Welcome Back Jo Myhill Project #1 Shrink Plastic ....

Here we are at the final week of the second month of this Semester. A huge welcome back Jo Myhill ! Grab a cuppa and sit back and enjoy. {...before this nasty storm hits the UK...stay safe everyone! Lets hope it's a fizzer and doesn't cause all the damage predicted}

"Thanks to everyone who commented on my first guest designer week, it was great to hear how much you liked what I made and see how you interpreted it, even if my pieces were a bit complex and contained lots of techniques! So I hope you like the creations from me this week and pick some techniques to try out and have fun with"!

Shrink plastic, it can be a difficult thing to use, but you can get some great results. I really like how you can get really solid thick shapes and how the colour intensifies as you shrink.   I’ve used hearts before to make flower heads but wanted to see how they would work with shrink plastic.

I used two 10x10cm wood frames as my starting point. I wanted quite a shabby feminine colour scheme so I started by painting the whole frame in Mud Splat on the front, the sides and the back but not inside the aperture.

Next a layer of Spanish Mulberry, this was a new colour that I hadn’t been opened.  It’s gorgeous but I wanted it just a bit darker so mixed in a little bit of Mud Splat on my craft mat. Using Cut N Dry I kept adding layers of paint on the front of the frame until the Cut N Dry was well dry! I lightly sanded the front with a sanding block just to give a smoother finish.

On the inside of the aperture I painted Vintage Lace, it didn’t matter if I got a bit on the front of the frame as this is going to be the next layer of paint on the front of the frame anyway.

Next a thin layer of Crackle Glaze, not too thickly. I tend to use an old credit card to scrape mine on. If you haven't used it before, check out Leandra's video below on crackle, it really is simple, and a thick layer of crackle does not give you thick cracks, its all about how you apply the top coat that determines the size of the cracks you get.

It's important the the crackle glaze is totally dry before you apply the top coat, you can use a heat gun to speed it up. I mixed Vintage Lace and Blush, I mixed quite a lot as I wanted a thick layer to give me big cracks. Using a brush, I loaded it up with paint and added short strokes of paint over the front of the frame. Across the top, down the sides and then the bottom.  Remember don’t go over where you’ve already painted, if you miss a bit it just adds to the shabbiness. Once this started to crack I used my heat gun to speed things along.

I was really pleased as the thick top coat gave me lovely deep big cracks to get the real shabby look. 

With the spare mix of Vintage Lace and Blush I lightly brushed it along the sides of the frame, I still wanted the Mud Splat to peep through and look very shabby and weathered.

On the front of the frame I wanted to add a little bit of colour to add to the shabby look, so put a little bit of Chocolate Pudding on my craft mat and lightly dabbed some Cut N Dry foam in it, took the excess off and gently started to add some colour to the front by rubbing very lightly in small circular motions. Not all over just in the corners. You can hardly see it but it just adds to the dirtiness of the look.

Now for some stamping. On the sides of the frame I stamped the border stamp from HP1102 in Potting Shed Archival Ink. 

HP1102 

Once it was dry I lightly sanded with sand paper to reveal some of the grain of the wood and tone down the stamping so it looks as though it’s fading into the background.

On the front of the frame I used Mini 74 again in Potting Shed Archival. I first stamped on scrap paper and then used the second impression on the frame as I wanted it to be very subtle. 

Mini 74

 

Now I have a confession here, I was so engrossed in the stamping I forgot to take any pictures at this stage, so here is one of the finished pieces to show the stamping on the side – sorry that it's blurry !

Around the outside edge and the inner edge I first used a little bit of Chocolate Pudding and then on top used Ruby Treasure Gold using my finger to gently rub along the edges. It adds to the tonal quality and also edges and frames the work so the eye focuses on where it’s supposed to focus, ie. the central focal point and not go wandering off all over the place!

Next the shrink plastic I used a sheet of opaque and painted it in Blush and then Rose. 

Once this was dry I stamped the roses from HP1104 all over in Sepia Archival Ink and some small clocks from HPXT01, then patiently waited for it to dry! 

HP1104 

HPXT01 

One dry I cut out the clocks and used the Full Heart die to cut out six hearts. I then started to shrink them all using my heat gun, always a scary moment to see if it works. When it’s shrunk I quickly stamp the back of a wood or acrylic stamping block over the shrink shape to flatten it.

Whilst they cooled completely I went back to the frame. In the aperture I wanted to put some Crunchy Wax Kraft Paper in to add some more texture. I roughly cut a square the same shape as the frame and scrunched it up a few times, carefully opening it open to scrunch it another way. I needed the Crunchy to sit quite tall in the aperture so used some off cuts of easy mount to fill the aperture and then ease the Crunchy in to fill the space. I used a hot glue gun to stick it in. 

Back to the shrink hearts. I used Ruby and Onxyite Treasure Gold to edge the petals.

For the flower I cut a circle of card to use as a base. I added a blob of hot glue and carefully started sticking the petals down to make a flower. I have to admit this was fiddly. In the centre I used one of the clocks. For the other frame I just stuck the last heart on top of the Crunchy.

Well I think it worked really well and I like both of them. The single heart is something I’d quite like to revisit and use in a different way – um thinking cap on!

See you back here tomorrow night. Jo x

Leandra Says: Funnily enough, Darcy and I were just talking about using hearts to make flowers on Friday... but not with shrink. I love the attention to detail on the frames, and I'm thinking these would make great gifts for December perhaps for teachers and friends....I might start a production line in all kinds of colours!!

Gillian Says: Fab little home decor pieces Jo, love those big deep crackles and the rustic feel from the Crunchy Wax Paper.