DIY Spring Bug Pins with Shrinky Dinks

Use a hole punch to create a hole in the top of the cup, where you will later attach a keychain or string. Start by decorating the outside of the paper cup with colored pencils. If you’re looking for a fun and creative DIY project to do at home, look no further than homemade Shrinky Dinks with cups! Please don’t use water soluble markers or wax crayons to color the shrinky dinks … Download some free patterns, gather your supplies, and let the winter crafting fun begin!

Shrinky Dinks you can still buy today

The regular markers were the only ones that didn’t “bake” into the plastic and sort of rubbed off when I was done making my shrinky dinks. (I also made some “Paw Patrol” ones because I have children who LOVE “Paw Patrol” and because we are working with a clear medium, you can trace!) Permanent Markers (I did a test on some shrinky dinks and dry-erase markers work pretty well, but regular markers don’t work as well) 3. I happened to fall upon DIY shrinky dinks on social media, and well, now I’m hooked. Then send your curated collection to your children, or put together your own custom lesson plan.

Art Set

Kids can draw, trace or colour a picture on the special plastic sheet then watch it magically shrink in size in the oven! Shrink Art, (also know as shrinkies or shrinky dinks) is a fantastic arty activity for kids. The shrink art will curl and then will then go flat when ready.

More DIY Jewelry Projects

Whether you make snowflakes, penguins, mugs of cocoa, or mittens, the joy of watching artwork shrink into something magical never gets old. If you’re searching for a fun, educational, and affordable winter craft, these free printable winter shrinky dink patterns are the perfect solution. Templates give kids a clear starting point while still leaving room for personalization with colors and details. Children love seeing their drawings shrink into small, shiny charms, and parents love that this craft keeps kids busy without a big mess.

We freehanded it on blank sheets of plastic, and copied the designs from coloring books. Popped them in for a few minutes, They curled up tightly (except the starburst, which just got all rumpled) and turned white and didn’t shrink. If you really want reliable, consistent results, you’re best off using commercial Shrinky Dinks. But they shrunk way more than the others and the end result was much smaller than I wanted.

• We love shrinky dinks, in fact be sure to read through my helpful Shrinky Dinks Tips and Tricks article before you start.
• This worked so well because we used the lid for shrinky dinks and the pan for baking the shrinky dinks.
• Mitch’s Minecraft figure turned white on one side and barely shrunk.
• Feel free to mix and match or create your designs on the blanks.
• If you’re going to want to string your photo up in any way, be sure to punch your hole prior to shrinking your paper.

It’s still as cool as ever watching the designs shrink in the oven. I just loved watching the paper curl up and shrink in the oven. It’s never too early to get a jumpstart on your Christmas crafting. The polystyrene sheets are created through a process called extrusion — the material is heated to the melting point, then forced through a die to give it its shape.

It’s a branch of science that looks at the properties of materials on very small scales. But, as much as it breaks my heart to have to tell you this, magic isn’t behind the toy’s quirky properties. And if you’re looking for more simple craft ideas, we’ve got lots. I would not recommend crayons (the wax will melt in the oven) or washable markers (the colors will run). Some of the dark colors, like the brown on the football, became a bit darker than we wanted. The colors also become more vibrant after they shrink.

Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes or until your items are flat. Take fine sandpaper and lightly scratch the entire surface of the plastic so it’s rough and will hold the color of your medium. Let the kids make any designs they wish and then cut them into shapes for them after. You could lay the sheet on a coloring book page or some of our free printable patterns and first draw a heart onto the sheet.

These materials are chosen for their excellent shrinking properties, ease of use, and the ability to retain vibrant colors after the shrinking process. Shrinky Dinks are a popular craft material known for their unique ability to shrink when heated, allowing users to create durable, plastic items from simple designs. Have you made anything with shrinky dinks? It can be a scrap or half a sheet of shrinky dinks. Take a ruler and create a shape based on the measurements of your ruler. How much a shrinky dink shrinks will vary https://shrinky-dink.com/ by brand and how it is cut…most brands of shrinky dinks shrink roughly 1/3 the size of the original but below is how you can know for sure.

Sometimes called shrink art, Shrinky Dinks first became popular in the 1980s and ’90s. I created this Shrinky Dink charm necklace with some of my favorite book covers. It’s fun for crafters of all ages, so long as you can use an oven, OR if you are making Shrinky Dinks with young children, you can bake the pieces for them. Label the type of plastic if you’re using more than one kind to avoid confusion. Use small bins or drawers to organize markers, colored pencils, scissors, and hole punches.

What Are Shrinky Dinks?

Also, we had a lot of Shrinky Dink designs to create so we did them in batches. The next step is to carefully cut out your design. You can also use permanent markers (like Sharpies) to color in your Shrinky Dink creations, however, colors may darken when baked.

If you prefer written steps with photos, we have these for you in this guide too. You can give it a helping hand by covering it with the back of ceramic tile, to ensure it flattens out completely. Once it has shrunk to its minimum size, it will straighten itself out. Usually, the plastic sheet curls up at first but will flatten out as you continue heating and the shrinking becomes more uniform across the shape. Aim the heat gun at the shrink plastic, keeping it about 50mm away – and watch the magic happen! If you have a heat gun, place the shrink plastic on a heat-proof surface like a baking tray or ceramic tile.