Shrinky Dink Rings: A Tutorial

Wonderseptuplet Powers ACTIVATE!

In order to create successful Shrinky Dink Rings, make sure you have plenty of generic crackers, adult beverages with umbrella straws, and Low Fat Pub Cheese.  You might also want to have on hand shrink paper, scissors, rulers, a rotary cutter with a self-healing board, permanent markers, various and sundry items that are roughly the diameter of your finger (chapstick tubes, highlighters, etc), and hole punchers... that is, if you ever get to the crafting part of Unconditional Craft Night.  I'd like to send a quick shout out to The Commish for her endeavors as photographer and Pub Cheese handler--Thanks KB!

Cut a strip about 5 1/2" x 1" for an average size ring.  You should really bake a tester ring to see if the length is right for you.  If it's a little too short, you can manage with some empty space in the back, but if it's too long, overlap in the back isn't very comfortable to wear.  As far as the width, you can go as thin as 1/2" or as thick as 1 1/2" comfortably. 

Decorate your ring with permanent markers before baking.  Keep in mind that the colors become more concentrated when they shrink.  By that same token, your design lines with be very tiny and intricate when they shrink down.  Play with size!  If you want to add a charm to the ring, be sure to punch a hole where you want it.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with two brown paper lunch bags:  one to line the sheet, one to place on top of the shrink paper to keep it from curling up.  So... yeah... do that.  Bake for 5-6 minutes, grab a hot pad and get ready to roll. 

The plastic will be hot and malleable for about 10 seconds, so you have to be confident and work quickly.  This is where that aforementioned test ring comes in handy.  Using your finger-sized chapstick tube (or whatever works for you), wrap the hot plastic around the tube and hold tightly with the hot pad.  If you're feeling ballsy, you can grab that plastic out of the oven with your bare fingers.  You can be a little more aggressive and perfecting this way.  I still think you should have a hot pad handy, because once you have the ring placed perfectly on your cylinder, you should hold it there for a bit to cure.  It's too hot to handle for more than a second or two. 

It takes some practice, and your first ring will probably turn out poorly.  If you bomb and your perfectly decorated ring is all wonky, though, you can fix it.  Just pop it back in the oven for a minute or two and it should soften back up. 

And here's what your final product should look like.  Most importantly, have fun.  And whatever you come up with, it's beautiful, and you're a good crafter.  You can do it!

If Crafting's Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Right

Is this the same high Spiderman fans have after Comicon? I don't know, but I feel pretty amazing after Chicago Craft Social.  A raffle, snack table, and the promise of Chipotle chips and salsa upon exit.  There were about 15 tables, and I wish I could've stayed for two days.  Here's what I got for my $20.  

First, I joined Iris from Polyform as she walked our double table through Mokume Madness.  Basically, you stack up several thin sheets of brightly colored Sculpey clay, beat it up with tools, then shave thin slices off the top.  Those shaved slices (due to the abrasions, cuts, and dents) display fantastic patterns in all those colors you stacked up.  We used those funkadelic clay slices to fill bracelet, necklace, and earring blanks.  Not only had Iris already prepared our clay for us, she had about a dozen tools, extra clay, and boxes for us to take our completed work home.

It was just like being at Unconditional Craft Night.  She praised our work, whether we were fast, slow, sloppy, or exacting in our jewelry making.  I'm so glad I brought my big backpack, otherwise I don't know how I would've carried all the free swag.  If you want to try it on your own, here's how to do Mokume Gane.  I can't wait to craft more with my boatload of fresh clays.  Thank you Polyform!!

My next move was inevitable.  I couldn't resist the gravitational pull of Arcadia Knitting's table of yarn cakes.  Arcadia is easily my favorite Chicago LYS.  Sharon lead the team in Flip Flop Fun, providing all the yarn and flip flops.  Armed with my trusty size 8 needles and an upholstery needle, I dove in. 
First I cast on 60 stitches with this funky three-yarn blend.  I worked about 10 rows of garter stitch, then I bound it off.  The piece was approximately 12"x2".  I left a tail of twice the length of the piece, then used the upholstery needle to whip stitch the piece around the flip flop straps.  Before starting to stitch, I tied a scrap of yarn at the midway point of the swatch.  This project obviously doesn't demand exacting measurements, but I felt more in control marking the midpoint, Eyelash or fuzzy yarn is probably the best idea for this project, seeing as it's more forgiving in the stitching department.  What I'm saying is, this should be a low-stress project, and in the words of Tim Gunn, just "make it work."

