Pages

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Honey, I shrunk the Costume Kids!

If you haven’t learned this about me yet, I love, love, love small things. Anything that can be teeny-tinied becomes a mini challenge for me.
Yet again I had to miniaturize these Costume Clubhouse kids, just because I could. They make charming bracelets, endearing earrings and treasured trinkets for those imps and their larger set who are special in your life.

In order to create these jolly-pockets you will need to have Shrinky Dinks that are made for computer inkjet printers, if you want to use the Costume kids from my collection. Shrinky Dink is available in some craft and online stores, but make sure you get the inkjet printer kind, as the others will not work for printing.
Choose art from the Costume Clubhouse sets on Lettering Delights. I used images from these sets: CC (Costume Clubhouse) graphic set and print cut set, and the CC cupcake pack for the cameos of the kids. The CC sweet treats set and the CC alphabet would be so cute in miniature as well. Maybe you will do those and let me see your tiny and precise handiwork.
Print and cut your images on Shrinky Dink material. I hand cut my pieces, but with a good cutter you can save your hand and time. Make sure you use a hole punch (I used the .125" punch) to cut holes for hanging the trinkets before you bake the pieces in the oven. If you do not make holes prior to baking, you will regret it, and have to drill holes through the plastic after it is baked.
Above is a photo of the pre-shrink art. The medallions (the circles only) are almost 2" in diameter and will shrink to about .75" in diameter. Prepare for shrinkage to be approximately 40% and about .0625" thick as the plastic will thicken as baked. Also note that Shrinky Dinks darken as they bake and shrink, so if you are able, you might choose to lighten the art about 30%.
Once the pieces are baked and cooled (follow Shrinky Dinks instructions) you can turn them into earrings, bracelets, key chains or just about anything you can add a little treasure to. If you do want to make key chains or backpack charms you will want to use a larger hole punch, at least a .25" or .375".
Above are samples of the little medallion charms made from the CC cupcake set.
As soon as you have your Costume Clubhouse jewelry made you can gift it to your peeps with a little tissue and box it in the matching CC Gift Boxes you can also find on LD. In fact, it would be one more bit of cuteness if you also use the CC Gift Tags also on LD to personalize the gift.
Who would not love these little costume kids in miniature but fashionable style? I do believe if I could Shrinky Dink myself, I think I might. However, until that invention has been perfected, honey, let’s just shrink these kids.

1 comment:

Motivated said...

Oh my goodness! You never cease to amaze! I LOVE shrinky dinks!!! Last year I made bracelets for grandparents with pictures of the kids... but these that you have made a PERFECT!