Place it in the mould cavity foil side down.
Heat it with the heat gun until it turn glossy......
....and begins to slump down into the mould.
Dip your finger tips from both hands into water - it's amazing how often you accidentally touch the Friendly Plastic with your non-moulding hand and it sticks to you. Press the Friendly Plastic down in the mould making sure you push it into all the nooks and crannies. 
Place the mould and Friendly Plastic into the bowl of cool water and leave it to set (usually about 30 seconds).
Once it's cooled, remove it from the water and you'll find the Friendly Plastic cast will just lift out of the mould. Here's the finished cast. 
If you were adding this to a papercraft project you could leave it as a rectangle so that you have something to attach it to your page or card with. Pritt Power Gel or strong double sided tape should do the trick. If you prefer to trim the excess away, then look for silicone adhesive to fill the back of the mould (my favourite is Helmar) but if you need something archival then choose Scrap Dots (also by Helmar).
Best of Show “Friendly Plastic Charm Bracelet” by Terie Pauley. | The winners were announced at the Friendly Plastic Open Design Challenge Awards Reception on Monday, January 25, 2010 at the CHA Show in Anaheim. The winners are: Ambrose Holcomb’s “Oh: Holey Flight” for Best Butterfly by an Artist Age 15 and Under Cathy Frank’s “Generation Lost” for Best Butterfly Sherry McGilvray’s “Garden Jewels” for Best Mixed Media Jewelry Linda Hess’ “Mardi Gras Vase” for Best Mixed-Media/Altered Art All winners receive an etched crystal award, $100 personal check, plus a $100 check to be donated to the charity of their choice. Thank you to all the artists who made this showcase possible. Click on each entry to enlarge and view details! |
Best Butterfly by an Artist Age 15 and Under | |
 Entry 4: Oh, Holey Flight by Ambrose Holcomb | |
Other Entries | |
 Entry 1: Because of You by Giselle Romero | |
 Entry 3: Draggin' Bling by Ambrose Holcomb | |
 Entry 6: By Nestor by Sara Romero | |
Best Butterfly by an Artist Age 15 and Over | |
 Entry 13: Generation Lost by Cathy Frank | |
Other Entries | |
 Entry 7: Hope by Annette Cox | |
 Entry 9: Freedom by Annette Cox | |
 Entry 11: Autumn Bliss by Melissa Dallmann | |
 Entry 14: Flower Doodle Butterfly by Adrienne Goodenough | |
 Entry 16: Strong Heart by Linda Hess | |
 Entry 18: Inspire Change by Susan Kurz | |
 Entry 20: The Regal Monarch by Susan Mostek | |
 Entry 22: I Fly Royal by Rose Wotton | |
 Entry 24: Northern Lace by Bev Nicholson | |
Best Mixed Media Jewelry Winner | |
 Entry 29: Garden Jewels by Sherry McGilvray | |
Other Entries | |
 Entry 26: Beautiful Bow Headband by Marisa Pawelko | |
 Entry 28: Pearly by Susan Kurz | |
 Entry 31: Inspirational Cuff & Ring by Marisa Pawelko | |
Best Mixed Media/Altered Art Winner | |
 Entry 33: Mardi Gras Vase by Linda Hess | |
 Entry 34: If it weren't for Caffeine by Linda Hess |
 Entry 35: Ms Porcince Pixie by Karen Kloberdans |
 Entry 36: Pair of Plant Buddies by Susan Kurz |
 Entry 37: Florence Fairy by Susan Mostek |
 Entry 38: My Colorful Dream by Terie Pauley |
LOVE LOVE LOVE opening my email and getting letters and pictures like this – just makes my day!
Linda,
I had a couple of teenage girls visit for about three hours and I just let them loose with a huge pile of FP.
I thought they would make the little wire ladies I had shown them, but no. They took that simple idea but made them larger, about four inches, and fancier with at least two layers each, plus the jewels.
Their next project was big barrettes for their long hair. These also were about four inches, and piled way high with FP. No detailed directions for theses girls, they just turned my large “clay only” toaster oven on, paying no attention to the temperature. They donned the heat resistant gloves I have, put their creations on non stick sheets on one of the tiles I use for clay, and watched thru the window until it looked melted and took it out.
