooches
36 Seven Treasures Earrings
39 Russian Doll Set
42 Lighthouse Necklace
45 Woodland Creatures Bracelet & Earrings
48 Mexican Oilcloth Necklace
50 Origami Plane Earrings
52 Simple Circle Necklace
54 Bollywood Earrings
57 Not-Your-Grandmother’s Cameos
60 Pinkie Swear Necklace
62 High Tea Charm Bracelet
64 Bird Silhouette Bracelet
66 Stamped Brooch
69 Laurel Necklace
72 Cascading Words Necklace & Bracelet
76 Spot-of-Tea Brooches
78 Cat and Milk Brooch
80 Sweetheart Necklace
83 Paper Plane Ride Necklace
86 Birds-on-a-Wire Necklace & Earrings
89 Shaped Flowers Earrings
92 Blooming Flowers Bracelet
95 Rainy Day Necklace & Ear Threads
98 Calla Lily Earrings
101 Orla Earrings
104 Wrap-Around Unicorn Ring
106 Polka Dots Earrings & Bracelet
110 Temp lates
125 about the designers
128 Acknowledgments
128 About the author
128 index
N
a
r
n
G
d
m
r
o
u
t
o
h
Y
er’s
t
o
d e s i g n e r
Cameos
Ta mar a B e r g
57
Not-Your-Grandmother’s
Cameos
T
ake the old-fashioned charm of cameos and
combine it with shrink plastic for necklaces
that are both sweet and fun.
➊
Either use the scalloped circle punch to
punch the base shape from the shrink
plastic, or use the template provided to
trace a scalloped circle onto the shrink
plastic and then cut it out with scissors.
➌
Trace the image of your choice from the
templates onto the plastic and cut it out
with scissors. The letter T was created
using the Lucida Calligraphy font at
140 points. Simple cursive fonts tend to
work best for monograms when using
shrink plastic.
➋
Either use the plain circle punch to
punch a circle from the shrink plastic or
use the template provided to trace one
onto the shrink plastic and cut the circle
out with scissors.
➍
If you’re going to use permanent stamp
ink instead of permanent markers to
apply color to your plain circle, use
sandpaper to roughen one side of the
circle (see Sanding the Plastic, page 17).
Apply a light layer of the color of your
choice. Remember that colors intensify
as the plastic shrinks—try out a few test
scraps first and shrink them to find the
finished color desired. Sometimes the
shrunk plastic looks great when viewed
from the wrong side—because it’s just
a circle, using it “backwards” is certainly
an option.
Large, long needle (optional,
see step 11)
➎
Preheat your oven, following the shrink
plastic manufacturer’s instructions.
Butane lighter (optional,
see step 11)
➏
It can be tricky to get the holes in both
the scalloped and plain circles to align
after the pieces are shrunk. Try arranging them as shown in the photos and
use the 1/8-inch (3 mm) hole punch
to punch a hole through both circles
Templates (page 117)
Basic shrink kit (page 12)
Matte shrink plastic
3 1/2-inch (8.9 cm) diameter
scalloped circle punch (optional)
3-inch (7.6 cm) diameter
circle punch (optional)
Permanent stamp ink or
permanent markers
1/8-inch (3 mm) hole punch
(optional, see step 6)
Jewelry adhesive
Drill with 1/16-inch (1.6 mm) bit
(optional, see step 11)
3 jump rings
Chain 18 inches (45.7 cm)
in length
Clasp set
58 SHRINk! Shrank!
shrunK!
simultaneously. If this method doesn’t
work, follow step 11 to make a hole in
the circles after the pieces are shrunk
and glued together.
➐
➑
Place both the plain and scalloped
circles on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Follow the shrink plastic
manufacturer’s instructions to bake
and shrink the pieces. Meanwhile, have
something flat and smooth, such as a
hardcover book, ready nearby to use as
a flattener.
When the pieces are shrunk and flat,
carefully remove the entire baking
sheet from the oven, and press down
on the parchment-covered pieces with
your flattener. Repeat steps 7 and 8 to
bake your cameo image.
➒
Once all the shrunk pieces are cool,
sand the edges if needed.
➓
Apply jewelry adhesive to the back
of the plain circle and center it on the
scalloped circle, taking care to align the
holes in the circles if you punched them
before shrinking. Apply jewelry adhesive to the back of the cameo’s image
and center it in the plain circle. Allow
the glue to set completely.
11 If you gave up on the hole punch
●
method (hey, sometimes it works!), use
one of the following methods to make
the hole through both circles. Either drill
a hole near the center top of the inside
circle with a drill and a 1/16-inch
(1.6 mm) drill bit, or carefully heat a
large, long needle using a soot-free
source, such as a butane lighter, and
poke the needle through both pieces of
the plastic to create a hole.
12
●
Attach a jump ring through the hole
and then thread your chain through the
jump ring.
13
●
TIP For a little extra
pizzazz, use a colored
metal jump ring, or make
a bail for the pendant
using pearls or crystals
and wire wraps
(see Making a Wrapped
Loop, page 24).
Connect the clasp set to the ends of the
chain with jump rings.
59
not-your- g randmother ’ s ca meos
page 57
117