Teen Summer Classes: Shrinky Dink Self-Portraits

 This week I taught my first summer Shrinky Dink Self-Portraits class. For the class, students draw self-portraits, which they transfer onto shrink plastic, color, and then bake in the toaster oven I bring to the classes with me.

For the class, I place stand up mirrors at each seat around the table. Students fold a sheet of printer paper in half and draw their self-portrait within the space.

After asking the students to tell me what a self-portrait is, I explain that a self-portrait is more than just a picture: we want our self-portraits to tell a story about who we are to someone who doesn't know us. So if you like cats, you might want to draw a picture of a cat. Or make your drawing of you be wearing a t-shirt in your favorite color.

I always have at least one student tell me that they can't draw, and I tell them that this project is a good way to practice their drawing skills. I tell them that drawing takes a lot of practice and that even people who can draw well didn't start out that way.

I also always tell the students that their drawing don't have to be perfect, because perfect is boring. I love it when I say this, because there is always at least one student who repeats the phrase to herself, like she is trying the idea on for size. I like to imagine that at least a few of my students here and there take that phrase home later and own it.

After the students have drawn a portrait they like, they trace it on to the shrink plastic (rough side) in pencil, and then trace over the pencil lines in marker.

The last step is to add color using colored pencils. Then they bring the design to me, where I punch a hole and bake it until it shrinks. This process amazes anyone who has never seen shrinky dinks in action!

I add a jump ring and ribbon to complete the necklace, and every student left wearing their creation.

I also make take home kits for the students which includes two small pre-punched pieces of shrink plastic, several long ribbons, and at-home instructions. So much fun!

Art Journal: Teen Summer Classes

I must confess that I have the best job ever! My main goal in life a few year's back was to find a job I didn't hate. I've worked a lot of jobs over the years. I used to keep track of how many different positions I'd had, but I stopped counting somewhere around 25. Yes. I really have had over 25 different jobs. I've worked as: a cashier, grill cook, waitress, shift supervisor, receptionist, editorial assistant, supermarket clerk, cleaner, babysitter, post office typist, telemarketer, writing tutor, camp counselor, freelance writer, and an art teacher. I've also had several small businesses (homemade bath salts, hemp necklaces, website design, and jewelry). Now that I'm teaching art classes, I know I've finally found my calling. The best part? My job hardly ever feels like "work"; I put a lot of time into it, sure, but it's so fun that I hardly notice!

This summer I am lucky enough to be working with libraries around the state of Rhode Island. I have three programs on offer: button making, shrinky dinks, and art journals, and each library got to choose which program they wanted me to run. I am psyched about all of the programs, but I have a special place in my heart for art journals.

Once I explain what an art journal is to the kids, they get excited. Most of them have ideas right away about what they want to do with their journal.

I like to fill the tables with lots of supplies: paint markers, magazines, colored pencils, stickers, and washi tape. I have learned that it's better to limit the supplies a bit so that I don't completely overwhelm the kids, so I stick to my favorites.

For this class, we had a mix of adults, teens, and younger kids. Since we had a small group, I was open to having a couple six-year-olds and their moms join us. I wasn't sure how the little kids would take to art journals, but I needn't have worried: they loved it!

This lovely lady had a butterfly painted on her face. So cute!

Justin Beaver: in Progress

This is Justin Beaver, Molly's cartoon version of everyone's favorite tween heart throb. Check out Molly's blog, PugPuppy, to see more of her fabulous work!

Love the text on David's art journal!

Looks like we have a new fan of washi tape!

You Are Here: Art Journal Flip Through

I'm working on a journal with the theme "You Are Here" with the same materials that my students will be using in their art journals this week: pre-painted pages in a handmade by me art journal, glue sticks, pens, markers, and magazines. I hope these pages will inspire students to tell their own stories! Since I think my journal is shaping up to be pretty awesome, I wanted to share!


I used a page from a World Atlas to create the border and text, Sharpie marker for details, and star stickers. As soon as I find my roll of packing tape, I'll be covering the cover with tape to make it sturdier. Book is made from 140 lb cold-press watercolor paper. I bought 11 x 15 12-sheet pads from Job Lot for $3.99. The quality is fine for a decent practice journal, but Fabriano Artistico this stuff is not! Still, since I'm teaching a jewelry class, not an art class, I figured I should keep the costs pretty low in order to justify the expense! The kids can make jewelry-themed journals if they want to, but I'm going to tell them they can make whatever they want. More fun that way! 


All in all, it cost me about $35 and 4 hours of my time to make 32 5.5 x 7 inch journals with pre-painted pages, and I still have plenty of watercolor paint leftover for future journal projects with students. I don't even mind the time spent making the journals, either, because it gave me an excuse to watch Netflix television shows while I did it. Plus, painting is fun! The only reason I didn't have the kids paint the pages themselves is that I knew a) it would be insanely messy and b) we'd have to use a whole day of class just to paint backgrounds. With pre-painted pages, a one-day, one-hour class will be plenty of time to get everyone started.


Oh, yeah, the pages are bound with the Bind-It-All machine that I bought for class last session. Spending $90 on book-binding supplies might seem like a really weird expensive for a jewelry-making class, but, let me tell you, the kids thought the book necklaces were as cool as I did! Since I already have the machine and some binding wires, I was able to use the leftovers from last session to make the journals. The short pieces cut off from the 11-inch O-wires will be put to good use making more book necklaces before the end of the session!

You Are Here - pages 1 / 2

I wasn't sure what I'd be writing in the journal when I started, but I soon realized it was going to be a mini-story of how I came to be here... or, You Are Here (in my head). The first page talks about how I was born in England and moved to America when I was four. Page two is me admitting the weirdness of my inner child. If you can't read it, the figure in the top right corner is saying "I fear only kids with sticks." Funny, and so true.

You Are Here - pages 3 / 4

Since I'm planning on presenting this project to a group of young librarians next week as a possible summer project, I decided to make a page that detailed the kinds of books I liked (and didn't like) to read when I was a kid. (I already admitted I was weird, so no one should be surprised by my selections!) On page 4, I wrote about how my whole family, except for my mom, dad, brother, and sister, were in England and wonder if a me born in England, growing up with that family, would still like the me who grow up here without them. Also, I gave the Beatles silly headgear.

You Are Here - page 5 / 6

I drew a picture of Pennsylvania and a star that is sort of where I grew up (upon reflection, I think the star should have been more to the right and tiny bit higher?). One page 5 & 6 I wrote about how since it was pretty boring growing up in the country, we had to invent games like "tie brother to apple tree." (I wonder if he remembers that?) I also wrote about how I didn't like being sent to get the eggs from the chicken coop because I was scared the hens would attack me.

I love how this journal is turning out. I'm hoping that kids will be excited to try making their own. I still have 3 spreads and the back cover left in the journal, so it's a good size for a first journal. The kids have February vacation the week after next, so we're doing art journals on the last day before vacation so that they can take them home (along with a magazine, marker and glue stick) and work on them during vacation. Since I knew kids are always hungry for projects to work on at home, I'm pretty psyched that I thought to plan ahead to have this project ready to go pre-vacation. Each student will get one journal, but I'm going to tell them that anyone who finishes a journal and brings it in for me to see / scan will get another one. Sure, it might mean I have to make 30 more journals... but so worth it to spread the love!

Almost Free Bling: Make Your Own Shrinky Dinks Bling

Yo! If you wanna make your ass some fresh ice without having to drop some mad green, this bangin' Shrinky Dink tutorial is for you, kid.

Make Your Own Shrinky Dinks Bling

Or, how to Make (fake) Bling Without Breaking the Bank

You'll need the following materials:

Frosted shrink plastic - 1 sheet

Black permanent marker

Tacky glue (I used Aileen's Fast Grip)

Assorted plastic rhinestones (at Michaels, for $3 for a package of 144)

Scissors

Hole punch

Jump ring (approx. 7 mm)

Ball chain necklace

Parchment paper or a non-stick craft mat

You'll also need access to an oven or toaster oven.

Draw your design on a sheet of scrap paper. I made a money sign because I'm so money, baby. You could also find a great free font online with Grafitti style lettering (mine's called Graffonti) and make a bling initial necklace. The size of my design is an 8.5 x 11 sheet of printer paper folded in half. Your design will shrink to about a third of the original starting size. (You'll see an example later to help you gauge.)

