Decorate your beads with permanent makers.
Shrink art involves cutting and coloring a piece of shrink art plastic into a certain design, then heating the piece. It then shrinks into a small piece of art. You can make pictures, stained glass art and jewelry this way. You can also make customized buttons and mosaic tiles. One interesting and semi-difficult project includes making round shrink art beads. Have patience and work slowly to avoid mistakes.
Instructions
1. Punch twice as many circles from your shrink art sheets as you want to make beads. For instance, to make 30 shrink art beads, punch 60 circles. Choose a circle punch about 1 ½ times as large as you want your finished beads. For instance, to make ¼-inch wide beads, choose a 1-inch circle punch.
2. Color and decorate one side of each circle with permanent markers. Separate the circles into pairs; decorate both circles in each pair the same way, to make uniform beads. For reversible beads, you may color them all with different designs.
3. Nip as many 2-inch pieces of craft wire as you have pairs of circles. In this case, you need 30 pieces of wire for 30 pairs of circles. Rub each wire with a little bit of olive oil to prevent sticking later.
4. Place one circle from each pair on an aluminum foil sheet, with the decorated side down. Place a piece of wire horizontally across the circle; put the bottom circle's pair partner on top, with the decorated side visible. Repeat with your other pairs, spacing them an inch apart.
5. Slide the foil carefully into the toaster oven at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3 1/2 minutes, or heat them according to package directions on the shrink art sheet wrapping. Remove them carefully from the toaster oven and let them cool completely. The pairs of circles should melt together as they shrink, creating a bead with a hole where the wires are. Slide each bead from its wire once cool.
