Señora Muertas Necklace Tutorial

Hi Everyone! 

I've been using a lot of shrink plastic lately for projects, and since I have never used Bombshell Stamps on shrink plastic (I know, crazy right?!) I thought I'd give it a shot! I know there are already some really great tutorials on using your Bombshell Stamps to make shrink plastic charms (which I love!) so I hope you will like my take on this subject. One of my favorite stamp sets is Mi Amor, so I chose to use the Senora Muertas Stamp and the Rose Stamp to make this necklace.

List of Supplies:
-Bombshell Stamps - Mi Amor Stamp Set
-Staz-On Ink in Jet Black
-Copic Markers
-Shrink Plastic - White
-Embossing Heat Gun/Tool
-Spellbinders Dies - Labels One Nestabilities Die; Fleur De Lis Squares Nestabilities Die
-Embossing Machine and Plates (I used my Cuttlebug)
- 1/4" circle hand (hole) punch (Mine are by Fiskars)
- 1 lobster claw clasp
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Flat Nose Pliers
- Jump Rings
- Jewelry Chain

First, I cut out shrink plastic in my Cuttlebug. To make the main pendant/charm that Senora Meurtas will be going on, I used the Spellbinders Die Labels One Nestabilities. To make the 4 smaller charms for the roses, I used the second smallest Fleur De Lis Squares Nestabilities Die.

Then I stamped the images onto the shrink plastic using Staz-On Ink in Jet Black. It's a little difficult to stamp onto the shrink plastic, so to avoid it from sliding around too much, I used a little bit of regular tape to tape the shrink plastic die cut shape down. Make sure to not tape onto the area of where you want to stamp. (Tip: If you have stamped onto the shrink plastic and the image got messed up or didn't transfer all the way, you can use a little bit of staz-on ink cleaner and a paper towel to clean the ink off of the shrink plastic, after the cleaner dries you can try stamping your image again.)

After the ink dried, I removed the tape and using 1/4 inch hole punch, punched holes on the corners (see picture) and then colored in my stamped image and colored a border around the edges with Copic Markers and let it dry.

Once dry, I used my embossing heat gun to shrink the charms and then let them cool off.

Now it's time to assemble the necklace! I used three jump rings to attach each charm together, then on the last rose charms, I used a jump ring to attach 6 inches of chain. At the end of the chain on one side I attached a jump ring and on the other side, I attached a jump ring and a lobster clasp.

Some tips I learned while making this necklace:
1 - You can overheat shrink plastic. (Next time I will be more careful!)
2 - Make sure the Copic Markers are completely dry before shrinking the plastic otherwise while it curls and twists when it's shrinking, the copic marker ink will move to areas you don't want it to be (you know, like the areas that are supposed to be white...)
3 - Use lighter colored markers. I liked the colors I used, but after the charm is shrunk the colors will be much darker.

Have fun creating your Bombshell necklaces! Just think of all the awesome different necklaces you can make by using different shaped dies and mixing up Bombshell Stamps sets.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
If you have any questions please ask below or in the Bombshell Stamps Forum. (Don't forget there is still time to sign up for the Halloween Blog Hop while you're there!)   =)

Have a Happy Friday!
- Kim