Spring Crafting: Jewelry

I have recently learned that there exist printable Shrinky Dink paper. Yes, Shrinky Dinks! Teeming with possibilities, I thought I’d create what I had been looking for in a pendant.

My first tries were an anatomically-correct heart, an artichoke (a play on the heart theme) and a brain. My parents’ ink was running low so the color is very vivid. I trimmed the excess paper and made ugly, sloppy holes. I was just eager to watch them wiggle and bake in the pre-heated oven!

It only takes a bout 2-3 minutes and they are shrunken and firmed up. The color darkened with the shrinking although the ink-strained stripes on the artichoke were still visible. Next time I need to make more careful holes within the image and trim them better. But they were going to be perfect for my first attempt at jewelry making!

And here is my first necklace! I attached the shrinky heart with some heart lockets and affixed them to the left of a double chain. The pendant is a bit large and I’ll consider that on my next batch of ‘dinks. Success!

While I was in the jewelry making section I picked up some  other pieces to play with. This delightful branch and bird silver pendant was easy to piece together with set of tools.