For today’s make something assignment, I was to buy a kit, toss the instructions, do something unexpected with the remaining contents, and brace myself for whatever came next.

Finding a kit on a Friday evening proved difficult. One store was closed. The next had a great little cupcake kit, but it was no longer for sale (I kid you not). So I wound up with a Shrinky Dink set and a virtual kit that came from an East Coast sister who wants her baby sister to succeed.

While I prowled around Joann Fabrics (the only nearby art store that was still open after 7:00 pm on a Friday evening),  my sister assembled an emergency art kit, just in case I found nothing else. She’s a textile artist, so she assembled a few bits of fabric, several amazing buttons, some great fiber … then took a photo to send me. She even wrote directions for how to use the bits and pieces she had assembled (knowing full well I had to throw them away):

Instructions:  piece squares together to create a pillow front. Couch yarn to create grass. Add buttons as desired. Finish pillow with backing. Stuff as desired. Hand stitch closed.

Not that I ever doubt my sister’s capabilities, but even though I knew she was shopping for a kit, I went looking for a ready-made solution myself. I found a Shrinky Dink set appropriate for ages 7 to 97.

The kit included everything needed to make a necklace or bracelet or massive key chain.

Unable to choose between this useful kit and my sister’s generous offering, I combined the two and made a hanging of sorts. I used the Shrinky Dink sheets whole, like massive mini canvases for oversized letters. This photo shows the first letter “shrunk” while the others wait for heat:

Once all letters had been downsized, I printed and cut my sister’s kit, then hacked it into useful pieces so I could assemble this hanging for the wall of my office: