It seems like it was yesterday when it was me the one giving and receiving
those precious friendship necklaces from my little friends at school.
My Anni this year doesn’t just have one but two really good special friends.
She wanted to make something special for them and this is what we came up with…
What I love about working with Shrink Film is that you can make custom charms in just minutes.
It is easy to use, affordable and you can create pretty much any shape you want.
This is basically what you’ll need:
1. White Shrink Film
{ You can find it over at your local Craft Stores }
2. Sharpies
3. Punch Holder
4. Stamps { Optional }
* Before you start making your own charms please read the instructions on the back of your Shrink Film package
since the baking time may be different depending of the brand you purchase.
TUTORIAL
1
First cut or punch out the shape of your charms.
When you do this keep in mind that after you bake your charms they will shrink 50% its size.
{ This is a LOT }
I used two different sizes of hearts for our charms.
2
The next step is to decorate your charms.
I used sharpies to draw a little girl on it.
If you don’t feel confident about drying your images you can use a stamp,
just make sure you let the ink dry completely before touching the charm.
{ You can even purchase Ink Jet Shrink Film and print your images from your computer }
3
After you draw and color your designs, punch the holes so you can hang your charm later on.
So CUTE!
4
The next step is when the magic happens.
{ This is the time to read the instructions }
Place your charm on top of a piece of card-stock on a cookie sheet
and bake them for two minutes or so in a 350º oven.
Don’t panic when you see your charm start twisting and making weird shapes,
this will be part of the shrinking process.
{ Sorry this picture is not clear but I wanted you to see what I am talking about }
As soon as the charms get back to their original shape pull them out of the oven.
These are the sizes before they went in…
And this is how they looked after they came out…
A lot smaller, hard to the touch and the colors are more vibrant.
5
Add your chain.
{ I bought all of my chain materials at Wal-Mart }
Guess what?
We are done!
So Sweet…
We had so much fun making them and I am sure my Anni will have even more fun giving them away.
Nice instructions; however, when I use shrink plastic as soon as I take them out of the oven, I put something heavy over them for a few minutes to make sure they are flat. Sometimes they come out of the oven wrinkled and not always flat. Sorry if you have this posted somewhere on your site. I love shrink plastic.
Great tip!
when I colored on the shrink wrap, with magic markers, the color would not stay on. It looked blotchy. I tried different markers, but none adhered. any suggestions?
I use permanent color Sharpies.
This is a great art craft! Amazingly beautiful! My kid always enjoys doing shrink wrap stuffs. Will defintiely try this one.
These necklaces are so adorable. I can’t wait to make one on my own. A handmade present as cute as this will be the perfect gift for my friend’s birthday. Thank you for sharing the tips!
Such a cute idea!! I am having an art party for my daughter’s 4th birthday and this would be great to make key chains with!! Question…. What size heart punch did you use?
Thanks for sharing…. Can’t wait to try it!!
~Lisa
Such a cute idea! I am having an art party for my daughters 4th birthday and it would be so cute to make little key chains with this!! Question…. What size heart punch did you use?
Thanks for sharing!! Can’t wait to try it!1
~Lisa