How to make geek-tastic 8-bit wedding accessories

After spying Donelle and Adam's glorious 8-Bit wedding, we fell head over heels for the DIYed 8-bit boutonnieres, hair clips, corsages and, of course, Donelle's “diamond” necklace. Here's how you can make 'em.

We had a budget of 6k, so we made pretty much everything ourselves. We used Shrinky Dinks to make the boutonnieres, corsages, jewelry, hair clips and cake topper. We used window paint to make the bouquets, and fabric paint for the pixel tie t-shirts.

What you need:

• Shrinky Dinks (You can get these at your local craft store. I got the bright white large sheets because, after some trial and error, I found that the colors on the transparent scratchy kind of Shrinky Dinks weren't as vibrant as I would have liked)
• Sharpies (The only type of marking pen that the white Shrinky Dinks seemed to work well with was Sharpies.)
• Paper (I used graph paper for the pixelated designs because it made it WAY easier. If you aren't doing 8-bit style pixel work, any type of paper will work.)
• Scissors
• Super Glue (or strong adhesive)
• Mod Podge
• Oven or toaster oven

Step 1:
Draw a design out on a piece of paper. It will need to be approx. 4x bigger than the size you want to end up with because it will shrink in the oven!

Step 2:
Tape the Shrinky Dink on top of the design so it doesn't move around. You should be able to see your design through the Shrinky Dink.

Step 3:
Color it in with Sharpies. This step is fun but tedious depending on how many items you are making.

Step 4:
Cut it out — be careful though, because this stuff tears easily.

Step 5:
Bake it in the oven according to the Shrinky Dink's directions.

Step 6:
Apply Mod Podge with a paint brush. Your design, even after baking, might smear and bleed easily. This stuff helps to seal it, although it doesn't seal it all the way. You may want to look for other clear sealants depending on what your local craft store carries.

Step 7:
After letting it dry, you can glue the pieces together, and then glue them to the backing of your choice. I used a pin back for the boutonnieres and a hair clip for the hair accessories (see pictures 7a and 7b).

Corsages

I had to be a little more creative with the corsages though. I went through several design mock-ups and ultimately came up with this one (see picture 7c).

I made a plus-shaped design out of Shrinky Dinks and punched 2 holes in it prior to baking. I cut it out, baked it, and threaded the ribbon through the two holes. I then glued the piece to the back of the corsage. And voila! The result was a corsage for the mothers that could be easily tied around their wrists with a sweet ribbon.

“Diamond” Necklace

For the “diamond” necklace, I found that the two blue colors included in the Sharpie kit didn't look that great together. So, I went back to the craft store and discovered that they make Shrinky Dinks that can be printed on with an Ink Jet printer! How cool is that?

So I drew the design on the computer and printed it out. I recommend doing several mock print-outs on regular paper first though to get the size you want because I know that, at least for me, it took several tries playing with printer settings and what-not to get it right. And it's not good to waste the Shrinky Dink paper because it is somewhat pricey.

Cake Topper

The cake topper was also printed using the Shrinky Dink Ink Jet paper.
So there you have it… Shrinky Dink wedding accessories! Play around with the idea, you'll be surprised with what you come up with!