Posted by Natasha Polite
on January 22, 2025
Hi crafty friends! Natasha Polite joining you today with a fun project using a wood stamp. Instead of a card or tag, I chose to create a playful charm using the new Floral Rainbow Wood Stamp.
To begin, I grabbed a sheet of shrink plastic. If you do not have any, you can use thick plastic packaging that you may have lying around. My shrink plastic has a shiny and a matte side. I stamp my image onto the matte side using Intensified Black ink . This ink is permanent and waterproof, so it will work perfectly with the liquid watercolors that I am using for this project. Permanent and paint markers work well on the shrink plastic as well.
When the ink was dry, I watercolored the image. Do not use a heat gun to set the ink, as it will shrink the plastic prematurely. I use liquid watercolors in the colors Neon Brights Pink, Neon Brights Orange, Neon Brights Sunshine, Neon Brights Chartreuse, Pine, Indigo, and Purple . I found that not adding additional water to the liquid watercolor worked best. I also found that almost dry watercolor gives the most opaque application to the shrink film.
Once the image is completely painted, I carefully punched a hole centered above the top of the rainbow, and then proceed to cut out the image leaving a tiny border. With the image cut out, I move to a surface that can handle the heat from the heat gun. I choose to use a wood panel on my desk and a wooden chopstick to hold the image in place. A silicone mat would work as well. I heat the image and watch things shrink. Note that when the image shrinks, the colors will get darker. You can also place your image against a white sheet of paper to see if you missed any areas.
When the image has completely shrunk, I place a clear stamping block on top to ensure that image remains flat as it cools. Once cooled, I added a jump ring and the charm onto a chunky keychain that I created. I even stamped a sentiment from the December 2024 Card Kit, punched a hole, and then shrank that to create another charm. If you would like to seal the image for longevity of use, you can add resin to the matte side that is watercolored.
I hope this inspires you to use your wood stamps in a new way -- although this technique can be done with any stamp you may have.
Happy Crafting!
