Sunday 10 May 2015

Doodle Home Keyring


Hello everyone! I have been trying something a little different: a keyring using Sarah's Doodle Home set and some polyshrink. 

I gathered the supplies I'd need to make the Doodle Home charms, including the actual stamp set and a heat gun (not in the photo):


I stamped my chosen images (the tall house, cloud and tree) from the Doodle Home set onto the PolyShrink using StazOn Jet Black ink. (The StazOn ink is perfect for stamping onto the shiny, non-porous PolyShrink surface.) Each shape was then cut out carefully and turned face down onto some scrap card. The BACK of each stamped polyshrink shape was coloured with my Promarker. (Alcohol based markers like promarkers, copics, etc smudge the StazOn ink, hence colouring the back of the image.) You can skip this step if you'd rather have your charms black and white.


Punch a hole in each shape, so that you can attach a jump ring to each charm. Now you're ready for the magic! One at a time, put a shape on a heat proof surface, hold gently with something heatproof (like an embossing tool or pencil) and use your heat gun, or hairdryer, to shrink the PolyShrink. It will shrink and curl profusely and then flatten again. As soon as it has flattened, switch off your heatgun and place an acrylic block over your shape to ensure it is evenly flat. Leave a short time to cool before adding a jump ring. This is the size of the shrunken charm compared to the original stamp. Cool, huh?!


I added chain, split rings, my charms and beads onto the keyring swivel clasp, including an extra split ring for my actual key.   I am really pleased with the finished article and think that it might also look good as a handbag charm.  

The same Doodle Home set was used to create a background and topper for my matching New Home card.  These were matted onto card from one of Sarah's A Few of My Favourite Things sets and Platinum Stickles was added to parts of the shapes.  There was a strip of background left, which I made into a tag holder for my keyring.  

The finished set: