Tea Craft Tuesday: Shrink Plastic Jewelry

This set of jewelry illustrates my love of tea as well as the fun I have had experimenting with shrink plastic over the years. I made this jewelry a number of years ago when single sided printable shrink plastic film was all that was available.  Recently I have seen shrink plastic film that can be printed on both sides.  You can find shrink plastic film at most any large craft store.  You can also find it online.

Select a tea-themed word or image to use in each of the plastic circles pictured here. Lay out a page of images using Microsoft Publisher or another design program.  Next, print the shrink plastic page(s) according to package directions. Punch out the circles with circle punches. Then punch a hole in the top of each circle before baking.  (For the beaded brooch I punched a number of holes along the perimeter of the circle. For the earrings I punched a hole at the top and another hole at the bottom of each circle.) Bake the shrink plastic circles according to package directions. I did not seal the images when I made the shrink plastic circles, so over the years the wear and tear on the jewelry has caused the images to flake off.  Lesson: Be sure to seal the printed surfaces according to package instructions.

BRACELET

1) Attach a jump ring onto each plastic circle and attach them to a chain bracelet like charms.

2) Add beads between the plastic circles in order to add more color and dangle to the bracelet.

EARRINGS

1) Attach a jump ring onto to top and bottom hole of each plastic circle

2) Attach earring hooks onto the top jump ring.

3) Attach beads dangling from the bottom jump ring.

BROOCH

1) Lace a wire through the holes around the perimeter of the circle, adding small beads as you go along.

2) Glue a pin back to the back of your plastic brooch using E-6000. Let the glue on the pin back dry for 24 hours before wearing the brooch.

If you find that you enjoy working with shrink plastic, get a copy of Kathy Sheldon's book entitled Shrink! Shrank! Shrunk (Lark,2012).  She includes bright images and detailed instructions for each project in the book.