Blog Hop-with Gina K Designs "Flutter By" Shrink Art Earrings

Welcome Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hoppers! 

My mom loved daisies and butterflies, especially Monarch butterflies. So whenever I see a Monarch butterfly I think of her. Imagine my surprise when I was sent the Gina K Designs "Never Lose Hope" Mini Acrylic Stamp Set to create with for the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop! It seemed like it was meant to be. 

"Flutter by"-Shrink Art Earrings

Supplies- "Never Lose Hope" Mini Acrylic Stamp Set-Gina K Designs, Grafix Shrink Film, Permanent Markers, white gel pen, Staz-On ink pad-Black,  acrylic stamp block,  2-3" long pieces of chain, jump rings (3mm,6mm), fishhook earring pieces, small glass beads, headpins, round nose and needle hose pliers, wire cutters, oven, parchment paper, scissors, hole punch, cookie sheet. 

Using the Staz-on ink and an acrylic stamp block,  stamp your butterfly image onto the shrink film and allow to dry. When dry, color in image using the permanent markers. I like starting with the darker colors and blending with the lighter ones. Accent with the white gel pen. Allow to completely dry before cutting out.  Please note your colors will shrink "more intense" 

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Cut your designs out of the shrink film. I like to use larger scissors to cut out the basic shape and then use detail scissors to get the tiny parts. Using the hold punch, punch holes in the corner of the images.

 Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lay out your shrink art stamped images.  If you are concerned with your images not shrinking "flat" then cover them with another piece of parchment paper. Place in oven for 2-3 minutes to allow images to fully shrink.  They will be about 20% of the original size when finished. Allow to cool before handling. 

 

To create your earrings. Thread your beads onto your headpins. Using the round nose pliers, loop the end and snip off the excess. Repeat until you have the desired number of beaded head pins.  Thread larger jump rings through the holes punched in the butterflies. Use the smaller jump rings with the head pins. Attach the butterflies and beaded headpins with the attached jump rings to the chain alternating between the two. Because the shrink film is clear you can see your image on both sides. This allows you to hang your butterflies going either direction. (See photo.) Attach the chain to the earring hooks. 

 

Bonus Card "Spread Your Wings and Fly" 

Since I had some extra shrink art butterflies to play with and some gorgeous Gina K Ephemera, I set out to make a card. I used the same butterfly stamp from the Gina K "Never Lose Hope" set  and watermark ink to create a subtle (and matching) background. After wrapping twine around the cardstock and tying on the butterfly, I layered the Gina K Ephemera using foam dots, and added the sentiment.

 

Supplies used: "Never Loose Hope" Mini Acrylic Stamp Set-Gina K Designs, Watercolor Floral Ephemera Pack-Gina K Designs, Cardstock, Trimmer,acrylic block,  black ink pad, watermark inkpad, bakers twine, extra shrink art butterfly, adhesive, foam dots.

Thanks Gina K for providing the stamps and ephemera to play with! I LOVED THEM!

Want to see more gorgeous Gina K Design Projects? Check out the rest of the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop Designer Crafts Connection-Gina K

Easy Thumbprint Braclet with Grafix Arts Shrink Film

Designer Crafts Connection and Grafix Arts teamed up for a blog hop! 

 As a creative mom I was (am) always looking for cute (and easy)  grandparent gift ideas. This Thumbprint Bracelet fit the bill!  Grafix Arts Shrink Film is the star of this project, shrinking already cute thumbprints down even further! 

Supplies:

Grafix Shrink Film
Willing Kids (or non-willing that you have bribed ;) )
StazOn Solvent Ink (color(s) of choice)
2" outline heart shape printed on paper (this is to be used as a tracing guide)
Sheet of scrap paper
Black Permanent Marker
Scissors
Hole Punch
Heat source to shrink film (Oven, Toaster Oven, or Heat Gun)
Parchment Paper (If using oven)
Baking Sheet (If using oven)
Jump Rings
Clasp
Pliers

Begin by placing the Grafix Shrink Film over the printed heart shape. You will use this as a guide for the placement of the thumbprint. 

Grab your willing kids...

Yes I got the 27, 23, and 20 y.o. to help me!
(I do have 4 children but one decided to visit the boyfriend vs. mom ;) )

...have them ink up their thumb and have them make a couple of practice thumbprints scrap paper. This is helpful if you have a child that likes really digging their thumb into the ink. If the ink is too "juicy" on their thumb you will not see a clear print image. Have the kids (or help the kids) make their thumbprints in a heart shape overlapping the bottom corners.) (Image 1)

Using the permanent marker trace along the outline of the heart. Add any extra details, dots, dashes, or even a name and year. (Image 2)

Cut out the hearts make sure to leave a bit of clear border around the design. Punch holes on either side of the heart at the fullest part. (See photo.) (Image 3)

Place parchment on baking sheet. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top to help keep the designs flat during shrinking. (Image 4-5) 

Shrink Film design according to package directions. (I used a Conventional Oven at 350 for 2 min 45 sec) 

Allow to cool, and lay the hearts out to plan your bracelet pattern. 

Using pliers, connect the hearts together with jump rings, add a clasp on the end.  (I used what I had on hand and they were tiny, thus the double ring design. You may use more or less depending on the size of your jump rings) 

 

Designer Note: A 2 inch heart Shrinks down to about 3/4".   I used 9 hearts, 20-5mm jump rings, and 1 clasp to make a 9" bracelet. (Hearts in the original for reference.)

 

 

Special thanks to Grafix Arts and Designer Crafts Connection for hosting the blog hop! Be sure to check out the rest of the Designer Crafts Connection Blog  for more Grafix Arts inspiration!