Shrinky Dinks...new to me!

Maybe everyone already knew this but I didn't! Last week a new attendee, Debbie from Morgantown, introduced me to the wonder of colored pencil on Shrinky Dink plastic. I have been in experiment mode since then.

It is thin, strong, and lightweight with a nice surface texture on both sides -- the pencil turns into a matte finish and captures a surprising amount of line detail...color neatly! The non-frosted side ends up very shiny -- almost like a coat of satiny resin.

The really cool thing is that after you bake it (325 degrees for the shrinky plastic), you can back it with polymer and bake at the polymer temp and it bonds with the clay. No glue or liquid clay needed. It seems like you'd really have to use some force to separate them. However, I don't know what, if any, long-term reaction might come into play between the polymer and plastic. If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

A regular hole punch in the plastic before baking shrinks down to a perfect size for button holes or for jewelry wire to pass through.

If you bake with the shiny side up and then embed the matte side down in the clay, you end up with an image behind a glossy finish. Make sure you don't touch the glossy side before it's cool so you don't make marks in it.

It's not a fast process because you're drawing and filling in a larger image than the final size. But it's another fun tool in the kit for making delicate but strong jewelry components.

I am very impressed by how strong the plastic is.
That little teeny piece of eyelash that extends out is not in danger of breaking.
I went very light with the colored pencil on this first one so it remained
very translucent.

I colored too dark and lost detail.
I added more colored pencil on this after baking to insert some highlights.
I realized that this technique would benefit from white outlines rather than black.

You have about 10 seconds of working time to bend the plastic after it
comes out of the oven. I baked it on a 5x8 index card so I could just bend
 the card into the curve I wanted. The plastic clung to the card and took on
the curve. I wish I would have done this one with the shiny side out. I used
thin permanent marker for the black lines and turquoise
colored pencil for the background.

As you can see, this design is similar to the one above.
I drew my original design on a piece of paper so I wasn't
just winging it and I would have a template to use again.
The plastic is clear so it's easy to trace any pattern.

The frosted surface is lightly textured and is a fantastic base for the pencil.
 I also tried graphite drawing pencil and it worked just as well (though the
shiny side turns out nicer than the matte side). I determined that rounded
corners shrink more uniformly than square ones. I cut the polymer
flush with the surface of the plastic and pressed it onto a
swirly texture stamp to add decoration to the back.

I left the mitten above and the fish below unbacked with clay because the color looks good
on both sides and I didn't mess up the shiny sides when baking.

I draw this flower on a piece of paper and then used it as my "pattern" by
putting it under the plastic and using it as my guide for drawing on the film.
Even if you don't consider youself an artist, I bet you could sketch a photo
well enough to make a nice pendant or brooch.

Genius Fake Commercial! Pro-pixel intensifying technology!

Kudos to Jesse Rosten! The video below is extremely clever and well-executed. You must watch!! (I'm guilty of abusing the pixels! I gave myself a Photoshop nose job a few weeks ago but it was just for fun, not deceitfulness!)

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

So cute: Big Things!

Easy idea for cute home decor or gifts: Blow up stuff! Not like in an action flick, this "blowing up" uses a scanner! I must try this. I am sure there's an old movie ticket stub in the bottom of my purse!
Cathe Holden has a lot of good stuff on her blog, Just Something I Made! I just became her 4,790th follower so I guess I'm a little late to the party! Better late than never!

I think the first thing I have to blow up is a stink bug. Those darn things are everywhere. One is on my ceiling right now.

Fun: PPCG October Retreat:

The Pittsburgh Polymer Clay Guild's annual retreat is coming up soon...October 22-24, 2010. Clayers of all skill levels are invited to attend. The workroom is a great big, well-lit space. We clayed from 9 am - ? pm  last year, pausing only to eat (hot meals are provided), and sleep for a few hours.
If you're new to clay, or even if you've never tried it but think you'd like it, this would be an easy way to dive right in. We'll have mini-workshops to learn techniques and you would only need basic tools and a few blocks of clay to get started.
What if you're an old hand at clay, but don't live near Pittsburgh? That doesn't matter either...we have attendees who travel from Michigan, New York, and Ohio every year. If you'd like to join us for the weekend, let me know!
Click on the flyer at left to enlarge it.

