Mini Buttons

[CreatedByWendy]

:confused: Not sure if anyone has thought of this, but I thought I would give it a try. This is also my first posting. I hope it's useful to someone out there.

Using shrink plastic and craft punches. I used the rainbow sponge on shrink plastic then stamped small images on top. Punched out a bunch of shapes and used a 1/8 inch hole punch to punch two small holes in the center of the shape. The punch sizes ranged in size fron 1/2 inch to 1 inch. Shrunk them down to size, and the made very tiny buttons ranging in size from 5mm to 7mm.

I used craft punches in the following shapes: Trees, apples, butterflies, hearts, stars, moons, suns, feet (good for retro tie dye themes), bows, circles, and squares.

If you use the brown, a little green, blue, and some gold on the sponge you can make a "mock" tortoise shell. Just drag it across the plastic in staggered swipes. Dosen't have to be perfect since it shrinks so much that mistakes dissapear. This works well on plain circle shapes.

I figured the tree shaped ones would be good for Christmas scrapbook pages. Apple good for summer, hearts for Valentine's Day, butterflies for spring. They also work well as regular buttons for miniture dolls.

Try using the gingerbread stamp on cork sheets and using the buttons as decorations for clothes...cut out and you have a Christmas ornament.

Thanks for listening!
Wendy

[designerjoan]

Great tips Wendy:D Thank you so much for sharing and by the way, do enjoy being a member of club Posh .......we do.

[mcmoore]

Wendy:

Thank you for the great tips, it was a wonderful way to start your club membership here! We all really appreciate when someone shares their ideas with us.

Thanks again, and welcome!

Mary

[i.r.stamper]

WOW! What a first post!!!:D EXCELLANT ideas, Wendy, I never thought to make BUTTONS out of shrink plastic!!! I LOVE IT! You've taken products most of us have sitting around, mixed 'em together, and come up with an entirely new twist!!! Ok, where the heck did I put that shrink plastic.......

[shelby]

Such a cool idea! I never thought about it before. It would allow you to make shapes and designs instead of having to 'hunt them down' at the fabric stores.


Patricia in FL

[chrisparkington]

Wendy, I only found this idea of shrink plastic buttons today, but I think it is great. I shall use it in cardmaking as well. eg. on Santa's jacket I can stick tiny buttons made out of christmas trees, snowmen or similar. On the gingerbread house Sizzix diecut, I could either decorate it with miniature buttons, or omit the holes and use candy stamps on the shrink plastic to make miniature sweets for the roof and walls. The ideas are coming thick and fast since I read your message, and I thank you so much for giving me the starting point to what is likely to be a boxful of cards and scrapbooking pages. The funny thing is that as I was waiting for the computer to boot up, I found a packet of shrink plastic on the shelf behind the keyboard, so everything is to hand and ready to go.

Many thanks and loving hugs from ChrisP.

[linda beyer]

wendy, what a good idea. if you have a sizzix you could cut shapes from the dies and use them too. i am going to add this to my lists of things to do. i know i have some shrink plastic around here some place. thanks again.

[marcy eisenreich]

What a great idea!!! I've just discovered shrink plastic myself, and have been playing a bit. Thanks for sharing.......Marcy

[stampire]

This si such a fun idea! I just love shrink art. I'm always looking for more ways to use it. I haven't even thought of using my punches for some fun shapes!

[Warren]

I will share the button idea with Dee.
Thank you!

[JulieB.T.]

Hey everyone! I just came upon this thread while looking through the site and I think I am going to try it! It sounds so like alot of fun:) I love using shrink plastic and have made in the past the cute little "stamps".Time to try this with some of Dee's wonderful stamps.Oh,by the way, this is all about making tiny buttons using Dee's stamps and the shrink plastic! Can't wait.I'll let you know when I get them done~but you all know me by now....don't hold your breath!;) Hugs, Julie

[Inkycat]

Thanks for bringing back this thread, Julie! :D There is even computer printable shrink plastic now, which broadens the [COLOR=Magenta]Poshibilities[/COLOR]: you can scan your colored stamp boards from Posh EZ Mount sets into the computer, print it out on the special shrink plastic, then cut or punch the shrink plastic into buttons or other die cut shapes... :)

[lovetostamp]

I love working with shrink plastic ... still get a kick out of watching it shrink! :D Instant gratification with not having to use the oven now too.

