OK, here is another one. A pretty pink flamingo with dangling legs and a fluffy tail.
I hope you can see the sparkles
A list of what I usually use
Shrinky Dink Ruff and Ready, 2 sheets
Hole Punch or small drill bit, I usually don't use a hole punch for the hanging hole. I use the smallest drill bit I can find and drill after I have finished the ornament.
Colored Pencils
Mod Podge Gloss
Sparkle Glaze
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
Small Paint Brush
E6000 glue or something similar if you are gluing rather than melting the 2 parts together
Black Sharpie for tracing
Regular pencil
Parchment Paper,
Tile
Flat Spatula
Cutting board or some other surface to drill on
Jump rings
Black Feather Boa
Pliers for pulling jump ring open and closed
I think you should be able to print these out and use as a pattern
I hand drew this so you may also have to adjust his size if you are using a different brand of shrink plastic. At this size, after you make it and add legs, it is about 8 inches high.
I want to say a few things about coloring and cutting this out of the shrink plastic.
1. I usually trace these onto the shrink plastic with a black sharpie, on this one, don't trace the semi- triangular area at the the base of the flamingo's neck. This area is going to be left clear, so at most trace it lightly with a regular pencil and then erase before baking
2. The triangular area inside the legs doesn't need to be cut out, it will turn mostly clear after baking and sealing.
4. If you are using Grafix, you are going to have to play around with this. I haven't tried it with that brand and from what I have read it doesn't shrink as much as the Dink's brand.
5. I use whatever colored pencils I have, but be warned, the darker colors in particular tend to smear. So, when coloring, do light colors first and then take care with the darker colors that you don't smear them into the lighter ones while coloring.
6. Also be careful while cutting that you don't smear the colors around too much.
How I made this.
1. Traced it onto shrink plastic by laying my drawing underneath the sheet of shrink plastic with the frosted side up. I followed the steps above. I used 1 sheet for the body and 1 sheet for the legs and neck. If you have scraps laying around you could cut the neck and legs out of those.
2. I used 3 different shades of pink to color the body. I started with the darkest on the outer edges and went lighter towards the inside on the wing. I sort of did the same thing on the neck and blended it all in together. I used white pencil on his face and a black sharpie for the tip of the beak, eye and legs.
5. Cut all the shapes out.
6. Bake according to directions given by the manufacturer of the product you are using. When I bake these I put parchment paper on the pan and place the plastic on that, then I put another layer of parchment paper on top of the ornament. I have a small aluminum pan that came with my toaster over that I put on top of that. This seems to keep the plastic from curling on itself and sticking together. I use my regular oven for baking these but I know some people use their toaster oven, but since I am using the pan from that oven to put on top of the items being baked that wouldn't work for me.
7. Now, these things warp sometimes. I don't know why one does it and one doesn't, even when I am doing the exact same shape. If this happens I put it back in the oven for 5 minutes and then you can work with it a little to get it in the shape I want. I don't put the parchment paper or pan on it the 2nd time as it doesn't seem to curl up so much at this point. But remember, these will sometimes warp and it may never get to the exact shape you want. Just consider it as having a handmade look and move on.
8 I also have a fairly heavy floor tile that I put on top of these when I take them off the pan from baking. I put it on top and wait a few minutes for it to cool. Anything smooth, heavy and flat should work. This helps it get flat.
9. Once all pieces are baked, remove the legs and put under whatever you are using to make it lie flat, like the tile I use. Line up the clear, semi-triangular section at the end his neck with where you want it on the body. Gently slide them back in the oven so they don't slide around and melt together in a way you don't want. I bake them again for 5 minutes, open the oven, use a flat spatula to press them together, then flip it over and bake for another 5 minutes, press again then take off pan and put under the tile I use. I guess you can use E6000 glue to glue them together, but I like melting them together.
10. After cooling completely I move it to another piece of parchment paper because I know I am going to be sealing and gluing and lots of other things that make a mess.
11. I work on the rough side of these things. I think the item looks more like what I intended. It also means I get 2 shiny sides, so all is protected.
12. I used my sparkle glaze to paint his body and neck. You could just use Mod Podge and glitter to add this if you want or not do it at all. Don't smear the pink into the white while you are doing this.
13. Use Mod Podge to seal face and then do the rest of the body and legs. Since the face is white I try not to smear the pink into it. I have found if I don't Mod Podge the whole thing before I put the Dimensional Magic on that the colors sometimes lift off and run.
14. After the Mod Podge has dried. I then used the Dimensional Magic and covered the whole thing including the legs. You are going to have to watch out for bubbles and if you get one just use a pin or tooth pick to pop them or move to edge to get rid of it. It is usually pretty good about staying on the item, but if I really go overboard and put to much on it has run over the side so use discretion. Let it dry, don't move it around. This can take several hours. You can usually tell it is dry if it no longer has that hazy, milky look. This is another reason I don't use a hole punch as it would just fill in with this stuff. Once dry you can decide if it needs another coat, I wouldn't recommend more than two coats as it seems to crackle a little on me after that point.
15. Use the drill to make a hole at the top of the legs and then a hole where you want it to dangle from the body. Make another hole or holes(sometimes to get it to hang correctly I make two holes to put the hanging string through) for the string for hanging. I placed a plastic cutting board under it and drilled on top of that so I wouldn't drill my counters.
16. Use a jump ring to attach the legs to the body.
17. I used E6000 glue to add black feather boa to the tail. I glued it on the back.
18. Put a string through the hole in the top, tie a knot and you are done.
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