Crafting Shrinky Dinks: Upcycling Plastic Containers

From the 1970s, all the way up through https://shrinky-dink.com/ popular branded sets of the 1980s, you could always count on catching a Shrinky Dinks commercial on television. They started making the ovens back in 2001 and over the years they would tweak the design, one thing they didn’t change was the purple color. Even home shopping channels like QVC started selling them.

• They saw great popularity with children in the 1980s.
• Just be sure to add any necessary holes or hooks before shrinking the plastic.
• To make Shrinky Dinks, start with your chosen plastic sheet, which can be found at craft stores or online.
• The iconic shrinkable plastic sheets that let kids of all ages create detailed mini artworks, charms, jewelry and more.
• Supervise children closely during the crafting process and teach them about the importance of handling materials safely.
• This means that the plastic will shrink to approximately one-third to one-fifth of its original size.

Add earring hardware

The small ones shrink down to about half an inch and the larger size shrink down to about an inch. There are two sizes of each design of shrinky dink patterns available. For more information, check out the Ultimate Shrinky Dink Instructions here. Check the little recycle triangle symbol on your plastic containers. So let’s find out what type of plastic you need to make this super fun kids craft to get to the final shape we know and love!

Why Shrinky Dinks Are Perfect for Summer

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. 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. Using any basic photo editing program, you should reduce the transparency (often referred to as opacity) of your photo to 70%. Did you know you could print digital photos onto Shrinky Dink plastic? What is it about children’s handprints that are so incredibly cute?

Simple Treats

You’ll have the confidence to make something beautiful with resin, even if you’re completely new at this. Then you’ll want to get my ebook, Resin Fundamentals. Next time, I’ll mix crystal doming resin with Resin Obsession opaque white pigment to color the back.

If you’re teaching about winter animals, kids can make polar bear charms. Shrinky Dink crafts check so many boxes for caregivers, teachers, and parents. They’re durable enough to become keychains, jewelry, backpack tags, Christmas ornaments, zipper pulls, or even educational manipulatives.

Markers are an essential tool when creating shrinky dinks, a popular craft activity loved by both children and adults. The vibrant colors and quick-drying ink make them perfect for labeling, sketching, and drawing on a variety of surfaces. The variety of colors available allows for endless possibilities, adding a pop of color to any project. I did notice the hand print shrinky had a harder time flattening out after it shrunk. You can start with tracing the overall shape and add your own unique touch as you go.

Turning white after heating is because the more volatile components become gaseous and form small voids in the material and therefore scatter light, causing whitening. Almost all plastics have a small percent of additives included to improve properties for different applications. Trying to fix samples that shrunk unevenly is difficult since they become tacky (sticky) when hot and would stick to an iron’s surface. I am thinking of making jewelry with her artwork, suncatchers, making Christmas ornaments, and… the possiblities are endless. I even started punching a hole in them before shrinking. So now that we had our Shrinky Dink mojo on – I was completely out of my Panera stash — I got desperate and tried shrinking another plastic box that I saved from the Daddy Daughter Dance corsage.

Placing a piece of parchment on top helps them flatten evenly. If you want smooth crafting and perfect shrinking every time, a few simple tips go a long way. If you’re working with preschoolers who tend to press lightly with pencils, I’d recommend frosted sheets—they hold color beautifully. You don’t need a big supply list to get started. If you’re doing a transportation unit, they can color cars and trucks.