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Make Your
Own Plastic
by Belinda Mooney
Ingredients:
- 3 Envelopes Unflavored Gelatin
- 9 Tablespoons or 75 ml. Water
- 3-5 Drops of Food Coloring
- Materials:
- flat plastic lid from 24 ounce coffee can, or a lid similar in
size with a rim
- cookie cutters
- plastic drinking straw for punching holes
Directions:
In a small cooking pan mix the water and food coloring over low
heat.
Add 3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin, stir continuously and
cook for 30 seconds until thickened.
Pour the mixture into a plastic lid, push the air bubbles to
the edge with a spoon and let it set on the counter for 45 minutes.
Remove the flexible gelatin disk from the lid. The gelatin will be
pliable.
Here's when you pull out the cookie cutters to cut shapes. Be sure
to keep any odd shaped scraps, too. Or, use a scissors to cut a
spiral.
Poke a straw in shapes and spiral to punch holes and, if you like,
thread the "punched out circles" onto a string as beads. Dry shapes
and scraps on a cooling rack.
Hang spirals from a clothesline using clothespins. They'll be hard
as plastic in 2-3 days. Hang them in your window when dry.
You can also cut out smaller shapes and make them into jewelry. To
prevent curling: As they dry, the pieces tend to curl up and bend
which is part of the fun. But if you want to keep some pieces nearly
flat for a special use like jewelry, here's what to do: take a plastic
ice cream bucket, put a paper towel or loosely woven cloth over the
top and place your cut-outs and scraps on the cloth. Cut the center
out of a lid that fits the bucket, put another wipe over the top of
the gelatin shapes, then press the lid tightly over the top to hold
the two sheets firmly in place Allow the shapes to dry completely
between the sheets. |
