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Lay your cut-out pieces face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shrinky Dinks® are designed for children ages 5 and up. Guiding children through the creative process makes cherished memories. Kids can make custom shrink art pieces to share and swap with friends. Our kits are perfect for birthday parties, sleepovers, camp, or as gifts.
Wait until the shrinky dinks flatten out, and then pull them out of the oven. After about 2 minutes, they will flatten back out again. – Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using a heat gun or toaster oven, and use caution when handling hot surfaces or tools.
After a moment, you should see the plastic begin to curl, and then shrink and flatten back out. If any Shrinky Dinks remained curled take a flat object (we used a craft rolling pin or you could use a spatula) to flatten them out. Pop it in the microwave for a few minutes, watch it shrink, curl, and then flatten out with gentle motion to create a distinctive tag in a beautiful pattern.
- They’re perfect for making custom items, from jewelry to keychains to ornaments.
- Use low-tack painter’s tape to hold fragile shapes flat on the parchment during shrinking.
- Place your earrings on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 1-3 minutes, or until the plastic has shrunk and hardened.
- That said, you can re-design or re-decorate the Shrinky Dinks after they are cooled, but you cannot return them to their original flat state.
Coloring Tips for the Best Results
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Leave a small border (about 1/8 inch) to prevent the edges from curling too much during baking. Popular ideas include animals, names, cartoon characters, geometric shapes, or even custom keychains. You can make matching earrings, charm bracelets or necklace pendants – just punch holes for the jewellery findings before shrinking the plastic, and remember that the holes will also shrink, so don’t worry that they’ll be too large. After a minute or so, the plastic will relax back out of its shape, and revert back into a flat strip… I told you this stuff was magic! Pop your misshapen ring back into the oven on the brown paper, balancing it upright on its curved surface so the join is at the top (as in the picture above).
Place a cutting board or another flat surface on top and press down gently to ensure they are perfectly flat. Once they flatten out, bake for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute. The Shrinky Dinks will start to curl and shrink, and then flatten out again. They will curl up during the baking but will eventually flatten out once removed from the oven and allowed to cool.
Personalized Name Tags & Initials
That’s why you’ll need permanent markers for this project. Kits came with pre-printed coloring sheets of your favorite characters (I was partial to the Care Bears or Rainbow Bright) and a set of colored pencils. Once the pieces lay flat, allow 30 additional seconds of baking time to complete. The shapes will curl at the edges and settle down as they shrink.
Learn More About Polymers
Had I seen them in the 90, I would have had my children making them. I remember seeing them in the very early 80s, but I don’t remember them being around or popular at all near the end of the 80’s and all of the 90’s. Shrinky Dinks were created in 1973. And he didn’t really remember them but I showed him yours and he did, so thank you. They should shrink at the same rate if you bake them in the same batch, so just size your images similarly on the computer before printing them. Shrinky dinks don’t tend to turn out perfect though.
Can I color shrinky dinks with colored pencils? On my second batch, I just put them in the flat places. The ridges did keep the shrinky dinks from becoming truly flat. Once they are flat, leave them in the oven about 30 seconds more. First, they will shrink and wrinkle up and get sort of curly! If you’re using a baking sheet/cookie sheet, you might want to cover it with foil or parchment paper before baking.
Shrinky Dinks TIPS FOR Cutting and Coloring
The rougher edges will be less noticeable after you’ve shrunk the image. There is no need to be super neat when colouring, as the shrinking processes hides a lot of the rough edges. This will help any ink and colour that you apply to the plastic to stick. Take a piece of clear shrink plastic and rub the surface lightly with fine grade sandpaper or glass paper to create a ‘key’. If you want to draw directly on a crystal clear shrink plastic sheet, you need a permanent markers like a archival ink pen.
Notes on Coloring the Pieces (Before Baking)
Next click “Browse” and select the sunflower PNG file. Then, I’ll show you how to make your own initial keychains and even turn a favorite photograph into a keychain! I’ve also included a set of measuring squares you can use to make “reference keychains” to check the amount of shrink before using new materials. All the images are available in both color https://shrinky-dink.com/ and black and white versions so you can print ready to make files, or have the option of coloring in your own. We’ll also need parchment paper and heat-resistant gloves (oven mitts work, too!) to craft safely.
With adult supervision, shrink art is suitable for kids 5 – 85 years old! Our finished shrink art product provides a shiny, durable finish that will last for years. Either send it to me by email or share it on my facebook page– I’d love to add it to my Shrinky Dinks Fun Pinterest Board! For best results fold a piece of parchment in half and stick it inside, right by the fold of the parchment paper while you bake. As mentioned above, clear #6 plastic, often used in restaurant takeout lids, are a perfect substitute for store bough shrink film. White, Frosted or Ruff N Ready Shrinky Dinks are best suited for colored pencils.
From simple childhood fun to sophisticated crafting applications, Shrinky Dinks offer a delightfully magical and surprisingly versatile medium. Shrinky Dinks remain a fantastic craft for children, fostering creativity and fine motor skills (with adult supervision for cutting and baking, of course). Shrinky Dinks offer a fantastic way to personalize your keys or add flair to bags and backpacks. Because the pieces become small and durable, they’re perfect for personal adornment. Permanent markers (like Sharpies) are fantastic for vibrant colors on any surface, though they work particularly well on the smooth side.