Super Cool: Pixels by Patrick Jean

If you haven't seen this video yet you must go watch it immediately!!!! Pixels by Patrick Jean. Genius!
At one point almost 20 (!) years ago, I was seriously possessed by Tetris!

Humor: More Unhappy Hipster funnies

UnhappyHipsters.com had a caption contest for the photo at left.
The caption entered by Alex Bertram-Powell is genius! Go read.


And my favorites from the rest of the site are here, linked in an appropriately spartan style...

1  2  3 

Fun: www.Wordle.net

You can make a decorative "word cloud" with a click of the mouse, like the one at left.
Cut and paste your favorite poem, a piece of writing, or all your friends' names, click the button and in a flash, there's a cool design with all your words. You can even change colors, fonts, and tweak the layout of the words.

You can save a screen shot but better yet, print it to PDF (go get a PDF maker if you don't have one at www.cutepdf.com).
The resulting file is vector! How cool is that? That means you could use the design to create vinyl cutouts, t-shirts, enlarge it to the size of a poster or banner, etc.
(The FAQ says it is legal to make money with the designs, you just need to list the URL with the design.)

Cool: Moo Cards

If you have not heard of Moo cards, or if you've heard of them but not yet ordered, I say hop to it! I finally ordered a set of business cards and they are great! Every image can be different -- if you have 50 photos you want to use, you can do it. I don't know of any other place that lets you print one of each design.
The paper is really thick and has a super smooth matte finish (I got the regular paper, not the green option). The process is fool-proof -- you can select your etsy photos from inside the moo set-up page. It could not be easier!
You can order 10 free cards here, but why bother? Take my word for it, they're really nice. You'll like them. Just go for the 50 pack!

Humor: Unhappy Hipsters photo captions

Visit the images on Unhappy Hipsters to see what sort of photos could have captions like these:

You can come out when you can properly explain the differences between Modernist architecture and postmodern ornamentation.

The things that once so defined him — shag carpeting, Room & Board sofas, monogamy — now suffocated him.

It became their routine. And so the evenings stretched out before him: still, gray, and gravel-strewn.

I don't know what it says about me, but this sort of mildly sardonic (I have never used that word in speech or writing before!) humor is my favorite kind. (I found these through A Cup of Jo. )

Technology: Bar Code yourself!

Drive people right to your website with this clever, cool, customizable button!
According to BarCodeArt on etsy, "Snap a photo of this 2D barcode with your camera phone, and it will automatically dial a phone number, load a website, or send a text message." I think I need to get one (even though my own phone is low-tech and doesn't even have a camera.)

Christmas Tradition: Gift Clues

My family has a tradition regarding gift tags on presents. You don't just write To: Name and From: Name. You have to write a clue about what's inside and as we take turns opening gifts, the recipient has to read the clue out loud and try to guess what it is. My brother also has a "tradition" of wrapping gifts in whatever store circulars are in his local paper.
So for his birthday this year, one of his gifts was a book. I found a Target ad that showed a woman on a couch reading a book and I wrote, "What? Some people actually do this?" He reads a lot and every time I mention a book, he interjects with "You know, you're not a strong reader," in a mock condescending tone. This is because I'm in a book club and until I discovered audible.com, I rarely ever finished the book. The problem with reading is, you can't draw or make beads at the same time!

Build a Necklace Workshop at my house

I have to return to work tomorrow after 9 days off. Sad. But I got to make many new beads and they are all on etsy awaiting buyers. (My new favorites are in the next post so look up!)
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On one day, my friend Julie who was also off, came over for a bead workshop. I taught her how to make a simple flower cane and we formed beads, baked them, and mixed them with other beads to make a double-stranded necklace that she wore home at 4:30 pm. 
We accomplished all that in 5.5 hours while drinking Tequila Bloody Marys and pausing for a quick lunch of chili and Tostitos with guacamole.

Colorize Old B&W photos with Photoshop

I will post directions when I have more time so bookmark this and come back. It's a super easy Photoshop project to colorize your old family black and white photos to give them a funky twist.