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Festive Flamingo Earrings
Dreaming of a tropical Christmas? Make these festive flamingo earrings and wear them in the summer or whenever you feel like showing your Christmas spirit. We love the how the dangly beaded legs are bent just like real flamingos! The template for this craft makes 3 sets of earrings: 1 for you and 2 to share. Or you can print several templates and invite some friends over for a Christmas in July crafting party.
While this craft is pretty simple, it does require a bit of skill with an X-Acto to cut out the space behind the bird’s neck. If the thought of wielding your craft knife in those small spaces is overwhelming, feel free to leave them as is.
Supplies & Tools:
- Printable template (download here)
- Grafix Inkjet Shrink Film � White*
- Inkjet printer
- 1/8" hole punch
- Scissors
- X-Acto
- Cutting mat
- Parchment paper
- Oven
- 1.5" gold-colored headpins
- Gold-colored earring hooks
- #3 gold bugle beads
- Round nose pliers
- Optional: clear spray paint or Dimensional Magic™
*We tried a couple brands of shrink film for this project and found that Grafix Printable Shrink Film works best. We do NOT recommend any other brand of printable shrink film because in our tests, the pendant became distorted during the baking process when we used brands besides Grafix.
Directions:
- Open the flamingo template. (Click here to download.)
- Print the template on Grafix shrink film using an inkjet printer.
Note: Make sure to select the Photo Paper option from your Print dialog box.
- Cut out each flamingo with your scissors, making sure to leave white space around each bird. The extra white space around the flamingos helps prevent the film from tearing as you punch holes in the next step.
- Using your 1/8" hole punch, cut 2 holes for the legs (denoted by gray circles on the lower portion of the body) and 1 hole for the jewelry hardware (denoted by the gray circle above the hat).
- Cut away the extra white film around each flamingo using your scissors. (We’ll get to the white spaces “inside” the flamingo in the next step.)
- Now remove the white spaces behind the flamingo’s neck using both your hole punch and X-Acto.
Note: Cutting into these tight spaces can be tricky, but using the hole punch makes it a bit easier.- First, use the hole punch to cut the rounded edge near the lower part of the flamingo’s neck.
- Then use the hole punch to cut out part of the white space above the flamingo’s back.
- Use X-Acto to trim away the rest of the white space.
- Repeat for each flamingo.
- First, use the hole punch to cut the rounded edge near the lower part of the flamingo’s neck.
- Now it’s time to bake your birds! Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the flamingos on the baking sheet and bake per the manufacturer’s directions. When the film has stopped shrinking and is flat, it’s time to remove it from the oven.
Note: Sometimes the flamingos aren’t completely flat when they come out of the oven, so keep a glass with a flat bottom nearby. When you remove the pan from the oven, transfer the flamingos to the countertop (parchment paper and all) and flatten with the glass.
- Optional: Give your flamingos a glossy finish by spraying with clear spray paint or coating with Dimensional Magic. Allow to completely dry.
- To make the legs, add 4 bugle beads to each headpin. You need 2 legs for each flamingo.
- Curl the top of the headpin with the round nose pliers, but don’t close the loop.
- One at a time, hook the headpin loop through the leg holes on the flamingo. Use pliers to close the headpin’s loop.
- Now bend the headpins to make them look like legs.
- For the front leg, bend the headpin just above the bottom bead to create a foot.
- For the foot on the back leg, bend the headpin just above the bottom bead, but in the opposite direction.
- To finish the back leg, bend the headpin just below the topmost bead.
- Repeat for the remaining flamingos.
- For the front leg, bend the headpin just above the bottom bead to create a foot.
- Attach the earring hooks and now your fabulous, festive earrings are done!
