On my visit to the Renegade craft fair, which was held at The Old Truman Brewery in East London, I discovered one of the hottest products: shrink plastic! This indie-craft marketplace is just up my alley. I love it! This shrink plastic, which of course I read all about, went straight to the top of my ongoing and never ending to-do list.

So, what is it? It is a very thin plastic sheet which shrinks into miniature creations when heated or baked. It really is quite simple to use, exactly how it is described by the many tutorials you will find out there on the net. You just have to use this special thin paper, which mainly comes in white or simply transparent, draw or stamp on it, then color it (if you want), and cut it into the shape you fancy (Do not forget to punch a hole for jewelry!).

You can choose to skip most parts and go straight to cutting the paper into the desired shape, followed by heating or baking it in the oven (on high) for a few minutes.

Two main things you will have to remember while using these plastic sheets are that they shrink to about a sixth (1/6) of their original size, and the second thing concerns the color. Be sure to use light colors, because the color enhances during the shrinkage. For example, a bright blue will become navy or even almost black during this process.

Let me “shrink” you with this last thing: Almost every tutorial emphasizes that you should hold on tight and fear-not from what happens during the beginning of the heating process. Why? This stubborn plastic will fight you, curl on you and let me warn you, some attempts of it trying to flee have been documented!

Remember to stay strong and keep on heating it until it stops shrinking.