How to Make Shrinky Dink Rings

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Things You'll Need

  • Shrinky Dink Sheets - can be found online or at a local craft store O

  • Permanent Marker

  • Colored Pencils

  • Hot Glue Gun

  • Scissors - I have small sharp ones that are good for cutting the thick plastic

  • Ring Blanks - found online or at a local craft store

  • Oven

  • Cookie Sheet

  • Tin Foil - Optional

Pow! Shrinky Dink Rings are fun for any age.

Remember making Shrinky Dinks as a kid? They are the plastic sheets that you can color and cut out and magically watch as they shrivel up and shrink down in the oven. I don't like letting go of things I loved from my childhood and decided to make shrink dink rings, for myself. Because I am a grownup.

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Watch how to make them in this helpful video!

Video of the Day

And use one of our creative printables featured in the video for this project: Template 1 and Template 2.

Step 1

Gather your supplies and preheat the oven.

Gather all your items, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The Shrinky Dink instructions recommend that you also preheat the cookie sheet that you will be using. Plug in your glue gun to warm up.

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Step 2

Color in your design, and don't forget to use bright colors.

Draw or trace your design on the textured side of the Shrinky Dink plastic. If you are doing any designs with text make sure you invert it, or trace it backwards so it is facing the correct way when you are done shrinking. I found some clip art on the computer and flipped them before I traced them onto the plastic. Bright colors and definite lines really show up best. Make sure all the areas are covered well and evenly. The plastic shrinks about to 1/3 its original size, so keep that in mind when making your designs. I wanted my rings to be no bigger than one inch so I made all my designs about three inches long.

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Step 3

Carefully cut out all your designs.

Carefully cut out your designs. If you are making an item that you want to have a hole in for possibly stringing onto a necklace you need to make that hole now, it will be impossible after you have shrunk it down to size.

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Step 4

Don't worry if they warp! Leave the Shrinky Dinks in the oven until they let flat again.

Carefully (because it is HOT) remove your cookie sheet from the oven and lay your piece of foil down. I like to use foil because it lays flat and protects your cookie sheet from any plastic or colored pencil shavings. Place the cut out Shrinky Dink designs textured/colored side up onto the foil and carefully place back into the oven. Watch them magically shrink and warp. Don't worry if they warp - leave them in until they flatten back out - this should take 1-3 mins.

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Step 5

Glue ring to the rough side of the Shrinky Dink.

Once completely shrunk and flattened, carefully take the Shrinky Dinks out of the oven and let cool. Once they are cool it is time to glue them onto your ring blanks. I took my already heated up glue gun and put a small dot onto the ring. I then attached it to the rough side of the Shrinky Dink, so the smooth side is facing away.

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Step 6

Make a lot of these rings to share with your friends!

Let the glue cool before you wear these about town. Everyone is going to want one so you better make a whole pile of these!

Warning

This craft can be done with kids but careful adult supervision is needed with the use of a hot oven. Also, with kids, keep an eye out for sharp edges on the finished designs.

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