Stamping on shrink plastic (then shrinking it) makes perfect embellishments to coordinate with your stamped card or projects! They can be glued on or punch a regular size hole in them before shrinking and tie them on a fiber or ribbon to your piece. Fabulous! ;)

[glittery night owl]

I have wanted to try shrink plastic but am very nervous about trying it :eek:
lacieluv

[Footsie180]

What an excellent idea! Great post. Welcome to the club!

[loosluck]

This is definitely a great idea. Also, thanks to Inkycat for suggesting the colored stamp boards from Posh. I can't wait for tomorrow when I can try it. Thanks for sharing, Mary

[i.r.stamper]

Trudy, shrink plastic is both easy and fun! GO for it, as long as you've got the plastic itself, you've already got everything else you need.*VBG* And it's just SO fun to watch that plastic do it's shrinky thing!*LOL* Thanks for bringing this thread back up, Julie, I have to write this onto my "want to do" list!!!*VBG*

[glittery night owl]

I do have the plastic :D a small oven or heat gun. Which method do you prefer and why? Thank you,
lacieluv

[Calligrastamper]

Hi Wendy,

What a terrific idea! These buttons would be great to put on ATC's - how cute. I think I will give this a try as soon as I return from vacation. Thanks for sharing and welcome to Club Posh.

Linda E.

[lovetostamp]

I prefer using my heat tool - quick and easy! Oh, Trudy you've got to try this. It's still fun to watch these items shrink!

I use a partially unfolded jumbo paper clip to help hold the shrinkable piece down on my surface and just turn on your heat tool over it. The piece will curl but don't worry about it - it straightens itself back out. If it has any problems at all the piece will be slightly moldable only for a few seconds while it is cooling (it cools pretty fast and hardens) and you can pull the edges apart IF this happens, which is rare. Also, you can reheat it after it has shrunk to shape if you want to bend it or curl it. I generally use a wood mount stamp or something similar to flatten my piece immediately after turning off the heat. However, I did slightly curl some pieces one time for effect. I think I reheat them about 3 or 4 times to get just the right look I wanted.

As for what surface to heat it on... I have a laminate top worktable so I just use it and it doesn't hurt since it only takes a few seconds to shrink. If I'm doing a lot of pieces though, I use a piece of cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil. The foil is also supposed to reflect the heat and help speed the process.

Try this and let us know if we can help you have some more fun, Trudy! You are missing out. :D

[i.r.stamper]

Oh, I've done it in the oven...but THAT'S no FUN!*LOL* Half the fun of the stuff is watching it crinkle, and crumple, and shrink!*VBG* So I always use my heat gun now, just for the entertainment value.*wink* I just lay the colored plastic down on my stamping tablet (I use a large sketch tablet as my stamping surface), hold it in place with the wooden end of a paint brush, and heat that baby up! When it's done shrinking, I then take a nice flat wood mount stamp and press the back of the mount onto the plastic, to make sure it's perfectly flat...and then I grin!*LOL* It's FUN, Trudy, GO FOR IT!!!*VBG*

[JulieB.T.]

Leslie, I am going to find that computer printable shrink plastic and print out Dee's stamps! Thanks for the tip! :) I'm so glad I saw this thread from many years ago! There is so much information of this site!! I have learned so much, it is just great! :) I have only been on a few card websites, but the ones I have been on, I don't see where they keep tutorials and threads(from years gone by) like this one does! It is really fantastic that Club Posh does! THANK YOU MATT,GARY ANN DEE!~and you too Warren, 'cause I know you always have a hand in things! ;)

[samanthadesigns]

This is a great tip...thanks so much for sharing. I can't wait to try it.

