Oh, we have been having so much fun with Shrinky Dinks! I remember doing these when I was a kid, and they turned out to be quite fun, and even a bit magical, for my girls. I found my pack in the scrapbooking section of Michael's.
We started with some simple shapes drawn with a black Sharpie (by me), which the girls colored with Sharpie paint pens. You can't use washable markers for this activity! We got five shapes from one sheet of the shrink plastic.
When they were done coloring, I cut out the shapes and punched a hole in each one, since we were planning to make charm bracelets with the finished shapes. Just use a standard hole punch, since the hole will shrink as well. Ready for the oven!
Follow the oven temperature and time instructions on the package. They just take a few minutes -- watching is fun! Don't be nervous when they get all curled up -- you may think they are ruined (like we did!), but they will flatten back out. Once they do, let them cook 30 seconds more, then take them out.
When they come out of the oven, they are still slightly pliable, so press them flat with something -- I used a folded up manilla envelope. They cool pretty quickly, and are ready for stringing onto bracelets!
A finished bracelet:
For our second project, we decided to make pins for end-of-the-year gifts for the girls' preschool teachers. We used a quarter-sheet of the shrink plastic for drawing a "scene." Natalie also included her teacher's name. I am so in love with this...
I'll hot glue a pin-back on. I want one for myself now! I think I can convince the girls to do it again tomorrow! Maybe a key chain would be fun...
Happy playing!
