Oven Pros: Even shrinking – minimal distortion. Heat gun Pros: It’s super fast – about 30 seconds to shrink. You can use a heat gun or your oven, set at 250° to 300°. Also, sometimes the intensified color looks beautiful on the ‘wrong’ side – take a look and see if you like the color on the back better than the front. Ink colors intensify as the plastic shrinks, so I recommend creating a test sample with scrap plastic before coloring the finished product. If you are using Sharpies to color, you don’t need to sand plastic. Once you’re done sanding, apply dye-based inks to color, and let dry a few minutes. This will help the ink to adhere to the circle. Take your smaller middle circle and sand one side in two directions to rough up the surface. So drill the holes after everything is shrunk. Normally I would recommend punching a hole in the plastic before shrinking, but I found that my circles sometimes shrank to ovals, so my pre-punched holes often ended up in the wrong place and the piece hung wonky. Also, small details can melt or get stuck, so simpler is better. The plastic usually warps a bit when shrinking, so straight fonts can get a bit tweaked.
If you’re making a monogram/letter subject, I recommend that you use simple cursive fonts. The letter “T” I used is Lucida Calligraphy font, sized 140pt. That way all the elements will look perfect when reduced. If you want to cut your own subject shapes, just make sure that before shrinking, all the elements are in proportion to each other. You can find templates for everything shown, here: Silhouettes. Hold or tape the template on your plastic and cut with sharp small scissors.
Once shrunk, the base circle will be about 1-5/8” in diameter.įinally, cut out your subject piece. Then punch or cut a circle that is 1/4” smaller in diameter. Since shrink plastic reduces by about 75%, I started with a punch 3-1/2” in diameter (mine is from Marvy Uchida). It’s sometimes hard to find pieces big enough that are flat to do this project with, but give a whirl, Up-cyclers!įirst punch or cut out your scalloped circle. It’s usually clear, so you might try sanding both sides to get that milky-colored look. But if you want to be SUPER thrifty, you can use #6 plastic, which is found in salad bar or to-go containers.
Translucent Shrink Plastic –mine is from Grafix (available Amazon), and Aleene’s ()ĭye-based inkpads, or permanent ink pens (like Sharpies)Į-6000 or other glue suitable for use with plasticĪ quick side note on shrink plastic: The translucent stuff is pretty easy to find in craft stores. Here’s now to make your own updated cameo/silhouette pendant, using thoroughly modern materials. Silhouettes originated in the 18 th century, and were traditionally profile outlines of people cut from black paper, then mounted and framed. While stone cameos can be traced back as far as 25 BC, shells and glass began appearing during the Renaissance. The finest examples of gemstone cameos are customarily carved from agate, onyx, or other layered semi-precious stones, where carving reveals contrast. If you don’t already know, cameos are made by carving gemstones or shells. So here’s my take on two old-fashioned looks: A cameo and a silhouette.
#Lucida calligraphy font on jewelry update#
Update the macramé purse, if you will (will you?!). One of my favorite things to do is revisit classic crafts and give them a modern twist. My Timeless Tamara jewelry line is centered around antique jewelry pieces, I love vintage fabrics, and my family often teases me about my compulsion to photograph old fences and buildings. I can be a bit nostalgic, truth be told, I’m a sucker for old things.