Shrink plastic Shrink art for card making scrapbooking and jewellery making

Shrink plastic Shrink art Pastel Green FREE P&P
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£1.75

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Shrink plastic Shrink art PASTEL GREEN

Shrink plastic is great for the crafters specialising in Rubber Stamping, Card Making or Jewellery making.
Each pack contains 6 blank sheets of shrink plastic 131 x 101 mm in size, ready for your own creations.

Black Shrink Plastic - looks great when used with silver or gold metallic pens, gel pens or light bright coloured pencils. Accepts Permanent Rubber Stamp Ink.

Crystal Clear Shrink Plastic - Accepts Permanent Rubber Stamp Ink as well as permanent pens which give a beautiful stained glass effect.

Frosted Shrink Plastic - Accepts coloured pencils and permanent rubber stamp ink.

White Shrink Plastic - Accepts coloured pencils and permanent rubber stamp ink.

Pastel Shrink Plastic - 6 Blank Sheets of pink or blue 262 x 202 mm. Ideal for boy and girl items.

Also available in larger packs of 50 or larger format size of 262 x 202 mm

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SHRINK PLASTIC

USING SHRINK PLASTIC
A material gaining in popularity with cardmakers, scrapbookers and jewellery makers.

TYPES OF SHRINK PLASTIC - (we sell a pre-sanded range)

Various products are available from different companies including unsanded, sanded, in black, white, frosted and clear. The plastic shrinks to approx 45% of the original size.

Black - shrinks the fastest and the 'gooiest'; white - good for clear, sharp colours and using with pencils; frosted - one side ready roughened with a clear back for 'window' designs, and totally clear for a variety of effects.

Some shrink plastics need sanding to roughen the surface before you can begin, Shrink Art listed here is already roughed and is ready to use.

COLOURING SHRINK PLASTIC

It is important to remember colour intensifies after shrinking so 'less is more', so colour lightly or results will be very dark. Experiment until you find the right balance for you.

Shrink plastic is porous and so each colouring medium behaves differently.

Inkpads
Not all inkpads work well with shrink plastic - it is a case of trying things out and learning from other peoples experience and expertise.

When stamping directly onto the plastic there are two surfaces to consider. One the un-sanded, shiny and slippery side and the other sanded or frosted (ready roughened) side.

Some pigment and dye ink will not dry on un-sanded shrink, even with heat, and many dye inks bleed on sanded shrink. When you experiment with shrink plastic and stamping, you will see that there are sometimes reasons for not sanding although a steady hand is needed on the slippery surface.

Inks that will give clear dry images on both sanded and un-sanded surfaces

Heat Set and permanent pigment inks 'hold' on the slippery surface. Brilliance, Fabrico, Crafters, Versamagic, Stazon and the only permanent dye ink that I find satisfactory- Ancient Page.

Inkpads for sanded surfaces. - Various pigment inks, Ranger Archival, Fluid Chalk ink

TIP:
1.
To dry ink a little before shrinking and to avoid smudging when curling, hold the heat gun very high above the stamped plastic - hand hot- for 15 seconds before lowering to shrink. This is one of the times when a hair dryer is useful as you don't worry about too much heat.

2.
If you want a coloured background - colour the plastic first and then stamp on top. This gives more creative scope as more inks will bond over a background layer.

Inks for background colour - Brilliance, Colourbox Fluid Chalks and chalk palettes work well. Apply direct from the pad onto plain or sanded surfaces, not too much and blend colours before using the high -heat method to dry and set ink. Brilliance pearlescent 'ice blue' is especially impressive and rainbow pads work well, do not apply too thickly.

When dry over stamp with Brilliance, Fabrico, Fluid Chalks or a range of other pigment and dye ink. Adirondack, Versamark pigment, Ancient Page etc. Get your stash of inkpads out and play. Stazon might blur but is better on some surfaces than others.

Other Colouring Mediums.

For direct to stamp and background use.

Felt tip pens,
Airbrush Paints
Permanent Markers
Acrylic Paint,
Lead Pencils,
Spray Paint
Make up
Glass Paint
Waterproof inks
Fabric Paint
Chalks
Colouring in Images.

Colouring pencils, both watercolour and plain blendable are the ideal medium for shrink plastic; easy to use, an endless range of colours and perfect, clear and bright results. Remember, a light touch as colour intensifies when shrunk. Use on a sanded surface.

Inkpads or re-inkers with a Fantastix or blender pen. Brilliance, Fluid Chalks, and try others on sanded surfaces. Paint - acrylics. Use weak colours applied with a brush on sanded and unsanded surfaces. A very nice result is stamping the clear side of frosted plastic and when dry turning over and colouring in on the frosted side with acrylic paint then shrinking.
Re-inkers and alcohol based inks
Felt tips
Pastels.

CUTTING AND SHRINKING THE SHRINK PLASTIC

Cutting.
Pieces can be cut before or after colouring. The edges become sharper after shrinking so round the corners a little and/or trim to the eventual shape that you require. It is possible to trim after shrinking with sturdy kitchen type shears and a shot of heat will soften the plastic.

Punch a hole before shrinking saves drilling afterwards. Remember the hole will also shrink. Edges can be cut with decorative scissors.

Shrinking.

The first time you shrink is quite alarming if you do not know what to expect. The plastic curls and twists like crazy before finally flattening. Hold down with a wooden stick, brush handle, or tweezers. Just touching the stick on the surface is enough to stop it blowing away.

Move the heat gun with a circular motion for an even heat and slower heating can help keep difficult shapes from getting out of control. There are differing views on gentle/fast heat; you find your own preference with practice.

Clear plastic might stick to itself so gently prise apart before cooling and reheat a little if necessary. Small, delicate shapes might need some extra attention to straighten. When ready use a piece of thick card, wood or the back of an Acrylic mount to flatten. If you have a raised surface from bubbled paint etc. do not press, the piece will lie reasonably flat without pressing. The warm plastic can be bent and twisted into shapes if preferred.

For large pieces - or multiple pieces for necklaces etc. shrink in an oven. A toaster oven is recommended but not necessary, Shrink plastic is a non-toxic material even when heated. A regular oven. 225%F or 110%C for five minutes + without pre-heating will help prevent curling, but higher heat is often also recommended - experiment again. Use a Teflon baking sheet and when cold the pieces will easily lift off. The sheet is also useful when shrinking with a heat gun. Use over a stack of paper or board to protect worktop. An off-cut of laminated board from a DIY store is very inexpensive and useful when painting as well as when shrinking.

IDEAS FOR SHRINK PLASTIC

Intaglio
Stamping into the hot plastic after shrinking. Remember to start with a piece more than twice as wide and long as the finished stamped image. Colour before shrinking, and add embossing powder for a special colourful effect before shrinking. Leave the stamp until cold and it will lift off easily. The stamp can be inked for colour or the piece coloured when cold with paint, chalk, ink or Metallic Rub-ons

Beads
Cut ribbons of plastic and wrap around a chopstick while hot to make beads. Wrap ribbons into spirals when hot or cut thin ribbons and weave together before shrinking.

Card embellishments
Stamp and colour images from your favourite stamps and cut into tile shapes before shrinking. The size of the stamp will determine the size of the finished embellishment.

You can attach badge fixings to the shrink plastic, Magnet tape to make fridge magnets, or even keyrings (remember to make a hole in the plastic first).

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Shrink plastic Shrink art

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 06 September, 2007.

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