Shrink Plastic Adventures, Part 1

Shrink plastic, Shrinky Dinks. Whatever. They are super-cool.


I like to put charms on my notebooks, which is simple when you use a game board to make a notebook...just drill yo-self a hole in one of the game pieces and there's your charm.

For my laminated notebooks, I was using store bought silver colored charms when I could find good ones, but I really want handmade charms to put on my notebooks. The answer has to be Shrink Plastic.

I'm no stranger to Shrinky Dinks and have made lots of boo boos with them. Specifically, I have found that the inkjet ones are susceptible to loosing their ink.

I am trying to learn how best to seal the "shrinked" image to preserve the design AND to give it a glossy finish.

I read all over Craftster to get ideas. Craftster is great.


I tried some of the ideas, and probably due to my lack of attention to detail (ie, don't read directions), I got disappointing results.

Some folks say use a spray acrylic clear gloss. I didn't have that hanging around but I did have two of the items suggested on Craftster:

1) Triple Thick Gloss Coating by DecoArt
2) Glossy Accents by Ranger

Note: Other suggestions were UTEE and clear nail polish.

So post shrinking, I slathered on a really thick layer of each of these. Here's what it looked like immediately after applying the goo:


Next, I check back 4 hours later and...


Darn. Ink bleedage. Close up...



Neither product was really designed for the purpose of sealing ink onto shrink plastic, and the directions on the ink jet Shrinky Dinks specifically recommend Krylon Acrylic Coat spray.

Now I am going to try this again, with Krylon spray underneath and photos of results will follow....

Etsy Sellers and Goodies from the Renegade Fair

As promised, here are some of the goodies I scored at the recent Austin Renegade Fair.

I pretty much freaked out at the Pretty Good Things booth. I had to ask for something "conservative" to arrive at this very cute and COMFORTABLE headband. (Most headbands give me a headache in about 5 minutes) She has lovely things, including an awesome bird nest headband, but I am in no way cool enough to wear such accessories. Nevertheless, I found several necessities to love.


Danielle Maveal had a number of retro vintagey designs on silver pendants. It was difficult to choose, but I loved the birds (and the cameras, squirrels, and mushrooms!) and I really liked the scalloped edges on this one.


Krank Press is not from Texas but was thoughtful enough to create Texas Produce Calendars for the Austin Renegade show. I love, love, LOVE letterpress and could not resist this item.


I have long been a fan of etsy's YourSecretAdmrial. Everything in her shop is absolutely heart-able, and we share a love of airmail ephemera. Her hand bound books are so so good. I was delighted to be able to buy one from her booth although it was very difficult to make my choice. I decided on a palm sized book suitable for a tiny purse, although I doubt I will be able to bring myself to write in it. Flipping though it is highly satisfying.

Although not on Etsy, Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching is worth mentioning since she is based out of Austin, Texas just like me, and...I had a few crafty rock star moments at the fair, and one involved visiting the Sublime Stitching Booth. I have 2 of Jenny Hart's books and her stitch-able stationery set. Now I have these 2 cool goodies as well:


Yay, Renegade Craft Fair!

Renegade Craft Fair

It was my first big show, and TONS of fun. If you live in a town that hosts a Renegade Craft Fair, GO because you won't be disappointed.

I took a few photos with my camera so I could have a few memories to take with me. Here is my booth...





You can find the list of Austin vendors at the show at the Renegade Craft Fair website. I did a little shopping and over the next week plan to share photos and shopping info on some of the yummy goodies I brought home with me.

The Lone Star Ladies Present: Shop Austin 2010

Crab Apple Designs (that's me, hee hee) will be one of many vendors at this very cool Austin shopping experience this Saturday, April 17.

This is the "2nd Annual" Shop Austin event, and friends who attended last year said it was FANTASTIC and so worth it to have a chance to browse, relax, snack, and get a first hand look at local handmade talent.

Come see us!

Measuring Tape Giveaway Winner(s)!

Hello friends! Thank you to the folks who participated in the measuring tape love giveaway. We have 2 winners: Life Made Creations in 1st place as the winner of a measuring tape journal. A runner up winner of a measuring tape pocket mirror is Butterfly. Thank you both for entering, and please send me a message with your addresses!

Melissa.madison@gmail.com

Thanks again for visiting my blog and for entering. I hope to see you back soon!
Yours,
Melissa