My First (maybe only) Online Craft Tutorial

Ok, y'all.  I love crafting.  If you know me at all you know that I love crafting.  Also, I am a sucker for a great online crafty tutorial (no big news there either, right?).  But I have yet to venture into the world of offering my own crafty tutorials on this little blog. At any given time I have about five or six ideas of crafty projects I could share in tutorial form, but I have refrained to do so for three reasons:

• There are just so many out there! Been on Pinterest much? I've often thought it would just be "white noise" to start sharing my own.  And really, how original are my ideas anyway?
• When I have a crafty idea and set to work creating, I rarely bother to stop and take pics of the individual steps or think it is worth it to take the time to write out instructions.
•  I am prone to immerse myself too much in projects and allow myself to use my creative outlets to avoid the mundane but important responsibilities of every day life. I want to avoid the temptation to let a new "hobby" of producing online craft tutorials take more of my time than is healthy and wise.

But tonight I have decided to break my online-craft-instruction-silence and share my first (and maybe only) tutorial on this blog. This project was just too delightful, quick, simple and sweet. I must share.

Who remembers doing "Shrinky Dinks" as a kid? I have fond memories of coloring in little images on flimsy plastic sheets and handing them over to my mom to place in a hot oven and watching them magically shrink down into sturdy little charms and trinkets.  Good times!  Except, I don't really recall what we ever did with the final projects. (Do you, Mom?) I am guessing not much before they eventually ended up getting thrown away.

Recently I got my hands on some blank sheets of "shrink film" and have been experimenting with creative ways to use them while enjoying all kinds of warm fuzzy childhood memories.  Also: I am constantly looking for ways to cherish Lucy and Collin's original artwork and preserve the especially sweet drawings without allowing the piles and piles they produce to take over our household. I decided to use shrink film to transform some of their most treasured drawings into these quirky keepsake Christmas ornaments and key chains.

Here are the supplies and tools I gathered:

• shrink film (my stash was given to me by a friend who was clearing out some of her craft supplies) I haven't found a place to purchase it locally, but it is available for online purchase at Amazon.
• sharpies in a variety of colors
• baking sheet
• standard sized hole punch
• scissors
• metal jump rings (found in the beading section of craft stores)
• metal key rings (also found in craft store beading sections
• bakers twine (or any yarn or thin ribbon works)
• metal spatula
• selection of children's drawings

While you can have your children (if you are comfortable with them using a permanent marker!) draw directly on the shrink film, I enjoyed the process of looking through and picking out some of my favorite of theirs that I had been holding onto for sometime. I just placed the shrink film over their drawings, matched the colors as best as I could and traced their drawings.  There was something sweet about the experience of tracing their artwork. It helped me enter into their little hearts and minds and I gained some insight into their creative processes while paying close attention to the details they deemed important.

 

 I made sure to write in each child's name and the year when I traced the drawings. When the tracing was complete, I just cut each image out and punched a hole in the top.

 

Next, I arranged them onto the baking sheet and placed them in the oven at 275 degrees.

I stayed close to the oven and kept watch while they were baking. After 3 minutes they had shrunk down quite a bit but I knew they weren't done because the edges were curled up and the images looked a bit distorted. Don't let the curled up edges make you think that it's not working right. 

After 3 MORE minutes I knew they were done because they were perfectly flat and the images were no longer distorted.  Just cute tiny little perfect versions of the originals. : )

 

They cooled off super fast and were ready to be turned into key chains and ornaments. For the key chains, simply attach the jump rings to the hole at the top of the finished little trinket.  I used my fingers, but would probably have been easier with pliers. Then just attach the metal key rings to the jump rings.  The jump rings aren't necessary, but I feel like the pieces hang better and look more appealing with the jump ring attached. For the ornaments I just threaded a length of red and white bakers twine through the hole and tied a bow.

Here's a look at one of the finished key chains next to the original drawing to give an idea of how much "shrinkage" occurs. There are a lot of fun family gift possibilities here.  I know a few grandparents, aunts, uncles and older cousins who would get a kick out of receiving these. They also make a great Father's Day or Mother's Day gift option. Make up a few for yourself or even for the little artists themselves to keep and treasure. 

Since this is my first time putting my own craft tutorial "out there" do me a favor and let me know if you decide to try it yourself.  And if so, do tell how it worked for you and if you modified it at all or ended up with a different final product. : ) Thanks for reading!

xoxo,