How to Make Shrinky Dinks

Once you learn how to make shrinky dinks, it is so easy and fun. Get creative and make lots of fun designs with these DIY shrinky dinks.

DIY Shrinky Dinks

Everyone will love learning how to make shrinky dinks. This is one of our favorite DIY activities and it is so easy and frugal.

If you are looking for something fun that is simple and inexpensive, try making shrinky dinks. It really is a great activity.

We have been having a blast making all sorts of shrinky dink items lately. You can find even more fun shrinky dink ideas to try.

Once we got started, we quickly found out there are tons of fun ideas to try for the entire family. Use your imagination and get started because it is so much fun.

How much do shrinky dinks shrink?

They will shrink significantly. Typically, they reduce to the amount of about ⅓ of the original size.

What are shrinky dink sheets?

These are special sheets that you need to make this craft with. Shrinky dink plastic is made out of polystyrene and can easily be cut with scissors to make your design.

You have to use a shrinky dink piece of plastic to create shrinky dinks. These plastic sheets work best.

Supplies for DIY shrinky dinks:

Shrinky dink material . You definitely want to order this paper. We have tried other materials but the sheets definitely work the best.

Sharpies. We prefer sharpie brand but you can use any type of permanent marker or colored pencils for decorating.

Scissors

How to make shrinky dinks:

Print out pictures to trace from your favorite sites or use cookie cutters to trace different designs. However, you can definitely create your own design as well. There are tons of free printable options online too.

Then use sharpies to decorate your designs. We used fine tip and the regular markers for our design.

How to bake shrinky dinks:

Cut out the items. Then place on a cookie sheet with the side that is colored up so that the color does not transfer to the baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees fahrenheit for 3-10 minutes. The time will vary based on the size of your designs. Larger pieces will take a longer time to shrink. The plastic will shrink to about ⅓ of their original size once they are finished.

Remove from the oven with an oven mitt.

Tips and tricks:

We had a lot of issues with our shinky dinks curling on the edges when baking. It helps to lay a silicone baking sheet over the top of the shinky dinks. This will prevent the shinky drinks from curling while cooking.

Another option is to gently press down on them using the oven mitt once out of the oven. You can also lay something gently on them that is flat after baking. This should help to prevent them from curling.

If you would like make a key chain, use a hole punch. Remember, that anything you create will shrink to about ⅓ of the original size.

The kids can make key chains to give as gifts or to hang on their backpacks. There are tons of fun options.

Oven times vary. We baked at 325 degrees but you may need to turn your oven to 350.

It is so fun to make homemade shrinky dinks.

Give these a try today using some of these awesome tips and tricks. You will love seeing the creativity in each child and all of the fun creations they make.

I am always amazed at all of the fun designs everyone comes up with. It really is the perfect indoor activity when it is too hot or too cold or raining outside.

This will keep the kids busy for quite a while and you might even want to make a couple of them as well. Punch a hole in one and make a keychain.

These also make great gifts for Grandparents and more. If you have birthdays or holidays coming up, gather the kids and let them make some of these fun shrinky dinks to give as gifts.

Everyone will love them and you all will have a blast making them.