[Diana Jones]

Julie, thanks for bringing this thread back! I'm not sure where my shrink plastic is but I know I have some. I love the idea of using punches to make tiny charm/buttons. I can think of several I'd like to punch. I too love to watch the plastic shrink with the heat gun; wouldn't think of doing it in the oven and missing the fun!

[glittery night owl]

I saw some shrinky dink in micheals, soooo tomorroe I will use my coupons on them.
I am getting on a first name basis already :D as we have been going in every night after Harold gets home from work and we both use a coupon, yahooooooooooooooooooooooo :D
lacieluv

[vangerhofer]

I didn't know you could use the heat gun. :cool: Because you had to use the oven, it is one reason I never get mine out. :( But seeing the shrinking in action is a great idea. Now I wonder if one could use the tempered glass plate one uses to place your hot gun on? In fact, I have an old micro wave plate too that is tempered glass as well. I think that would work too. Or maybe just cover a cardboard with aluminim foil. What do all of you use? Thanks Wendy...neat idea. Hugs, Verna

[lovetostamp]

It depends on my time. :p My stamp table is old and the top is laminate so it takes heat just fine (like your cabinets can take heat from a hot pan being set on them.) I often just shrink my plastic on the table. :)

If I am shrinking a lot, I do have a piece of cardboad covered with foil for this too. A tip about using the cardboard. Put a piece of chipboard inside under the foil wrapping so that the ridges of the cardboard are not visible. It will be smooth when you flatten your shrink plastic (with a wooden stamp back, or other flat object). Otherwise, your plastic piece will have slight indentions. ;)

[lovetostamp]

Oh, and one other tip when shrinking with the heat tool ... I use a large paper clip with one end unfolded as my helper tool to keep the shrink plastic shape on the surface as it moves around or if it does get stuck to itself.

I've found that if you are using a Ruff'N Ready type of plastic (meaning it is already sanded) shrink with the rough side up. The smooth side tends to stick to itself easier. Remember, you can always reheat the plastic even after it has cooled and work with it or enlarge a hole, make a hole, etc. ;)

[glittery night owl]

Glad you warned me about the tabel :eek: as I would have tried it on my cutting mat.
Will that work?
lacieluv

[AmzdByHsGrace]

Hey Y'all!! for those of you who aren't that familiar with shrink plastic... here is a good "101" tutorial on YouTube.... check it out!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHU3quPm0ns&feature=related

God bless
Nyoka

[i.r.stamper]

No, Trudy, you can't shrink on your cutting mat, it will melt. Also, don't try it in a Tidy Tray, or on or near anything plastic! However, you can heat it on top of a pad of paper (my usual stamp surface is a large sketch tablet), on wood surfaces (I sometimes pull out an old cutting board when I'm doing a bunch of 'em*wink*), or on any hard surface that won't be destroyed by the heat. OH, and definitely don't use any heat near one of those foam mats, like the ones Posh sells! Those things melt FAST!!!*wink*

[vangerhofer]

But a tempered glasss surface should work as well, I would think. Some day I will have to try this as well. Hugs, Verna

[dianebird]

This is an old thread, (http://www.clubposh.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3296&highlight=Shrink+plastic) but it contains a lot of good information.

[glittery night owl]

I have the tempered glass matt I got at Sunday International for cutting the foam. Thanks for the advice.

Diana Bird thanks for the link to the thread,
lacieluv

[AmzdByHsGrace]

I do my 'shrinking' in one of those large aluminum roasting pans... then if the object flys around it won't fly away...lol I normally hold mine down with my piercing tool to shrink...
I haven't tried to punch the shrink stuff yet... I was afraid that I would ruin my punches... so I just normally draw mine pattern on with a sharpie and then cut it out.. if it needs holes I punch those with my hole punch...
God bless
Nyoka

[lovetostamp]

I haven't tried to use a punch on shrink plastic, but cutting with die cuts works beautifully. (Of course, this is before the plastic is shrunk. ;))

[ceramics]

great thread to bring back. Will have to go back and reread again. A lot of useful tips and ideas. Thanks!