Get some of the best Shrinky Dink craft ideas that can be found online. I’ve compiled the best ones I can find and I even have one or two on my site you can try! Jump to the ideas if you already know what Shrinky Dinks are. If not, you’ll want to read the whole post!
What are Shrinky Dinks?
If you were a child in the 1970s or 1980s who enjoyed arts and crafts, you probably remember Shrinky Dinks. They were sheets of thin plastic printed with cartoon characters or other designs that you colored with colored pencils, cut out with scissors, then baked in the oven. The plastic shrunk and hardened while baking, leaving you with a fun piece of plastic artwork!
They may have lost popularity for a while, but you can still buy Shrinky Dink plastic sheets to make all kinds of fun crafts! There are several brands available for purchase from most craft stores and online.
How To Make Shrinky Dink Crafts
If you’re unfamiliar with how to make crafts with shrink plastic, here are the basic steps:
Step One: Draw or trace your design on a sheet of shrink plastic. You can draw your design lightly with a pencil then go over it with a permanent marker or colored pencils. It’s important to note that you should make your design much larger than you want your finished product to be. The shrink plastic will shrink to approximately a third of its original size while it’s baking. Also, keep in mind whatever colors you use will appear darker after the plastic shrinks.
Step Two: Once your design is all colored in, cut around your artwork with scissors. Again, keep in mind that this will shrink to about a third of the original size. If you need a hole to use your Shrinky Dink art as a piece of jewelry or keychain, use an ordinary hole punch to make a hole. The hole will shrink along with the rest of the plastic, so if you don’t punch a large enough hole at this point you’ll need to drill a small hole after it’s done baking and has cooled off.
Step Three: It’s time to bake! On a flat cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper, lay your cut out plastic pieces with the colored side facing up. Preheat your oven according to the instructions on the brand of shrink plastic you are using; usually this is 325 to 350 degrees. Then you bake for the amount of time according to the brand of plastic you’re using. It usually only takes two to three minutes! While your plastic art is baking, you’ll see the edges curl up, but don’t panic! As they continue to bake, they should flatten out.
That’s it! Just three easy steps, and you’ll have an original piece of plastic artwork. When you take them out of the oven, let them cool completely before trying to touch them. The plastic will be hot! Now that we’ve explained the basic steps, here are some fun Shrinky Dink crafts you and your family will love.
Shrinky Dink Jewelry
Custom jewelry is fun and easy to make with shrink plastic! When you make your own jewelry, you can create something that perfectly matches a specific outfit. You can also design fun pieces to wear for holidays and special events. Just create your design, punch a hole with a hole punch, bake, and then attach to a chain or earring bases. A standard size hole punch created the perfect sized hole for jewelry after it shrinks.
The possibilities for fun jewelry designs are unlimited; let your imagination run wild! You can make an assortment of themed charms for a one of a kind charm bracelet. Trace snowflake or snowman designs for fun holiday pendants and earrings. Flowers and eggs colored in pastel shades can be made into pretty Easter jewelry.
You can find literally hundreds of examples of shrink-plastic jewelry designs online. Jewelry-making accessories (jump rings, clasps, necklace cords, bails, chain, earring bases, etc.) are readily available online, or at most craft stores or bead stores.
Shrinky Dink Pet Tags
Shrink plastic is great for making fun “jewelry” for your pet’s, too! Create your design in the shape of a dog bone, heart, of even a puppy or kitten silhouette. Keep in mind when designing that whatever you draw will shrink to roughly one third of its original size, and you might want to make smaller tags for smaller pet collars. For example, if you are looking to get a teacup Yorkie, you will need a much smaller collar tag than what you would need for a regular Labrador Retriever.
For best design results, color the tag in lighter colors, then write your pet’s name with a black permanent marker over the colored design. Another method would be to color the pet tag, then use your printer or a cutting machine such as a Cricut to create a small vinyl sticker of your pet’s name. Then apply the sticker after your tag is finished baking and has cooled off. Remember when choosing your colors that they will darken as your pet tag bakes!
When you cut around the shape for your pet tag, leave some space to punch a hole before baking. Once the tag is completely cool, use a jump ring to attach to your pet’s collar.
Shrinky Dink Handprints
What is it about children’s handprints that are so incredibly cute? You can use shrink plastic and acrylic paint to create keychains or even holiday ornaments of your little ones’ handprints. Here are the easy-to-follow steps:
- Using acrylic paint in a bright color, paint over your child’s palm and fingers in one even coat. Be sure to use acrylic paint with a gloss finish for this. Acrylic paints with matte or satin finishes won’t stick well to the shrunk plastic. It doesn’t have to be expensive paint, any craft paint will work as long as it is acrylic. Make sure their hand is evenly coated, but not so heavy that the details won’t show up. Carefully help your child press their palm and fingers flat on a piece of shrink plastic. Make sure they press their fingers down all the way. Hold on to the shrink plastic, and help them lift their hand slowly off the plastic. If it doesn’t have enough details for you, or if it smears a little bit, don’t worry. You can easily wipe the acrylic paint off with a paper towel and some rubbing alcohol, then try again. Let the acrylic paint completely dry before moving on to the next step. Fortunately, acrylic paint dries quickly.
