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 https://shrinky-dink.com/ for years. It is sometimes called shrink film, shrinkies, polyshrink, or shrinky dinks.

Handmade photo jewelry makes heartfelt gifts for weddings, anniversaries, and graduations. Bake the charm until it flattens, then apply a UV resin dome for glass-like depth and scratch resistance. Choose high-resolution images cropped to simple shapes so faces remain clear.

About Shrinky Dinks

Bake at 325 degrees for 1-3 minutes. You have your very own Shrinky Dink jewelry and embellishments. Once they flatten out, allow another 30 seconds in the oven. Then, use a hole punch to create a hole where you want to attach your earring hook or jump ring. I prefer to use colored pencils. Feel free to mix and match or create your designs on the blanks.

Steps to Make Shrinky Dinks

Other than creating a time-warp and bringing us back to the 1970’s, shrinky dinks are a great example of how thermoplastics are made. So what is so scientific about the fine art of creating shrinky dinks? It's definitely fun to recycle plastic to make your own shrinky dinks.

Step-By-Step DIY Shrink Plastic Earrings

The next couple of batches seemed to go more quickly – like 1 -2 minutes. The first batch took around 3 minutes because the oven wasn’t yet warmed up. Make sure to stay and watch them because they can bake quickly. Put the baking with designs in the oven and bake for 1-3 minutes.

Avoid shrinking particularly large shrinky dinks s as they may fold in on themselves too much during heating and get stuck together! If shrinking your shrink plastic sheets in the oven, use a flat surface like a baking tray, and place a wide wrap on top to help keep them flat. Rule of thumb for what temperature you should use to shrink your shrinky dinks in the oven is 170 degrees celsius.

  • Take fine sandpaper and lightly scratch the entire surface of the plastic so it’s rough and will hold the color of your medium.
  • "During cooking to watch it curl then uncurl and then bake a bit more. They turned out perfect!"
  • It's definitely fun to recycle plastic to make your own shrinky dinks.
  • You want to be able to watch the pieces bake as they will curl, and then uncurl when they are done baking.

Download the Back to School Shrinky Dinks traceable Templates

I love the colours of these shrinky dink keychains and it’s so cool that each one is unique! Our star keychain started off a little over 3 inches across and it was 1-¼ inches in size after shrinking! It’s super fun to colour something and then watch it curl up and shrink down in size. Color your shrinky dinks with Sharpie markers, then use rubbing alcohol to give them a “tie dye” look.

Designing Your Shrinky Dinks

Heavy books work in a pinch but protect surfaces with parchment. If you need deeper hues, roughen the surface lightly with fine sandpaper so ink grabs evenly. Cheap water-based markers sit on the surface and evaporate in the oven, leaving pastel results. Because the plastic is weather resistant, you can glue finished shapes onto wreaths for outdoor display. Layer multiple pieces to create three-dimensional ornaments that catch light on a tree or window. Parents see improved recall because children link the miniature icons with classroom discussions.