jewelry
You can transfer photos right onto shrink plastic using your ink jet printer. For this project, black and ivory-colored shrink plastic complement sepia-toned photographs to make Victorian-style pendants and earrings. Jewelry sets inspired by themes such as holiday celebrations, weddings, and baby or pet photos make great gifts. Use color photos with brightly colored wire and beads for a whimsical look.
1« Scan family photos and prepare in the computer using a photo editing program. Size images to twice the desired finished size and lighten to 50-percent opacity. The images will look faded or washed out, but will intensify when shrunk. Print the images on the shrink plastic following the package instructions carefully. Trace the images using templates (see page 125) or a ruler, and cut out.
YOU WILL NEED FOR ONE PENDANT OR PAIR OF EARRINGS
Old family photos
Shrinky Dinks plastic for ink jet printers
Scissors
Almond-colored or black shrink plastic (Shrinky Dinks)
3/i6- or 1/4-inch hole punch
400-grit sandpaper or nail file
Acrylic spray sealer
Epoxy resin (optional)
Gold or silver leafing pen
E6000 glue or FPC 9001 adhesive
2« Cut out larger background shapes in almond-colored or black shrink plastic. Punch a hole at the top, and one at the bottom if you wish to add a dangle. Shrink the images and background pieces in the oven at 300°F following manufacturer's instructions. Sand the edges lightly to shape. Coat the surface with acrylic spray to protect and seal the images, following with epoxy resin if you want a shiny surface.
Q. Glue the image pieces to the background pieces.
3. Add gold or silver around the edges of the pieces with a leafing pen.
FINISHING THE NECKLACE AND EARRINGS
To make a necklace, use wire-wrapped loops (see steps 1 through 3 on page 24 for instructions on making wrapped wire loops) to link faceted crystal beads. Attach the pendant to the necklace using a wrapped wire loop. You can add dangles to the bottom of the pendant with beads and head pins. Add a clasp to finish.
To make earrings, flip the image in the computer to print mirror images. Attach ear wires and beads with wrapped wire loops to complete.
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