Paradise Charm Necklace

Hello everyone! On the Bo Bunny Blog last November, I used Bo Bunny's 'Tis the Season Merry Christmas stamp set along with shrink plastic to create charm embellishments for holiday cards as a project. I loved finding another way to use my stamps and it was great fun to reminisce again with a craft I did as a child. Today, I'd like to revisit the technique of stamping on shrink plastic and show you how to create a cute summer charm necklace using the Paradise Clearly Stamps Set.

I gathered my jewelry tools and supplies along with the shrink plastic, Timber Brown Staz-On ink and the Paradise Stamps. I stamped the starfish and shell on the rough side of the shrink plastic and let it dry thoroughly before coloring in the images with colored pencils on the rough side. The smooth side of the charm will face up when complete. However, for the phrase "Catch a Wave", I stamped the image on the smooth shiny side of the shrink plastic instead so that the words wouldn't appear in reverse. Again, I colored in the rough side of the image with pencils.

I used a circle punch and scissors to cut out the 3 stamped images and used a corner rounder to soften the corners of the sentiment. I also used a 1/8" hole punch to create holes at the top of each charm and at the bottom of the sentiment charm. Next I baked the stamped and punched pieces according to the shrink plastic package directions. It took just a few minutes for the pieces to shrink to about 1/3 their original size.

Once the charms were complete, I set them aside. Then I beaded eye pins with coordinating beads and attached these to the charms. I linked the 3 charms together with a jump ring and slipped it onto a chain. Voila! The necklace is ready to wear! Wasn't that easy!?!

Also, as part of my gift presentation I created a small card using the Paradise collection of patterned papers and chipboard stickers. I punched 2 small holes in the card front to slip the chain through and secured the chain of the necklace to the back.

I hope you enjoyed today's project! The possibilities are endless with the other projects you can create with this technique... earrings; bracelets; cell phone charms; key fobs and more.

~Patti

Bo Bunny Supplies: Paradise Clearly Stamps Set; Paradise patterned papers - Lingo, Flight and Locals; Paradise 12x12 Chipboard Stickers
Other: shrink plastic; permanent ink; jewelry tools; assorted beads; jump rings; eyepins; scissors; 1/8" hole punch; 1.5" circle punch; corner rounder; colored pencils or markers