Once you have a design you like, trace the design onto the shrink plastic.

You can actually draw on either the frosted or the non-frosted side of the plastic, but I recommend the frosted because it smears less.

In order to converse your shrink plastic and have enough left to make another sick pendant, keep your design as close to the edge as possible. If you want to add additional colors to your design, you can use colored pencils or permanent markers to do so.

Next, carefully cut around the edge of your design. Be careful with corners, because it's really easy to break shrinky dinks. I tell my students to cut slowly and carefully to avoid problems. Cut fast at your own peril, yo.

As you can see in the picture above, I experimented with cutting out the interior of the letter (the bottom of the $). This did not work really well. You could certainly use an exacto blade and a cutting mat and get a perfect edge, but since this project was designed for middle school boys, I figured no way did I want to bring razor-sharp objects into the classroom. I colored the top of the $ black in the center, and this looked just fine, especially if you are wearing a black shirt.

When you are done, you will now use a regular old hole punch to punch a hole in your design. This is where you will use a jump ring to attach your pendant to your chain.

Don't be in such a hurry that you skip this step! Adding a hole after shrinking does not work. Shrink plastic becomes hard and rather brittle. You could try drilling it, but you'll likely ruin your piece. Punch the hole first and you don't have to worry about it. I use an ordinary-sized hole punch. Remember that the hole shrinks, too, so you don't want to use a small punch or you might find your hole closes right up.

Preheat your toaster oven to 300 degrees F. Place your pendant shiny side down on your non-stick mat (or parchment paper). Place into the oven and watch the magic happen.

Step 1: Your pendant will curl up all crazy-like and you will panic thinking that it's going to mess up completely.

Step 2: Your pendant will start to unfurl and flatten out again. You can breathe again now. When your pendant flattens out completely, count to 10 then remove the tray from the oven. Use an oven mitt, stupid!

Cautionary notes: I didn't want to tell you this earlier, in case you freaked, but sometimes, very rarely, your shrink curling into itself will stay stuck. If this happens, or seems to be happening, just pull out the tray, grab the shrinky and pull it apart. This might hurt your fingers, but will probably hurt less than having your design destroyed. This happens most often with larger sized shrinkies (1/2 of an 8x10 sheet or bigger; smaller ones usually don't have this happen.) If it looks all crazy bumpy after you do this, put it back in the oven, upside down, and shrink for a few more seconds. It will flatten out again.

Another note of caution: be careful not to overbake, especially if you are using parchment paper. If you don't pull out the shrinky soon after it flattens, it can get stuck to the parchment paper. This can be solved by running the shrinky under water until the paper softens enough to remove it. This is a pain if you have a class full of students though, so try to avoid it. I have yet to have anything stick permanently to my non-stick craft mat. It was $10 and well worth it! I can't remember the brand, but I found it at michael's near the embossing supplies.

Note the size difference between the starting design and the finished item. I'd guess that the finished shrinky is about 1/3 the size of the starting size, but I'm not exactly a math whiz, yo. With a little practice, you'll figure out the best sizes for your projects. You totally could measure your pre-shrunk and post-shrunk designs to come up with a formula that will tell you exactly how much your piece will shrink, but who has time for all that?

Now that you're shrunk, it's time to add your bling.

Working in small sections on your piece (on the front of the pendant, if you had any doubt), add a thick layer of tacky glue. Begin adding gems one by one in the design you like. For this pendant I completely covered the design in bling, but you could do only an outline or something else if you want. To place the gems, you could use tweezers or a special tool for gem-setting, but I found that for me, and for my middle school students, simply pressing your finger onto the top (sparkly side) of your gem will work. The gem will stick to your finger long enough for you to position it and press it into place.

Don't worry about having a thick layer of glue. The glue will dry clear, so you won't notice the thick parts when it's dry.

When the pendant is finished to your liking, put it away in a safe place to dry overnight. The next day, use a jump ring to attach your ball chain necklace, and BAM, you've got yourself some fresh bling, my friend.