Today I’m excited to share a fabulous double project by Jamie. She used my fish stamp set to create adorable shrink plastic charms. She also made clever hidden paperclips. Whether you’re a mixed media lover, a journaling enthusiast, or just looking for fun this is the project for you.
Let’s see what she has to say:
This is a double project. First, I made some charms, I stamped out Bea’s darling fish images onto Grafix shrink plastic with Staz On ink. Tip: Let the images dry for a few minutes to avoid smearing when you cut them out. Leave a bit of an edge for easier cutting. Be sure to punch holes Before you shrink the charms. I used a mini pancake maker to shrink the charms, but a heat gun or oven will work too.
If you want to make them into buttons, add two holes. The holes allow for the addition of jump rings. Alternatively, you may use string. If you forget to punch the hole, you may glue the charms on using a clear glue. However, they won’t dangle. Shrink the plastic according to the shrink plastic instructions. IF you have sharp edges, they may be filed down with a nail file or fine sandpaper.
Photo 1 before shrinking and Photo 2 after shrinking
I used the Freebie Fish images to make hidden paperclips, in 2 different styles. I fussy cut the images from cardstock, inked the edges before I glued them on the bases. To make the base, choose a rectangle piece of cardstock of appropriate size. Fold it, and slip the paperclip over the folded edge. You will then take another folded piece of cardstock to slip over the top of the paperclip base.
This allows the paperclip to be sandwiched between the cardstock thereby making it completely hidden. Its best to round the corners and ink edges before glueing. Now simply glue on the fussy cut image and further embellish as you may like. Yes, you could make them as a tiny pocket. For the shaped paperclips, I cut the folded cardstock roughly into the desired shape. Then I glued it over the paperclip base. You do want the fold to cover over the top of the paperclip. Then I adhered the images to the top and back. I added eyelets, being extra careful NOT to punch the metal paperclip. I then used jump rings to add the fish and starfish. I attached them to a short piece of chain. Then, I connected the chain to the eyelet. Tip, when opening a jump ring, use a jewelry plier in each hand. Twist the ends away from each other. Do not pull them apart. Then twist them back so the ends join.
You may make the paperclips to slip over the top of a page. They can also slide onto the side of a page. Hidden paperclips make for fun office gifts or lovely additions to a stationary set.
Please don’t forget to watch and kind comment on this week’s video
Until next time Happy Artin Y’all
