Forum reader Barbara Charlish sent us the following information about Friendly Plastic.

Please note Friendly Plastic is not available from Card Inspirations.

Friendly Plastic Information Sheet

Friendly Plastic comes in strips about 18cm x 4cm.

There are many glorious colours, some graded, some swirly, some spotty, bright and pale and metallic. And you can see how it shines on the cards in the Gallery.

I only have tips for cards, which I did at a course. So what follows is what we did on the course; not ALL there is to know!

I have the tutor's notes, but then we were watching her, and working together, so I must think through the steps carefully for you.

Equipment we used / needed:

• A heat gun
• A baking sheet or heatproof surface, to protect your table.
• 3 or 4 pieces of foil about 15 cm x 15 cm, not critical, one per piece of work on the go.
• Ordinary scissors.
• Rubber stamps, size critical - i.e. to fit the FP. I used the tutor's in trepidation, but if you are careful it does no damage to your stamps. See below.
• Tiny pics, beads, metal badges, raised buttons, etc
• Something to hold/poke the hot plastic - end of tweezers, blunt cocktail sticks, etc.

Cut the FP with scissors. Size? Depends what you're going to do, but cut it larger than your image.

Get all the ingredients to hand, so that you are ready to go when the FP is heated. I have seen mentioned on the Forum 'lightly oil the foil to prevent plastic sticking'. We did not and nothing stuck.

Place piece of FP on foil, put it on the baking tray, warm up the heat gun and you're away.

Heat the plastic. You need to be a few inches away, but straight on, not wafting much, until the FP surface wrinkles slightly or glosses over. TURN OFF the heat gun . . . and straight away push your image into the heated plastic. If using something without a handle, i.e. not a stamp, use tweezers or blunt item to push it in. The hot plastic can burn you - and that would stick - ouch! I would not let young children use this.

This is where you learn as you go. You have to press firmly, but I found I had overdone it once. Using gold FP, I pressed FIRMLY and went into the black base plastic. I was using the starburst rubber stamp (as in Gallery) but I liked the effect, though it might not suit every image. It did not damage the stamp, in case you're wondering.

Leave FP to cool on the foil.

Move it to one side and take another bit of foil and another piece of FP to repeat the process. When cool, peel it off CAREFULLY. I think it was a wee bit warm, as I remember flattening it, which it would not do if really cold. I have not tried re-warming it to flatten, but it might be OK if you mind the image you have pressed.

BUT

If you try to take off the rubber stamp before it has cooled sufficiently, the stamp pulls apart, so don't experiment with your favourite stamp! Yet.

That's it really. It couldn't be simpler, as long as you are careful.

Plastic can also be heated in other ways: In an oven 250º for 1 - 1.5 mins, or in hot water for about 20 seconds until it bends and softens. I have not tried either.

Plastic can be cooled quickly in cold water, and also held against a cold window (winter) or cold radiator (summer). You'll find your way.

When I was using FP at home I found that by the time I had done the second piece, the first one had not cooled enough, so I had about 3-4 on the go. Hence the several pieces of foil needed.

Plastic can be reheated and reworked, but I have not tried to 'undo' a stamped image.

It is important to press whatever into the FP while it's hot. Tutor had used small card shapes - flowers off an old card - and pressed four of them into the FP in a square. Very simple, very chic. If using these card shapes, you need to press and rub it all over, as it will bend up and not stay firm and flat. Unless that is the effect you want, of course.

You can use a stamped, embossed image, cut out neatly, or a punched shape, or beads, or wire . . . . You'll find your way here, too. Tutor said sometimes these items do not 'hold' well, particularly beads, so when cool, take them out and stick with a clear strong adhesive, UHU suggested. I have not used anything but rubber stamps, so don't know about this problem.

Anyway, having got your FP pieces to your satisfaction, they can be stuck to card with sticky fixers, but I don't know what happens if you use oil on the foil to stop it sticking, as above suggestion.

If you want a printed design, use permanent black ink to stamp into the plastic. I have not done that either.

I hear FP can be used for jewellery, so I suppose you would make any needed holes while the FP is still hot.

You don't have to use square shapes of FP; it can be trimmed to any shape. Then you might have lots of bits to heat together and swirl colours, like marbled icing on a cake.

We did some of this deliberately, cutting strips from two sorts, alternating them, heating and poking and 'marbling' five together into a square. When cool we cut diagonally, making two triangles. We did two of these and then assembled them on to a card as wings of some fantastic insect. But I was not impressed with this, as the cut triangles did not match, so looked odd. It was a good exercise in method, but I am sure there will be better ways of use. You have to be careful the strips are cut straight, so they meld together well and don't gap; unless that is part of your design, of course.

And surely it should be possible to heat several bits together, to make a large shape for some super piece of work? Who's going to try that?

That is all I can tell you. There are books, I gather, but I really wonder if they are necessary, apart from ideas of using. And from what I see on the Forum we are all quite capable of lateral thinking and then sharing. Time for more experimenting I think.

So have some fun, and mind you don't burn yourselves.

Barbara Charlish, April 12 2002

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