Shrink Plastic Stencil How To

Ok...I am sooo on a roll with the new Stencil 1 mini stencils!! The sizes are so fun for so many different sufaces. Enough with the so's...anywhooo...I was recently gifted a bag of shrink plastic from my dear old craft hording mom, and thought, hmmm..I haven't used that stuff for a long time. and I made myself a butterfly necklace. Though..once my friend Mandy sees it, it probably won't belong to me anymore. :) below, you'll find a quick little tutorial on how to turn your favorite Stencil 1 image into a fun plastic charm!



The neccessary tools of this trade; Shrink Plastic, Stencil 1 mini chimp, and for comparison sake, the not-so-mini chimp, Stencil 1 Sprays, fine grade sandpaper, heat tool, scissors, poker to hold shrinking plastic down, some beads and findings to complete your jewelry piece.



Start by cutting a piece of shrink plastic and sanding it on both sides. (For this piece, I used the frosted shrink plastic, which is a frosty sheer.) Sanding in a cross hatch pattern will help the sprays stick to the plastic.



Color one side of shrink plastic, I used the sprays in Neon Pink, Neon Yellow and Blue. Spray just a few dots and then blot with a cosmetic sponge.



Turn shrink plastic over and sponge stencil designs with spray in black. Spray just once into a cosmetic sponge (for illustration of use watch; http://tinyurl.com/stencilsprayvideo ) and blot lightly through stencil.



Remove stencils...



Cut images out with scissors, along the edgs of design.



Using a holding device, I used a paper piercing tool..but you could use a popsicle stick or tweezers, and heat directly from the top with heat tool.



The plastic will start shrinking and warping..don't freak out..it will curl back out and flatten. Be sure to move the heat around to each part of the image to make it an even heating. These images are pretty small, so they are easy to shrink in this way. Something larger or more complex in shape may be better off in a toaster oven.



Once shrunk all of the way, you can use some kind of flat object to flatten out the charm...



Voila!



Here is the shrink comparison with the original sizes of the stencil..the charm on the left is really dark looking in this picture..which reminds me to mention..when adding color to the shrink plastic, always keep it light. The color becomes more concentrated as it shrinks and will intensify..



Chimp charms!!



Yeah..we made it to earrings!! Happy Chimp Charm Earrings!!

Pillow was the Case that they gave me..

I posted this on Stencil1blog late last week. This has been my current craft obsession..patches and Pillowcase bags. I love thrift stores..not just for the pricing, but, honestly..where else would you find a clean, soft and lovingly used pillowcase from the 70's..for a dollar? Ok..the pricing probably is my favorite part. grin. :)

Once those pillocases come home..I can hardly use more than two at a time..so what to do? Well, I've been sewing them into bags! I cut the pillowcase in half and then close the bottoms, hem one of the tops and then sew one of them into the other..kind of doubling up the case. Add straps and you have a bag..but let's not stop there. I have also been going crazy with canvas patches. By spraying a nice piece of canvas fabric with a background color, heat set, spray stencil image, heat set and cut out. Now you have a patch that is ready to be sewn onto just about anything!!

Husband Craft

The weeks before Maker Faire were..well..a maker's frenzy. There was so much stenciling and spraying that even my husband got into the act. Here are a few pictures of him spraying my logo onto the back of his shirt..:) love ya honey!

New Video featuring Stencil 1 Atc designs!

I just finished posting my newest video on youtube!
This time I'm showing you how to use the Stencil 1 sprays with the new Stencil 1 ATC designs. These are super mini and super fun!! I'm talking lil' pigeons, watertowers, background designs!! If you haven't seen them yet, head over to Stencil 1.com...now! :) and when you're done, see them in action!

Maker Faire

I just wanted to give a big shout out Thank You to the organizers of the Maker Faire, and all of the wonderful vendors and attendees! This is truly the Greatest Show on Earth! I can't wait for next year! See us next at the Renegade Handmade show at Fort Mason...:)

How to Stencil a T shirt Step by Step

Remember, these stencils are copyright and are for personal use only.

Here are the step by step pictures for making your own custom Stencil 1 t shirt.
Above are all of the supplies you'll need; A Stencil 1 Book; Stencil 101- full of totally rad stencil images, a color or two of Stencil 1 sprays..I'm using black and neon pink, a piece of cardboard or something absorbent to put inside the shirt, to protect the back from spray, an iron to heat set..and finally, a t shirt.



Before you start, be sure that the t shirt is 100% cotton and has been pre washed. This will make the inks last longer through wear and tear. Once the shirt is ready, slip a piece of cardboard inside. I forgot this part when I was taking the pictures and ended up with a shadow of a monkey on the backside of the tee..so don't forget the cardboard!



Lay the shirt flat with the side you want to spray facing up. These sprays dry pretty fast, so I don't usually tape down the stencil..but you can if you want to be sure it doesn't move in the process. You can also tape down some scratch paper along the outside of the stencil to protect the tee from overspray.. I love overspray, though! :)



Let the spraying begin! Try to hold the bottle upright and spray ahead of you, so the bottle won't get clogged up. And don't spray too much, as it will muddy the design. I would say, on average, a good 3-4 sprays on a large design should be plenty. You can always practice this on scratch paper or some old shirts..



This is after having sprayed the black..time to remove the stencil, carefully.



So, carefully lift the stencil and lay flat onto a piece of scratch paper. I like to keep a pad of paper or journal to catch all of the extra ink...it makes for great background paper later.



Voila..one pink earred, blushing chimp! Time to heat set..



To catch some of the extra ink that sits up on top of the fabric, iron with some sort of blotter..an extra piece of fabric, a piece of scratch paper. This iron is on a very low setting, no steam. We're trying to dry the ink, so we don't need any extra moisture. This part takes about a count of 15, moving the iron slowly back and forth.



Remove the blotter piece and heat set directly, again a good count of 15 should set a large sized image. Of course, the more spray you use, the more time it will take to set. Once this image is fully dry..it's ready to wear!



The finished shirt! To take care of this shirt, wash in cold water with a mild detergent and line dry. For all of the stencils and materials seen here please visit Stencil1.com. For more projects and crafts visit rocknrollcrafts.blogspot.com. Thanks!

Craftzine Blog

yowzers! I just found out that over the Craftzine blog, they have started highlighting some of the makers from the this years Makers Faire..Would you believe they started with me?!? A big huge thank you to them! and a big huge thank you to the Crafty Chica for putting it on facebook..so that I could find it!! Remember Makers Faire May 30-31...hope to see you there!

Changes and excitement

all has been quiet on this western front..but only for the time being...big changes and lots of excitement are headed this way! I have my head buried in merch for my upcoming shows;



The Handmade Parade



The Maker Faire



and the Renegade Craft show..this is the poster for last year..the dates for this year are July 18th and 19th..I'll be posting some previews, hopefully, as the dates get closer! :) ..wish me luck! :)

Poster Art

Finally answered the call to the Poster challenge! I was inspired by the terrific colors of everything blooming..and the evenings being light and warm enough to sit outside and spray, spray, spray..:) All of these have been done on Cardboard..you can read about the process on the Stencil 1 blog. The piece above measures about 9 x 12, I call it Sparrows in Space..:)











A big thank you to Jen for all of the Great Photos!! :)

Poster Post

Ed and I have been collaborating again..this time..posters! Check out his post on the Stencil 1 blog..We would love to see what everybody comes up with!! :)