Wednesday, September 30, 2015

It's Hip to Be Square!

Usually it's not hip to be square but now it is!!


Why? Because Punch Place Plus sells these amazing, Hip to Be Square acrylics that come in three different sizes (a size to suit every one's needs;), 3", 2" and 1".


3 inch

2 inch

1 inch

 

What I love about the acrylics from Punch Place Plus is that they send them to you with the protective covering on them so they do not get scratched in transit and aren't getting banged up while you're deciding what to do with them (like that ever happens right?!)!

 

I also love that the holes on these are on the side so they aren't your typical square!

 

You can use these for keychains, luggage tags, bangles on bracelets, earrings, car mirror dangles and much more! (I saw some small square earrings at a store that starts with an "N" selling for $63+! NO THANK YOU!!)

I decided to create a few things for myself and my family (you can NEVER be to early for Christmas gifts! Just don't forget where you hide them;)

Here is what you'll need:
Hip to be Square Acrylics
Small Triangle Bails (if you're making a keychain)
Split Rings (if you're making a keychain)
Double J Earwires (if you're making earrings)
Tassels (if you want to add a little more to your items;)
Adhesive Vinyl (can be bought anywhere online)
Transfer Tape (can be bought anywhere online)
Credit Card or Rewards Card (for transferring your items onto transfer tape and item)
Cutting machine (not necessary if you're wanting to do shapes, such as hearts, circles etc. you can use a punch or exacto knife with a template)
Luke warm water & lint free cloth (to clean your acrylic blanks)
Weeding tool or a push pin/safety pin (I used a push pin for the longest time because it was and still is easier to get the pieces (especially the tiny ones) of vinyl off of the backing sheet.)
Most importantly some FUN!

Today I am making the 1" into earrings.

I first started off by taking the protecting cover off of the acrylic. I did this very carefully using the point of my weeding tool (you could also use a push pin or safety pin) just be very careful not to scratch your acrylic!


Next, using luke warm water and a lint free cloth or napkin wipe the acrylic off. This helps to make sure that there isn't any oil residue from your hands or any other chemicals on the acrylic and that your adhesive vinyl will adhere to the acrylic.


Now comes the fun part! Deciding on what you're going to put on your acrylic. I decided to make monogrammed earrings, so I just needed initials.

(This picture is showing you that the initials are cut out.)


Once the vinyl is cut you're going to need to weed it. This is removing the unwanted pieces that won't be on your design. When you're removing the weeded vinyl, make sure you're pulling it at an angle so you don't take up the parts you want to keep!

(I am showing you how to weed the parts you don't want. I start with the insides of the letters first and then move to the whole piece of vinyl. You'll want to start in the corner as seen in the pic below.)

After you have your design weeded you're going place your transfer tape on the design.

Once you have your transfer tape applied to your vinyl, burnish it really well with a credit card or a burnishing tool.

 


Once it is burnished really good, you can pull it off of the paper backing. I suggest doing this at an angle so if your vinyl isn't quiet stuck to your transfer tape, you can press it again.

(It should look like the picture below.)


Now you're going to want to very carefully line it up on your acrylic.


Once you've got it lined up, you're going to place it onto the acrylic one section at a time. I started at the top and slowly moved my way down so that I don't accidentally get it off center and it's stuck and I have to start over. (I am TOTALLY speaking from experience!)


You've got it lined up perfectly and now you need to burnish it again to get it to stick to the acrylic. You don't need to rub hard because you don't want to break your acrylic, you just want to make sure there are no air bubbles and the vinyl has adhered to the acrylic.


Great, now it's time to take off the transfer tape and admire your work! Start in the opposite corner of when you released it from the backing paper and keep it at a sharp angle as to not lift the vinyl (just in case it didn't stick very good when burnishing).


Look how great it turned out!!


We have one more to do! You're going to do it exactly like you did above.

Once you've added the vinyl to your other earring, you can now add the hypo-allergenic Double J Earwires and you're finished!!


Doesn't my mom look cute in her earrings?!


I also made a keychain using the 2" Hip to be Square acrylics.


Here are some of the files that I made to be used with these squares (just size them to the size square you're using, also note that the fonts might not work on your computer as some are paid for fonts and some you may not have on your computer).
*These are for personal use only, please do NOT share with anyone, just send them the link to this website. Thank You!*
You can download them here.

 

 

 

 

3 comments:

  1. Love these!

    Where do you purchase your tassels?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From Punch Place Plus:
      http://www.punchplaceplus.com/category_60/Tassels-Ribbons.htm

      Delete
  2. How about the cute vinyl! Where did you find that? Love these. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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