Wow! Friendly Plastic is making a comeback!
Well it never really went away, but it has certainly been sitting very quietly in the wings waiting for its revival. Apparently it was BIG in the '80s (a little before my crafting time) but I had seen those pretty metallic sticks of plastic at my local craft store and even bought some but I didn't know how to use them. So this week, I set out to rectify that.
I'm still learning what works and what doesn't: I've tried my heat gun (which is actually a paint stripper), a hot waterbath, and I would have also tried my stove top but it decided to give up the ghost last weekend. I'm devastated to be unable to cook, as you can imagine ;)
So, out came the sandwich maker (aka café press) which has a nice flat surface, but no thermostat for temperature control. It works quite well though, as long as I don't walk away from it whilst it's melting the plastic (let it melt too much and you have a very sticky mess!).
Earrings made using the sandwich maker - don't you love the colour?
Want to purchase the tutorial to make these? Click here to be redirected to my website and follow the directions for ordering.
So far this has been the most successful method for me but I've also had some interesting results using both the heat gun and the hot waterbath and I'll post those samples once I've made them up into..... hmmmm....... something.
So far this has been the most successful method for me but I've also had some interesting results using both the heat gun and the hot waterbath and I'll post those samples once I've made them up into..... hmmmm....... something.
Neat! Are the beads also from friendly plastic?
ReplyDeleteVery nice results!! love the way it's just there, and not marbled. I have to marble mine or it looks yukky! LOL!
These are some glass beads I had in my stash which just happened to suit the Friendly Plastic colours I used. I'll post the marbled ones later.
ReplyDeleteHi Mylene, back in the 80's they used the frying pan with the hot water in it, was not easy to do if you left it in the water too long, well I didn't find it that easy, so I still have my strips from way back then, you have inspired me to get it out again with my moulds and heat gun and give it another try. Those earrings are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThe result are great and i haven't try this before but now i think i should try this for my next project. Keep sharing more like this.
ReplyDeleteI worked with Friendly Plastic from 1992 (not long after it was introduced in 1989) until 1999, when, unfortunately the tendons in my hands started to fall apart from all the cutting. I needed to graduate to ceramic and that is what I do now---in porcelain. I can give you some fabulous tips for you beginners, as I gained a reputation for taking FP as far as it could go. I did every dog breed, my jewelry was hugely popular, I sent my jewelry all around the world (even to Tasmania!), got pretty well known in the dog world and bought huge quantities from wholesale suppliers. I have also discovered some not-so-friendly things about the product (the worst of which is that it degasses like a lot of plastics, and becomes brittle and fragile after about 7 yrs). Let me know if you'd like a guest article! It is a nice art material for a little while (but not quite as nice as porcelain!).
ReplyDeletewww.faunacouture.etsy.com