The Basics of Shrinky Dinks

Howdy friends! It's nice to see you today!

Have you tried or at least heard of Shrinky Dinks? They were popular in the 1980's but are still available today.  

The kit includes these acetate-type sheets. 

Draw or trace images directly on the sheets, cut them out, and bake them in a toaster for a few minutes.

The heat from the toaster shrinks them to 1/3 of their original size and makes them 9 times thicker like hardened plastic...TADA! 

I've been experimenting with Shrinky Dinks so let me share this tutorial and a few tips I've learned. 

The first step is to create your image by drawing or tracing. Use a permanent marker to define the drawing. Try to fit as many images on the sheet to avoid waste while being mindful to leave a small cutting margin. 

The next step is to cut around each image. I used a bigger pair of scissors to separate the drawings from the sheet and a smaller pair of scissors to get into the grooves of each drawing.

Keep the cuts smooth and sharp. 

Notice that I cut very close to the edges of the drawing.

Take the baking tray that came with your toaster oven and line it with a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.

Lay the cutouts on the paper, making sure the inked side of the drawing is NOT touching the paper. It might be difficult to tell which is the inked side; just remember the orientation of how you drew your image (ex. wings on the left side of butterfly or smaller part of succulent plant on the right side of pot) and this side should be facing you, not the paper. Also, don't overcrowd the tray. You can bake a second and third batch later on.

The instructions on the package says to pre-heat the toaster to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius). I wasn't sure how to do that on a toaster (compared to a regular oven that has a pre-heat setting) so I turned it on to the required temperature without putting anything inside the toaster. I set it to 5 minutes. When the timer rang, I put in the tray with the Shrinky Dinks and set the timer to 3 minutes (the baking time indicated in the instructions were 1-3 minutes). 

There was a small amount of smoke as the first batch was baking (yikes!). I lowered the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 degrees Celsius) in the following batches (no smoke...YAY!). 

Keep an eye on it and you'll see them shrink, as if watching a time lapse video. After the pieces lie flat, give it an additional 30 seconds before taking it out of the toaster.

Using a pair of oven mitts, take the tray out of the toaster and lay it on a trivet or cooling rack. Then press a sheet of paper or cardboard on top of the Shrinky Dinks and lightly press flat (I used a small book to weigh it down). Let this cool for about 15 to 20 seconds. 

See how they shrunk?

Let me show you some of the mistakes I made:

For this one, I put the ink-side down on the paper leaving some of the ink rubbing onto the wax paper. And there's some fuzziness and spots on the flower, too (blah).

Same for the butterfly (blah).  So remember to position the drawing inked-side up on the tray. 

The succulent drawing curled into itself (blah)! This can happen if you leave it in the toaster for too long and not weigh it down immediately. Or it could also be the drawing where one side is more tapered? I'm not sure.

Thankfully I positioned this flower correctly...TADA!

Take out your paint brush and acrylic paint and paint the back side of the Shrinky Dinks. I used three coats (hold it up to the light as you paint; there shouldn't be any clear areas).

Note: The instructions says that you can paint the Shrinky Dinks before baking them in the toaster. I tried that but the paint cracked and peeled off (blah). Not a good idea. Remember to paint after baking. 

Allow the paint to dry for at least 30 minutes.

Here's what the painted flowers look like...TADA!

And the butterflies...TADA!

And the birds, too!

Notice also the thickness of the plastic. 

To make it more functional, I'm adding a bar pin.  

This one's rescued from an old conference ID tag (blah to TADA!).

Attach the bar pin or pin with clutch back to the Shrinky Dinks with hot glue and allow this to dry for a few minutes.

Use these pins to liven up your wardrobe.

And turn your old closet staples from blah to TADA!

***An update as of August 27, 2020:

My Shrinky Dinks flower and butterfly pins were featured on the @AreteAteneo Instagram feed...TADA!

Perfume Projects

Thank you for visiting me today!

"The Perfume Collector" was one of the books I could not put down. Set in London in the 1950's, it tells the story of Grace Monroe who receives a mysterious letter saying she was bestowed a generous inheritance from Eva D' Orsay, a woman she has never met. Grace flies to Paris to find clues about Eva and if they are at all related. Her answers come from an abandoned perfume shop. Three specific perfumes, La Premiere, Aureole Noire, and Choses Perdus, reveal Eva's story. 

The book's author, Kathleen Tessaro, vividly takes the reader on a journey to a bygone era. Her flawed heroines are very relatable, I was cheering for them to succeed. She also describes "scents" in a manner I've not read before:

"Perfume should tell a story -- the story of who you are, who you might be, perhaps even of who you fear becoming...all of these things are possible. It's a very intimate element of a woman, just like her signature or the sound of her voice."

