Shrink Plastic Adventures, Part 2

I am playing around with different ways to seal the ink on printable shrink plastic. My last attempt resulted in very "bleedy" ink and an undesirable effect overall, as seen in this blog post.

My next adventure in shrink plastic sealing begins with doing what I should have done in the first place: read and follow directions.


I took a handful of inkjet Shrinky Dinks and sprayed them with Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic coating. This is how I did it:

1. I followed the directions on the can: shake for 2 minutes, hold about 12 inches away, spray with a quick sweep. It was probably hotter outside than the maximum recommended temperature, but I did store the Krylon inside.

2. Let it dry for 15 minutes.

Here are the results:



After one coat, it was very difficult to see any kind of sheen, much less a "gloss." So after 15 minutes, I resprayed...


After the second coat dried, a sheen was visible, although I would still not call it a "glossy" effect. In the photo below, there is a strange yellowness to the ink, and I think it may be an artifact of my camera or the fading light.


Inside under a fluorescent light, the sheen is more visible but you have to look closely to find it. There is also evidence of a "grit" that some folks at Craftster referred to that happens when you use glossy coat spray.



I sprayed a few of the pieces with a third coat of Krylon with no noticeable difference.

Next:
These pieces have 2 coats of Krylon and group 1 has an additional coat of a brush on gloss coating called "Triple Thick." Group 2 has a clear dimensional goo called "Glossy Accents" which I have used on paper with great success.


The results were close, but I have a slight preference for the charms with the Glossy Accents because it is REALLY glossy and there is a dimension to them that is not as noticeable with the brush on Triple Gloss.

More of the Glossy Accents charms:



The more "matte" look of the Triple Gloss charms:

Next I will try using UTEE, but for now, my conclusion: DEFINITELY seal the shrinky dinks with Krylon spray before applying a brush on or squeeze on gloss coat to avoid ink bleeding.

A Contest, A Bag, and Some Other Things

Nation(s),
I've entered my first crafty contest. I found out about it yesterday morning, whipped out my entry in the afternoon/evening/wee hours, and sent my submission to Craftershock just a few minutes ago. The winner will be featured in the first issue of their print magazine. It was fun to make a bag for a new purpose. It would be SO DEAD SEXY to win, but I haven't won anything since the 3rd grade, so I'm not holding my breath. The joocee bag is now in the shop, and is getting some admiration on Craftster, so that is quite satisfying. (I've promised the Craftster community a tutorial later this week.) I'm so starved for crafty-tention that I'm high on the love. Can you tell that I love my Bubble Gum Tote Bag? Yes, I do. It's "puke-tacularly cute" (according to a fellow Craftster-er).


Here it is featured on the "Hot New Projects From All Categories" on the Craftster homepage. [note: This is not something to get all that excited about, but I'm pretending it is.]


Also, as promised, a few bits of improved resin. I've got the candy hearts down, no problem. The other stuff is progressing. I have some experimental molds ready and since there's no "EasyCast" to be found in the tri-county area, I'll be using the toxic death cloud formula "CastinCraft" outside tomorrow morning before the temperature rises above 80C which is when I think the stuff spontaneously combusts.





Ah, yes...the Goodwill Blue Hangar (Hanger?) visit with my friend Stacey was also a success. Again, for $14 I couldn't possibly list all the treasures (mostly because they are still in my trunk due to heaviness/laziness). Here's a panorama of what we're dealing with. I wish that I had considered the composition of my photos before taking them because they really look like we're digging in a giant indoor dumpster. But it really is awesome, like digging in a really great dumpster.

Maybe I'll get around to sharing the day's loot tomorrow. Nitey-nite!

My Resin Tips Post on Craftster

This is kind of fun, so visit me here if you like.