The barrettes were just one baking. The dolls got two bakings, as after the first layer the wires were laid on and the second FP layer added. Then the girls mushed the plastic around with knitting needles dipped in cold water, and added the “jewels” and even some small glass tiles.
Apparently FP will take a lot of abuse when it comes to temperature, but I don’t suppose you want people trying that method 
I bet as these visitors come again, and find more and more things in my studio, their FP creations will become more and more out of the ordinary. They had never heard of FP, say nothing of the fact they had no clue what could, or could not, be done with it. It reminded me that we all need to remember to occasionally try to think about our art with such a clean slate, absent of knowledge and/or influence! …
Phyll
Cara’s 4″ pin lady has glass tiles and a bouquet. Love the dress pattern.
Marja’s 4″ jeweled toned jewel encrusted pin
Cara’s lovely 4″ barrette combo of leaves and flower
Well Girls – YOU DID AMAZING!!! And a big THANK YOU and shout out to Phyll for sharing their work!
This is only a small sampling of inspiration from Liz. I invite you to jump on over to her page: www.lizwelch.me.uk and see more of her fantastic work with Friendly Plastic and mixed media.
If you are new to the Friendly Plastic world - Liz has a couple of wonderful DVD instructional videos available on her website: www.rarebird.ltd.uk
I personally have a copy and I would highly recommend it to jumpstart your Friendly Plastic fun!
So have fun...create...design.....and ENTER!
Are you ready for something a bit loud and In Your Face? The jewellery in this post is definitely bold and a little out of the ordinary, but not so much that I wouldn’t wear them all (not all at once of course); but I might have to pick my days when I am feeling full of confidence and ready to face the world. Not every day is a day like that, I definitely have days when all I want to do is hibernate. Fortunately, today is not one of them!
I did warn you that I had some bolder jewellery to show you!
The central bead in this piece is over 30mm in diameter, but it is as light as air. That is because I used a cotton ball bead as the core around which I have wrapped the Friendly Plastic. The “drums” on either side are also large but light as they have a foam core. These drum shaped beads are made using fabric applied to adhesive sheet and wrapping it around the foam core. The Friendly Plastic decoration makes use of the lovely colours in the Rainbow FP sticks, and it is a simple matter to foil the edges to give that gilded look.
This time the drum beads are the central feature. I found the lovely pom pom beads on a trip to South Africa, and the little blue donuts are made of rubber. It is still a really light piece to wear, but it is not for the faint hearted. I have not worked out a way of creating earrings to match the necklace that don’t seem ludicrously enormous as the pom poms only come in one size – BIG.
This is a much more modest affair, the colours are still bold and bright, but the scale is altogether more managable. I have Mylene Hillman to thank for the inspiration for the hanging loop.
And now for something completely different (as Monty Python said). This pendant measures about 57mm across and displays a combination of Friendly Plastic techniques including Beads On Strings (or wire in this case), wrapping, and 3D Oooze. It really is a statement piece and not for the shy and retiring.
Friendly Plastic is wrapped around some bought beads, they are actually translucent deep purple so they look great as earring with the light behind them. I have made a necklace to go with this which features these hybrid beads (bought bead, FP and wire), plus paper style FP beads. Once again, this is a bold set, the beads shown above are roughly 37mm wide (1 1/2″ ), and you can see a bit of the necklace below.
Combining Friendly Plastic with other materials (bought beads as above) or found objects (drum beads – I found the insulation tubing that gives them their shape), wire or fabric, enhances the designs and compliments the Friendly Plastic, as well as making it go further.
This necklace and earring set features reclaimed chain from a charity shop find, little bells from sari braid, recycled beads, FP beads and fabric and FP beads. The round beads are made using the Tri Bead Roller (the largest bead was made in the hand without the aid of the roller). The cylinder beads combine fabric attached to adhesive sheet and Friendly Plastic moulded to make end caps. The precise technique for this will have to wait for another post or a video short.
I hope these pieces of jewellery have inspired you to take a look at your stash of stuff and begin experiments of your own – exploring ways to combine FP with all those wonderful and weird things everyone has tucked away just because they might come in handy some day. Today is that day.
