Craft Forum

Hi Everyone! Has anyone around here tried working with shrink plastic? I would like to make some special buttons and keychains. The stuff shrinks thicker alright, but it warps. Can an expert give me some tips?
Thank you very much!

Cloty

I found some hints for using shrink plastic in the customer info on the Little Claire website:

http://www.littleclaire.co.uk/customerinformation.asp

It also helps to put a wood mounted rubber stamp with the flat, wooden site face down onto the still warm plastic as soon as you have finished shrinking it. This way you get a nice even and flat result.

Great question Cloty, I have wondered this also. I just thought it was the nature of the material. I will have a go at the technique you suggested SL. Sounds like a good idea!

xx

I have used the back (flat side) of a wooden stamp like Scottish Lassie has, and found it works well.
I have also read that you can shrink them in the oven. If you have a glass door you can keep an eye on their progress. Althoughthey curl up in the oven they do uncurl and the heat does not seem to be so severe or intense. You can still flatten with the back of the stamp when they come out of the oven as they retain their heat for a while.
I had early problems with what colouring mediums and inks you could use as some smudge and smear. I have found watercolour pencils and Sakura pens work well. Colour in lightly and this intensifies as they shrink!

Goot advice here, hope you sort it out.

Thank you all for your suggestions. You guys are terrific!

Cloty

I flatten with either wooden mounted stamps or acrylic blocks.  If you use a heat gun then a wooden skewer holding down one edge of the piece as it curls also helps.

If your colours rub off afterwards then you can use an acrylic spray varnish to seal, or I used glossy accents.  A handy tip is to make a shrink plastic ruler.  Mark out say 5 inches (ooh, how old skool) then shrink, its a good guage to use when shrinking to know the size of your finished piece.

The idea with the ruler is really fab Kyla. Thanks for the tip.

Thank you so much for the tips and ideas, I am learning a lot!

Cloty

I love shrink plastic but also had problems when I first used it and the reason was that I wasn’t heating it for long enough. It will almost flatten itself when it has finished shrinking but as some of the others have said you can then flatten it with the back of a wooden stamp.
Persevere with it as the end results can be great.
Marilyn
x

If you do it with a heat gun I have found you get better results by turning it over and heating from the other side - then turning it back

i do what carolyn does i turn it over and back again and then squash it flat with a stamp, i used it to make counters for a game DD was making for school, she was fit to burst with pride when the teacher showed it off to the class. needless to say i was the one who had done all the work but never mind that’s what mum’s are for.