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.

Cupcake Doodles Stationery Set

Cupcake notes cards are here! They will be in the shop tomorrow, once I have good light for photographing.

The set includes 4 hand-drawn-and-colored-then-digitally-enhanced note cards with dimensional embellishment added and 2 sticker sheets: 1 of 4 envelope labels and 1 of 6 cupcake stickers. The sticker sheets are on self-adhesive paper and need to be cut by you to suit your cupcakey needs.

Cupcakes Anyone?

Scenes from my Oregon-time sketchbook...


While on the plane last night, I was doing some doodling...24 hours later, there's a cupcake art print in the shop! What makes this baby so interesting is that it is embellished with Glossy Accents clear gloss medium and some glitter. Yah!

I drew the cupcakes with a black gel ink pen, then colored them in with colored smencils I picked up at Powell's Bookstore in Portland. The original piece is SCENTED, people. The prints aren't, but they do have a satisfying glossy 3-D look to them. You can find one in the shop and be sure that more are on the way.