Elizabeth Craft Designs | Simple Shrinky Jewelry

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

Hi there! It’s my turn at the Elizabeth Craft Designs Blog again! Today I’ve got a really simple but stylish project for you.

Elizabeth Craft Designs has a wonderful new Spring release. Haven’t seen it yet? You can check it out here!

I always give my new dies a test run when they arrive. This not only gives me an idea of what the die-cuts will look like, but it also helps me get ideas for what I can do with them.

When I first tried the new Pebbles die, I immediately thought: this will make a nice pendant!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles (1026)

I couldn’t figure out what material to use and I had to try a couple of products before I found the answer: shrink plastic!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

I created a pendant with the new Pebbles die and a bracelet featuring the Jewelry Set 1 – Sea Glass from a previous release.

Here are the steps to create them:

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

1. Die cut all the pieces you need out of shrink plastic. You will need about 10 pieces of Sea Glass to create the bracelet, depending on the size of your wrist.

As you can see in the photo, I used the metal adaptor plate to cut the shrink plastic. It may not be necessary but different brands might give different results.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

2. You need to take into account that each piece will shrink to a very small size. It’s best to punch holes in the pieces before shrinkage. I used a crop-a-dile for this but you can also use one of your hole dies.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

3. Shrink the die-cut pieces following the instructions on the package of shrink plastic. Mine said: Pre-heat oven to 325 F (160 C) and bake for 1 to 3 minutes. I put my shrink plastic pieces on a sheet of baking parchment and used that to place them in and out of the oven.

4. Take the pieces out of the oven and let them cool for a few seconds.

5. File the edges of the shrinked pieces smooth if needed.

6. Add a chain to the pendant and string the Sea Glass pieces together with jump rings. Add a jewelry clasp of choice.

And that’s it! Ready to wear!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Simple Shrinky Jewelry

If you like, you can use coloured pencils, permanent markers or stamps and StazOn ink to alter your die-cut jewelry pieces before shrinking them in the oven.

I hope you try it, it’s fun!

Have a wonderful day!

SUPPLIES:

Elizabeth Craft Designs:
954 Jewelry Set 1 – Sea Glass
1026 Pebbles
803 Metal Adaptor Plate
807 Die File Set

Other:
Shrink plastic
Hole punch or die
Chain
Jump rings
Clasps
Jewelry pliers

Kitty en Krimpie

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Ik vind ‘kralen’ van Krimpie Dinky erg leuk… Ik heb ze voor het eerst gezien bij Donja. Zij hangt dit soort Krimpie-figuurtjes aan haar kettingen en armbanden. Daar moest ik dus wat mee voor de Knallende Karsdagen!

Donja maakt haar kralen overigens van Fimo-klei. Ik ben achteraf wel blij dat ik me daar niet aan heb gewaagd. Tijdens de KKD zat Jolanda van Noordenburg achter mij met een kraam vol geweldige Fimo-figuurtjes…

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Niet op de foto, maar wel in de kraam: hele mooie kralen… Jolanda heeft kort laten zien hoe je dat doet, dus dat wordt een project voor de toekomst!