- Once your paint is dry, carefully cut around the handprint, being sure to leave a place to punch a hole. You can cut around the fingers a little bit, but if you cut all the way around each individual finger they are more likely to curl up and get stuck to each other while baking. Punch a hole if you’re going to attach to a keyring or ribbon.
- Turn your handprint over, and write the child’s name and maybe their age in permanent marker. Or have your child write their name and age themselves!
- Place your handprint pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet, with the painted side facing up. Then bake according to the directions for the brand of shrink plastic you’re using. Once the pieces have cooled completely, brush on a layer of gloss finish Mod Podge or other clear sealant. This will prevent the acrylic paint from chipping. All that is left to do is to attach to a keyring, or add a festive ribbon to create an heirloom Christmas tree ornament. For a more polished or durable option, you can also pair your designs with professionally made custom PVC keychains that complement your handmade pieces beautifully.
Shrinky Dink handprints make wonderful gifts for Father’s Day or Mother’s Day. They’re also perfect for Grandparents. Creating a new handprint ornament each year to hang on a Christmas tree creates a collection of family heirlooms that will be cherished for years to come.
Shrinky Dink Photo Crafts
Did you know you could print digital photos onto Shrinky Dink plastic? Shrinky Dink brand sells Inkjet shrink plastic sheets that you can use in your computer printer. There are so many fun possibilities with this product!
Before printing any photo onto the inkjet sheet, you’ll need to make a small adjustment first. Using any basic photo editing program, you should reduce the transparency (often referred to as opacity) of your photo to 70%. This will make it look a little washed out when you print it, but as your project shrinks while it’s baking the colors will intensify. If you don’t reduce the transparency, your final product will look too dark after baking. Otherwise, the process is the same as for any other Shrinky Dink craft.
With photos printed on shrink-plastic sheets, you can make keychains of favorite family vacation photos, or a whole charm bracelet full of family portraits. You can attach a pin/brooch back with strong adhesive to make flair pins of your photos. Gluing magnets or push pins to the back of your Shrinky Dink photo creates a fun way to decorate your refrigerator or corkboard. Of course, family photos are alway sweet to hang on a Christmas tree.
Shrinky Dink Bookmarks
Bookmarks might be one of the easiest Shrinky Dink projects, but it might be one of the most fun, especially for children! Simply cut your shrink plastic into rectangles, with a hole punched in the top. Remember that before baking your piece should be approximately three times the size of what you want your finished piece to be. Decorate your bookmarks with fun colors, traced drawings of book characters, or personalize with someone’s name. This is easy for kids to do, and they make nice gifts to give to their teachers. These bookmarks are also a nice addition if you’re giving someone a book for a gift.
Once your shrink plastic bookmark is done baking and has cooled off, attach a bright-colored ribbon or cord through the hole on top, so it can hang out of the book.
Shrinky Dink Tips and Tricks
There are so many fun craft possibilities when using Shrinky Dink sheets! We’ve outlined just a few in this article, but here are some tips that are useful no matter what you’re making:
Shrinky Dink, and other brands of shrink plastic sheets, are perfectly safe to use. However, sometimes you’ll notice the smell of “hot plastic” while your projects are baking. Try to have a window cracked open or a fan blowing while doing this craft.
Always keep in mind that your project will shrink down to approximately one-third of its original size after baking. Don’t make your pieces too small before baking; it’s better to start out a little larger at first.
Shrink plastic will curl up in the oven, but it should flatten out as it bakes. Longer, narrow pieces are more likely to curl up and stick to themselves. If this happens, you can take scissors and snip the ends apart while the piece is still hot. Be careful, the plastic will still be very hot at that point!
Sometimes, a piece will still have a little bit of a curl on the edges when you take it out of the oven. If that happens, press it flat with a spatula while it’s still hot. It should only take a few seconds to get it to flatten out nicely.
Colored pencils and permanent markers (such as Sharpies) are the best for drawing and coloring Shrinky Dink designs. Crayons won’t work, because they’ll melt in the oven. The only paint that works well is acrylic-based paint, but be sure it dries completely before putting your project in the oven.
Some brands of shrink plastic have a smooth shiny side, and a slightly rough side. Generally, permanent markers work best on the shiny side. Colored pencils work best on the slightly rough side. If the shrink plastic you’re working with only has smooth shiny surfaces, you can use light sandpaper to gently scuff the surface if you’re using colored pencils.
