Day 8 of the 24 Days of Christmas Crafting!
The goal for these 24 days is to give you ideas for hand-crafted Christmas decorations for your tree and home. Come back each day to try the next craft. 24 Days of Christmas Crafting!
Materials and Supplies
(This post contains affiliate links to some of the items I used in this project. It just means that you will help to support my blog if you make a purchase after clicking the links. There is no added cost to you!)
For each set of 6 snowflakes you will need:
- 1 sheet of shrink plastic such as Shrinky Dinks® – Each sheet will make 6 snowflakes (Back on Day 2, I give you more information about shrink plastics, including its history!)
- Pattern (available in my Resource Library)
- String (for hanging)
Cutting the Snowflakes
If you are cutting with a craft machine, upload the .SVG file to your design software.
You can cut the shrink plastic by hand but it can be a little tedious. It is faster and easier with a craft machine. If you don’t have one, see if a friend will cut your snowflakes on their craft machine.
Custom Material Settings for Craft Machines
For my Cricut Maker, there is no setting specifically for shrink plastics (polystyrene). I created a custom material after some trial and error with my machine and the shrink plastic I bought. The settings are shown below but you may need to adjust for your own machine and the specific shrink plastic you bought.
- Cut Pressure: 350
- Multicut: On – 3 Passes
- Blade: Deep Point Blade
Before I eject the mat from my Cricut, I test-lift a corner to be sure the cuts worked. If it doesn’t release everything in that corner I lifted, I let it cut again. I have only had to re-cut when a blade was getting dull. Otherwise, the settings above work for my machine.
Shrinking and Hanging
Lay the plastic snowflakes on parchment paper on your baking trays. I sometimes have issues with the plastic sticking to my baking sheets. Now that I use parchment paper, I never have this issue.
Shrink according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
After they have cooled, tie a string through the hole and hang on your tree, on a wreath, on garland, etc. Shrink plastic items are cute as earrings, gift tags, wine charms, and many more uses. Have some fun!
Happy Decorating!
I used my shrink plastic snowflakes on this garland I placed on the fireplace mantle. Yes, those LED stars are from Day 6 of the 24 Days of Christmas Crafting. 🙂
Remember to come back each day for a new project in the 24 Days of Christmas Crafting!
You can get the pattern to this and all my DIY and craft projects in my Resource Library by filling out this form.
Remember to pin this to your favorite holiday crafting board on Pinterest!
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