…taking a bit of a blogging break, but I’ll be back! if you want to be notified when I start posting again, be sure to find the little “subscribe” widget in the sidebar, which will let you subscribe using a variety of blog readers or even email.

I’ve been mostly on “maternity leave” from my jewelry business in 2010, which has given me a much-needed break to rethink what I want to do with my business, and it’s time for a bit of a blogging vacation too. Not that I won’t be writing…I have tutorials and all kinds of other articles in the works….so keep me in your bookmarks or feed reader! In the meantime, while I’m not posting new articles, I’ll be redesigning and doing some much needed site housekeeping.

til then, feel free to leave me comments on old posts if you have any questions or feedback for me!

xo,
Leah

PS: that summer project I was working on got put on the back burner for now – I need at least 50 match boxes, and I’m a non-smoker…so if you have some you want to get rid of, let me know – I’d love to recycle them for you!

Tested two more kinds of pens: the new sharpie writing pen (not permanent, didn’t work well) and some metallic permanent markers called colorsharp from a company called SRX, which worked great. I’ll update with pictures soon!

I’ve found two things that write/draw well on shrink plastic: colored pencils and permanent markers. My favorite thing to use is an ultra fine point sharpie in black – it writes so thin that after shrinking, it looks (to me anyway) as if I’d used a black ball point pen. I love how much detail I can get this way.

Note: regular fine point sharpies write just fine, but won’t be as detailed since they have a thicker tip than the ultra fine ones. Other brands of permanent markers probably will also work well, and I’ve heard that paint pens are great, but I haven’t experimented with them yet. If/when I do, I will write about it.

For colored pencils, I recommend getting the shrinky dinks brand of shrink plastic, and use the “frosted rough and ready” type. Write/draw on the rough side. You can use colored pencils on smooth shrink film, but you need to sand the surface first – and since there is really no price difference between smooth & rough, you might as well make it easy on yourself and get the pre-sanded kind.

However, this type is transparent after baking, so whatever you do on the rough side will show through somewhat on the smooth side. I like the effect if I write with a sharpie on the reverse, or do a simple sharpie drawing, leaving plenty of space for the colors/patterns on the pencil side to show through. For example:

Shrink Art Charms with text on one side

See how you can kind of see my drawings on the reverse side? These charms were made with the rough and ready shrinky dinks, sharpie on the smooth side, colored pencil on the rough side, and a bit of alcohol ink on the edges because I prefer some color on the edges to just clear or white.

I’m becoming something of an expert on making jewelry from shrink plastic….

no, really. I’ve made some things with shrinky dinks that I actually think are beautiful – worth wearing, displaying, and showing off.

Shrinky Dink Pendants, in progress

It isn’t a perfect material though – through trial and error, I’ve discovered that certain drawing/marking materials stick to it really well, while others have to be sealed, and others just don’t work at all. I’ve discovered that the quirks between different brands and types of shrink film really affect the look of the finished piece. I’ve learned a lot about layering color on semi-transparent material. I’ve learned a lot about how color intensifies when shrunk. And I’ve started to feel a little bit confident in my drawing abilities, for the first time since I was a little kid. Not that I can draw much, but my doodles are looking better and better.

More Shrinky Dink Pendants, in progress

I’ve experimented with various shapes, using text or not, decorating individual pieces versus cutting up a pre-decorated sheet, mixing paint, pencil, and ink, the order in which the various materials need to be applied to the plastic for the best effect…

Shrink Art Pendant, ready to shrink

Transparent Pendants with Text

…and most importantly, I’ve learned that I want to really work this material in my jewelry designs. I haven’t photographed the latest batch yet, but I love it. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I can….

Is anyone interested in more detailed tutorials on using shrink film? It’s such a cool material, I could write a bunch of tutorials on different effects I’ve tried out….

Paper and Plastic Jewelry

I think I’ve proved to myself that beautiful jewelry can be made from materials like plastic and paper. The pieces shown above combine elements made from paper, resin, and shrink plastic. They are embellished with ink, colored pencils, scrapbooking eyelets, and more.

Thanks to Bob of Jewelry 24/7 for featuring one of my pieces along with several other gorgeous handmade pieces of amethyst jewelry on his daily jewelry feature.

Notice the distressed/aged look of one of the ball chains in the photo above? I thought I’d share how you can make one for yourself.

It’s really easy, but it takes time.

Step 1: get some cheap ball chains. I got mine at the craft store in the scrapbooking section.

Step 2: leave the chain outside for 6 months or so, particularly during the rainy season if possible.

That’s it You might want to apply wax or varnish to your rusted, distressed chain so that it doesn’t continue to age to the point of falling apart. NOTE: I discovered this process completely by accident, in case you couldn’t hear my joking tone of voice coming through the computer.

Shrink Art Journal Charm Bracelets

Over on my other blog, where I talk about pretty much anything other than jewelry that I’m into, I’ve been writing lots about mixed media. One really fun way to get started with mixed media art is doing an art journal – where you basically experiment with whatever media you can stick to or use to make marks on journal pages – including writing, drawing, painting, stamping, collage, punching holes, and really anything you can think of.

But it can be intimidating to get started. For some people, writing is scary. Getting words down, on paper, where other people can read them? Scary. I have a solution, and as a bonus, it results in a whole bunch of unique charms for use in jewelry projects!

You’ll need a piece of shrink film (aka shrinky dinks), an extra fine point sharpie pen (I like black), and some acrylic paint or permanent ink in a couple colors you like. TIP: use clear or matte shrink film, not the colored kind, and use alcohol inks. TIP #2: use alcohol ink under sharpie, not the other way around (or on opposite sides of the shrink film). TIP #3: colors will all appear darker or more intense when shrunk, so don’t overdo it with darker colors or your charm will just look black.

First, write your innermost secret thoughts all over the shrink film. Go ahead, write poetry, talk about your secret crushes, your most embarrassing moments, anything you never want anyone else to read.

Next, flip the shrink film over, and put some blobs of paint/ink on it, then use a sponge brush to smoosh it around, letting it mix together in some spots. Let it dry, and further embellish if you want – ink splatters end up looking really cool when shrunk. Don’t get too attached to your masterpiece – just like the secret thoughts on the reverse side, nobody is ever gonna see it.

Now – cut the shrink film into pieces. I like rectangles 1 to 2 inches long, which result in little charms 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. Then punch a hole or two in each one (regular paper hole punches work fine).

Bake according to the manufacturer’s directions, and watch the little pieces of your art journal become little charms! All you need to do is insert a jump ring into the hole, and it can be added to a necklace, earring, or bracelet (like mine, shown above, on ball chain). BAKING TIP: place a piece of cardboard in your oven while it preheats, then put your charms on the hot cardboard.

Expect to see greens, coral-y oranges, bright purple, gray, and a neutral rosy shade in stores this fall – they are all in the Pantone fall 2010 color report!

Now I’m wondering what I have in my bead stash that will work so I can make myself some great jewelry to go with the clothes I’m sure I’ll be seeing in stores. I think I like the green shades best, maybe with the rose, gray, or purple for accents – those colors are most likely to work with what I already have (and my pale skin).

I made this all-jewelry set on polyvore, so fun!

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