Spring has sprung early here in North Eastern Ohio, and we’ve got lovely flowers blooming outside. I used some shrink plastic to make some sweet little flower head pins and bring some of that “spring” indoors to my crafting table.
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They are actually really easy. Let me show you how to make them!
You’ll need:
- Clear shrink plastic (I used clear for that translucent look.)
- White glass “corsage” pins
- Alcohol-based markers (I used LetraSet ProMarkers, but Copics or Spectrum Noir would work too.
- 2 inch flower punch (I used the “Whale of a Punch” by EK Success, but this die would be great, too!)
- 1/8 inch hole punch
- Heat tool
- Sanding block or sandpaper
- Hot Glue Gun Helpers (not mandatory, but really helpful)
First, punch out your shapes with the punch. You can add a small hole as shown, but really it’s not necessary.
Then scuff up your plastic using the sanding block and color the sanded area using your alcohol-based markers. If you didn’t punch a hole in the middle , now you can just pierce it with the headpin, like so.
Make sure that the scuffed/colored surface is face DOWN, away from the headpin.
Next, apply heat and shrink the plastic. It will curl up and rock around a bit, but when the plastic is fully shrunk it will be flat.
Let it cool for a few seconds so you can handle it safely. While it’s still warm and pliable, gently draw the petals forward over the headpin to shape them, like so:
Use Hot Glue Gun Helpers if you have them handy!
Repeat until you have a full bouquet of shrink plastic flower pins. Next, I’ll show you how to make the cute little pincushion. Stay tuned!
That’s it! These are adorable just sitting in a pincushion, but you could also add them to cards, ATCs, or other cute mixed media projects!
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I love this idea! So cute!
That’s awesome! Love those sweet little flowers!
Sooo cool. I had not heard of this kind of shrink plastic befpre. You could do so many fun things with it!!!
That is a really cute idea!
OH! Man! LOVE this idea. There are so many pretty heads on floral pins these days. I could really go to town with this one! 🙂
FYI, you can use any #6 clear plastic for this. It’s used for some take-out and bakery containers. Just look for the #6 in the triangle that’s used to differentiate plastics for recycling. If you are lucky enough to have curbside recycling, you can get a nearly endless supply of the stuff.
You could also use it to make buttons. Just be sure to punch the holes ahead of time. A regular office-type hole puncher works just fine. And you can shrink things in the oven at 275ºF for a just about a minute. They’ll curl up and then uncurl, just keep an eye on things.
So adorable and clever!! <3 <3 <3 Lurves my "Craft Test Dummies!!!"
That is so super cute!
HaH! I finally tried making these. They are so cute. I mostly used TH’s tattered flower die. I colored some with the TH distress pens and others with copic markers. Both worked well. Then after shrinking them, I added diamond stickles to some and glossy accents to others. That really enhanced the color.
These are fantastic! I thought they would be so much harder then this. NOT!! Love!
So lovely I just made these and I am delighted with them thank you so much!