These tiny tiles are the result of one layer of Envirotex Lite as a glaze. I always try and remind my readers that one coat of Envirotex Lite is like 50 coats of varnish. Why not let Envirotex Lite do all the work for you?
The tiles started out as images I printed on onto shrinky dink plastic. After they were shrunk they looked very pretty but I prefer a glossy surface. (You can read about how I made these on my regular blog linked here.)
When you use Envirotex Lite as a glaze you have to remember that the brush you use will need to be tossed out. You can’t wash resin from a brush. I keep lots of inexpensive brushes in my studio from the dollar store. I poured a tiny dollop of Envirotex Lite on each tile.
With my brush I made sure that I covered the whole surface of each tile. I let these cure for 48 hours.
For a little more detail I also ran my gold foil marker along all the edges.
They turned out better than I had hoped!
Here they are affixed to this card series.
Everything looks better with a little Envirotex Lite glaze!
I'm going to have to give this a try. Shrinky Dink and Envirotex Lite what a great way to make some neat cabachons.
Thank you… I am super excited… the more I read from you the more interesting it becomes! I really appreciate the time and detail you take on your post!
Have a great day.
take care,
Fabulous! TFS
Wow Carmi these are beautiful! The more I play withthe Envirotec Lite the more I like it!
Beverly
I've tried making shrink plastic jewelry using my photographs, but the shrink plastic pieces looked like they didn't have enough "substance". They just didn't look right. But coating shrink plastic with Envirotex Lite is a great idea. It definitely beats other types of glazes!! Your pieces turned out wonderfully!!
They turned out fantastic Carmi! There is no way that you could tell these were Shrinky Dinks and resin, if you hadn't told us. Great project!
Mmm, Love those shrinky dinks!
How sweet! I'm loving the faeries 🙂
This is a great idea. i love shrinky dinks!!!
Fondly,
Suz
May I ask a few questions? I have created miniature painitings in shrink plastic…but a bit too big big for the small plastic molds you can get…I would like to float them in completely in clear resin….and use them as pendants. Would this look similar to this?
Has anyone tried this? Also I used Sharpies for the line work and professional colour pencils for the colour…do I coat them with a protective coating before you use the Envirotex glaze?
How would it be best to attach the pendant finding? I also have limited use in in one hand. Any ideas? I really do appreciate any suggestions you may have…many thanks Julie from Australia
Hello Julie, Those are a lot of questions, some of which have been answered for different projects on the blog. All I can say is that you really have to experiment…and yes, I protect pencil work from Envirotex. Some markers are okay and even the glitter markers, but again, you need to test them.
Pendant findings I usually attach with a little Envirotex Lite or E600 glue.
Oh you're good at this.
Hi. I just came across your page here via google, and was hoping for some advice. I bought some envirotex lite and tried it out this afternoon on my shrinky dinks. And I made a complete mess. This isn't unusual for a first try of course, but do you have any pointers that may help next time? My problem is that, after coating the top of my pieces and having them look just right, after an hour or two I'd come back to check on them and find that the stuff all spread out all over off of the shrinkydinks and onto the backs of them and … all over.
I read your doming post a moment ago, and that's helpful but how do you make things like you did in this post without it going everywhere? Is it only practice or is there a trick or two?
Thanks!
Hi Catti, It is a little bit of luck and a lot of practice. With shrinky dink I just use a paint brush and coat the surface like it is a glaze or a regular varnish. Remember one coat of Envirotex Lite is equal to 50 coats of varnish…so a thin layer does the trick…and if you want a thicker coating, paint more resin on again 24 hour later and let it all cure an additional 48 hours.
Okay, thanks!
Hi Carmi- I printed some images on the Shrinky Dinks for inkjet printers and after shrinking, any finishes I applied caused the images to turn black. However, I haven't tried resin. Did you apply any type of sealer before applying the resin? Thanks Joellyn
I didn't apply anything to the surface of the shrinky dink…the colour should be baked in a permanent.
Thank you for this tut! I just finished making a bunch of Shrinky Dink pendants but wasn't sure how to proceed with resin. Now I know what to do!
Hello, I just found this tutorial and was totally inspired. Out of curiosity how thick does the final image end up after it shrinks?
I love your tut but when I tried this (several different times) the Envirotex is beautiful in the center of the piece but pulls away from the edges. If I add more then it runs down the side and makes a mess on the back. Any suggestions
On plastic, resin does pull away from the edges. I always do two glaze layers. A tip I have is to let your resin sit in the cup after you mix it for about 25-30 minutes. It gets very thick and a little less likely to pull away from all the edges.
With your brush (yellow one), What type of brush is it please?
I believe Carmi used an inexpensive dollar store brush, as you do need to throw them away once you use them with resin.
Yay, I have found you again. I haven't started to try resin yet and am looking forward to giving it a try. First I need to get the tools needed and everything for a good start. I am looking forward to learning from you and everyone else who is willing to share. I haven't even heard of shrinky dinks before either. 🙂
Glad you found us again!