I wrote recently on my experiments with alcohol inks. In my last experiment, I used the inks on shrink film and I was very interested in the results. I looked at the wings I had quickly inked and I suddenly saw an opportunity to use my fine art skills in jewelry. I love making jewelry. It does satisfy something in me but I am constantly trying to find ways to bring my art into my jewelry. The wire is lovely but popping colors? Even better!
So I set about on a trial to see just exactly how much art could I bring to a miniature medium like this. Here are my results and I think you will be quite pleased as I was.
First off, I wanted a nice intricate piece with lots of colors. Feathers have been on my mind a lot so I did a sketch of a feather in pencil. I didn’t take a lot of time on this piece but I ended up loving it. So I will definitely go back and redo this in a larger size and ink it properly. This is definitely a sketch, not a finished piece.
This is the piece I am going to do. This image is only about 4″ tall.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_969fd049573d43d394b45561f3114700~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_451,h_568,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_969fd049573d43d394b45561f3114700~mv2.webp)
I did a lot of reading on this subject before I started. I wanted to know the pros and cons and to catch the little tips people throw out in forums, etc. I learned that a sanded surface works great for colored pencils. S
I had already
I did a test with my colored pencils. I have many brands and wanted to see which pencils would work the best. I decided that the Marco pencils seemed to go on much nicer than the others. Later during the coloring of the piece I actually found the Stabilos going on much smoother.
Here is my little color chart I made for reference.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_9b5b37f548a24c11bd259caa1e5f7a8b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_484,h_242,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_9b5b37f548a24c11bd259caa1e5f7a8b~mv2.webp)
The brighter side is the unsanded side, as you can see the titles are backwards.
While I was at it I made a ruler too. This is a great little reference tool to give you an idea of how large your piece of plastic needs to be to get the proper size.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_24a49e9b84334e06be9c67ff80278a29~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_484,h_192,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_24a49e9b84334e06be9c67ff80278a29~mv2.webp)
As you can see, I still hadn’t figured out my oven temps with this piece and
the colored pencil templates and they cooked way too fast.
I could probably put it back in the oven and flatten it a bit more if I wanted to
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_a914ea2d511144ed91d8396edbb4be3a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_484,h_323,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_a914ea2d511144ed91d8396edbb4be3a~mv2.webp)
After doing my pencil test I sanded down my film. I took my jewelers sanding blocks in gradient grits ranging from P60 to P600 and set about sanding the whole surface area. I tried to make it as smooth as possible and eliminate as many lines as I could.
Many people had talked of sanding their paper but only with one grit and in a back and forth motion. This didn’t seem enough to me so I sanded it as I would a piece of jewelry. It came out with a pretty good smooth surface though there were still some scratches in it.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_c298efc1d71848e9828f71aa664d50dc~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_484,h_323,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_c298efc1d71848e9828f71aa664d50dc~mv2.webp)
Next, I taped my film over my pencil sketch and inked it with my fine tip sharpie on the unsanded side. Having that one sharpie on hand sure saved me.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_969fd049573d43d394b45561f3114700~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_451,h_568,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_969fd049573d43d394b45561f3114700~mv2.webp)
After it dried I turned it over to do the pencil on the sanded side.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_d2d38494d42145018e60727b122e9092~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_413,h_570,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_d2d38494d42145018e60727b122e9092~mv2.webp)
Here is the piece with the colors finished. The shiny side is shown.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_d714ac9e80874ff0b8c37247acebc488~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_380,h_570,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_d714ac9e80874ff0b8c37247acebc488~mv2.webp)
Then it was time for the oven. I was so nervous and thinking that maybe I was just a bit crazy to put so much time and effort into a shrink plastic piece!
By now I was used to the shrinking process and sat right in front of the oven. I opened it often to help the piece along when it curled too much. They can get hot but I don’t find them too hot to touch quickly. I just open the oven door, reach in and help it unbend a bit when it seems to be curling too much. Sometimes if they curl too much they stick together and I didn’t want that to happen.
It melted down well (with a little help) and then I set my bench block on top of it to flatten it further. It is nice and heavy and does the job perfectly!
Here is the finished piece and I am in love once again.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_e81b23556eca4b27a602434c7f1c7088~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_396,h_571,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_e81b23556eca4b27a602434c7f1c7088~mv2.webp)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_a51a4334c2e6420b8f3a08f4d5ec7898~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_484,h_513,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_a51a4334c2e6420b8f3a08f4d5ec7898~mv2.webp)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_45ae110f8a9f40d8b342b806c7bf8bc9~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_380,h_570,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_45ae110f8a9f40d8b342b806c7bf8bc9~mv2.webp)
THis project made me so happy. Not only did I remind myself of how much I love to work with pencils and draw I also found a fantastic way to bring my fine art to my jewelry.
Now my next job is to figure out how to wrap this in wire to make a pendant so that it
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/360828_979363fceedf47c68caa9ebb3d7a0b55~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_286,h_143,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/360828_979363fceedf47c68caa9ebb3d7a0b55~mv2.webp)