*****

"You can't go to school to learn the art of the perfumer. You have to possess a natural, God-given talent and then the secrets of the profession must be passed on by the master."

*****

"The effect was beyond what he could have imagined. His perfume highlighted her youthful freshness and yet blended naturally with her rich, musky undertones. It 'finished' her, gave her a polished elegance, joining the fractured sides of her together."

*****

"You see, nothing is more immediate, more complete than the sense of smell. In an instant, it has the power to transport you. Your olfactory sense connects not to the memory itself, but to the emotion you felt when that memory was made. To recreate a scent memory is one of the most challenging, eloquent pursuits possible. It's poetry, in its most immediate form."

*****

"Once upon a time, I was a perfumer. Now I'm reduced to a custodian, a collector of the past. I can't write or paint or compose...my language is scent -- the vocabulary of feeling and memory." 

*****

"Because this is the root of all perfume creation. To change to way we smell. It could be argued that all perfume is born out of shame; a self-consciousness of our natural odor. We want to hide it."

*****

"Fragrance is an aspiration. A goal. Not just a tool of seduction but of power and status. Do you realize how much the ancients used to pay for frankincense and myrrh? Whole empires were built on the trade of these commodities. You see, even then, when life was short and cruel, people wanted to smell differently. To be transported."

*****

"This is floral, earthy, and there's the clean overlay of aldehydic waxiness and soft flowers. And then, underneath, a whiff of more feral, impolite essences. Under the clean, innocent exterior there's a carnal presence. It's not without ulterior motive. This is the scent of intoxication and desire. The perfume of seduction."

After reading this book, I was inspired to mix some scents. 

This is a perfume kit that my mom-in-law's sister sent me.  She is a very thoughtful lady, sending me books and clothes that she thinks I'll like. It was soooo kind of her to find this at a church sale. She knows all too well that this is my jam. 

Inside is a book detailing the history of perfume and possible ways to mix scents. 

The kits also came with these little fragrances.  It was fun to play around with different concoctions -- a drop of the floral, two drops of the woody, a drop of the musk; or a drop of the white flowers, a drop of the floral, a drop of the fruits, and a drop of the rose accord. 

I used strips of paper, the kind that you would find when trying perfume at the beauty counter.  When I was pleased with a combination, here's what I did:

I repeated the scent combination and added them to the pendants I made last week. 

The pendant is handmade from salt dough and can absorb the fragrance oils. It's attached to beads strung on stretchy cord.

Essentially, it's a scented bracelet. You can wear perfume that's not directly applied to your skin...TADA!

The scent on the pendant lasts for several weeks and I can add new scents when the original has dissipated.

Aromatherapy oil can also be used on the pendant. So if you want to feel calm (ex. chamomile) or invigorated (ex. peppermint) you're just a whiff away...TADA!

Day 100

Hello everyone! I have an extra blog post this week because it's Day 100 of #100DayProject...TADA!

"The 100 Day Project " is an on-line art project: choose a project, do it for 100 days, and show off your progress on Instagram. 

Given our current situation, I chose the theme, "100 Days of Silver Linings". I needed a distractraction from uncertainty, something to allow me a bit of productivity, and hallmarks of hope amidst the heartache.  

I trimmed watercolor paper into 3-inch by 3-inch squares until I had 100 blank canvases. The front is for the artwork.

And the back is where I write down the story behind each sketch.

It's important to document them so that I won't ever forget. 

I used my favorite tools that I've owned for many years.

I hunted for stories of hope and kindness everywhere -- on social media and in the news (no matter how bad the headlines were, the broadcast always ended with a positive story). 

Here are the random acts of kindness from all over the world: people wanting to reach out to their neighbor whether they knew them or not.

Expressions of gratitude to the brave first responders, health care heroes and essential workers. 

Words of strength.

How do you celebrate big events and milestones while social distancing? We found creative ways!

Solidarity in light shows, multi-city flybys, a Space X launch, Fourth of July fireworks, and on-line entertainment.  

In June, the pandemic and peaceful protests crossed paths.

Thankfully, there have been small changes brought about by these protests like a greater awareness of the prejudices black lives go through on a daily basis. Reforms to some police departments have also been implemented. And the creative community has been supportive of black-owned businesses and are rallying in amplifying black voices. It's a long way to go but it's a start.

 

These are several ways we are trying to navigate what we've never experienced before. 

There were days when it was difficult to sketch because all the good news was overshadowed by the bad. But there were times I would make 3 sketches a day because the stories I came across were very uplifting.

And now that I've completed my 100 Day Project, I won't stop there. I'll keep searching for these stories.

We're still fighting the virus but we're all in this together.

Let's each do our part.

Let's be extra kind.

And let's remain hopeful that things will get better very soon.