Shrink It

Do you love all the acrylic and plastic embellishments you see in scrapbook stores but can't afford to buy them all? Do the colors not quite work with your photos? Now you can make acrylic embellishments yourself using shrink plastic. I used shrink art as my subtitle design in the layout example shown here, but you can use shrink art in many ways on your layouts. You can:

• create charms and hang them from a tag or photo mat
• make your own buttons
• create custom mini-frames
• create miniature lettering from your favorite fonts and alphabet stamps
• design other one-of-a-kind accents to use as embellishments on your pages

By following these simple instructions, you too can create one-of-a-kind miniature embellishments for your scrapbook pages.

1. Sand.Sand the sheet of shrink plastic with 320-400 grit sandpaper or a sanding block. Sanding provides a rough surface for ink to adhere to, preventing the ink from beading up or smearing.
   
   
2. Apply design and color. Stamp an image or trace an image from a piece of clip art onto your shrink plastic.
   
   
   • When stamping an image, use either a heat-setting ink such as Colorbox Pigment Inks or Fabrico, or a permanent pigment ink such as PSX Home Decor Ink or Zim Ink.
   • If using chalks, be sure to use non-oil chalk pastels.
   • To color designs, use markers, such as Pilot or Sharpie, or colored pencils, such as Prismacolor or Crayola.
   
   
3. Cut. Cut out your design and punch any holes (i.e. if you are going to use your images as charms you will need to punch a hole).
   
   
4. Bake. Bake on medium-weight cardboard or a Teflon baking sheet at 300 to 350 degrees in a regular or toaster oven for 3 to 4 minutes. You may also use a heat gun to shrink the plastic. Be sure to keep the heat tool moving to get even shrinking.
   
   
• To seal your shrink art and prevent the ink from smearing, use a non-acrylic spray such as Krylon Matte.

Different types of shrink plastic will produce different looks. Shrink plastic comes in four different types:

Clear - allows you to see through the finished piece
Translucent - creates a soft look
Canvas White - produces crisp colors and high contrast (see example)
Black - provides a dramatic backdrop

Shrink art is a fun way to add embellishments with texture to your scrapbook pages. Whatever style of shrink plastic you use, you're sure to be pleased with the unique results. Give it a try!