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Tips for Using Grafix Shrink Plastic To Make a Shaker Card

Thu, Jun 17, 21 . Design Team

Remember Shrinky Dinks? They're back and for grown ups!  I can remember as a kid, watching through the oven door, as my creations magically shrunk. Now you can get that same exciting feeling with your heat gun.

Using our Grafix Shrink Film, you can use your stamps or markers to make fun bits for your shaker cards that actually match your card perfectly.  

But first, here's a tip I learned years ago to help with the shrinkage.  Take a one inch strip of your shrink plastic and use an alcohol marker (or Sharpie) and make your own ruler.  Then SHRINK that ruler.  Now you will know exactly the size of your shrunken image. 

Looking at the teapot stamp, it is 1 1/2 inches in real life, but will be less than 3/4 inches when shrunken.  Just store your shrink plastic ruler with your sheets of shrink plastic for future use.  

Supplies:
Grafix Shrink Film
American Crafts Lagoon Blue
Dear Lizzy Just Smile Patterned Paper
Clear Acetate
Stazon Ink
Alcohol Markers
Stamp set: Simon Says Stamp Foodie Friends

Now, onto the card. I used Stazon ink to stamp my teapot image onto the white Shrink Plastic.  VERY CAREFULLY use alcohol markers to color the teapot. 

Now, onto the card. I used Stazon ink to stamp my teapot image onto the white Shrink Plastic.  VERY CAREFULLY use alcohol markers to color the teapot. 

Two important tips to remember: 

1-The colors you choose will be more intense when shrunken, so choose lighter colors than you think you need.

2-Do NOT color over the Stazon ink.  Alcohol ink will smear the Stazon.  I found it best to dab my alcohol marker around the stamped lines.  The surface of the shrink plastic is slick so dabbing or dotting the image with color seems to work best.  If you use the clear shrink plastic, you can color on the back of your image to avoid any ink smearing (but for the teapots, I used the white shrink plastic).

Now, cut and shrink your teapots using a heat gun (the same kind you may use for embossing powder).  I found it best to hold the white shrink plastic with a stylus so it does not blow around.  Heat until flat and fully shrunken. The shrink plastic shrivels as it shrinks, but don't worry. As it reaches the final stages of shrinking, it flattens back out. If there are slight curls, you can press down on it with a heavy object for a few seconds while it is still warm.
Create your shaker card as you normally would, but add in your custom made shaker bits!  I also added some clear pink hearts. 
-Kate
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