The knitting makes an otherwise cheap, uncomfortable pair of flip flops very comfy and fun. 

To the right is a picture of everything I came away with.  Not pictured are all the yummy snacks and camaraderie we all enjoyed.  I'm so glad I braved the threat of thunderstorms.  I'll definitely come again.

Picks, Pirates, Potables, and Pastry

Today we'll take you on a journey of Craft Night, where girls get together with needlenose pliers and guitar picks.  Mix CD's will be made, pub cheese will be devoured, and the gossip will fly amid Key Lime Cupcakes and Brown Sugar Daiquiris, on this installment of Lifestyles of the Broke and Crafty.  

The lovely and talented Kelly invited us into her home for a Pirate Party.  We listened to iTunes all night, and Kelly made mix CD's for each of us from her vast collection of music.  Dramatic Irony was the craft goddess for the evening.  She brought us guitar picks, beads, findings, and tools to make rock star earrings.  In addition to heavy metal, there was fire involved.  I burned my finger perforating a pick with a hot needle, and feel like that just adds weight to the whole rock star vibe of the evening.  Everyone's earrings turned out beautifully.  I'd say it was one of our most successful Craft Nights.

Aside from sequins and hot glue, the most important ingredient for a good Craft Night is food.  Yes, we like a little drinky, but if there's no pub cheese, we just sit there like lumps at the work table.  Actually, we've never had CN without it, and I shudder to think what would really happen in that instance.  We're all watching our spending habits, and when Kristin showed up with generic crackers, we immediately forgave her.  But each of us had the silent, nagging fear that she made the same choice with the pub cheese.  Not our gal!  Rondelé, all the way!  Crisis averted.  

I had the whole day off, and decided to make cupcakes from scratch.  Harvest Time was having a sale on Key limes, so the choice was obvious.  I found this Southern Living recipe on freshcrackedpepper.com, and made a couple small adjustments:

Bree Lime Cupcakes

1 3/4 c cake flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 c sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp Key lime juice

3/4 c milk, with 1 Tbsp lemon juice (substitute for buttermilk--who has buttermilk in the fridge?!)

1 Tbsp finely grated lime peel

Preheat oven to 350˚. Line two muffin pans with liners.  Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl.  Beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, beat to blend.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then lime juice, and buttermilk.  Mixture will be curdled, fear not.  Beat in a third of the flour mixture, then a third of the "buttermilk" until smooth, repeat until ingredients are incorporated, then fold in the lime peel.  Fill liners about 3/4 full, and bake 20-25 minutes.  

Bree Lime Buttercream Icing

1/2 c butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 (16 oz.) package powdered sugar

3 Tbsp Key lime juice

1 to 2 Tbsp milk

1 1/2 tsp lime zest

Key lime slices for garnish

Beat butter, vanilla, salt, and cream of tartar at medium speed until creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with lime juice and milk, a little at a time.  Beat at a low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.  Beat in up to 1 tablespoon additional milk, for desired consistency.  Fold in lime zest.  Frost away!

Finally, the brown sugar daiquiris.  So, what do you do with 20 ounces of Key lime juice after you use the 4 tablespoons of juice you need for the above recipe?  You drink it, silly!  Real daiquiris are very delicious and very easy.  It's a 1:1:1 ratio of lime juice, rum, and simple syrup.  Simple syrup is a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water, gently boiled until the sugar dissolves.  You can make a lovely clear daiquiri with silver rum and white sugar, but I chose brown sugar, and although it wasn't picture-worthy (kinda dishwater brown, if you ask me), it was a delightful libation that was gone in an instant.