Make Your Own Shrinky Dinks

I am in a bit of a crafty rut right now. The truth is, my apartment is pretty clean from all our company and I am hesitant to get messy creative. So this is actually a repeat craft from my teaching blog. This project was a hit with my third and fourth graders and frankly, my friends too. Who isn't a bit nostalgic about Shrinky Dinks?

Recycled Plastic Shrinky Dinks
Supplies:
Toaster Oven
tongs
tin foil
Sharpie markers
spatula
No. 6 or 7 recycled plastic
scissors (Fiskers kids scissors worked great)
hole punch


1. Start with plastic that has either a 6 or 7 in the recycle triangle. Salad bar containers and bakery goods often come in this kind of plastic. We used the lids from salad containers.

2. We used Sharpies, but any permanent marker would work.

We traced some of our favorite book characters with Sharpies, but you can draw anything!


3. After drawing, cut out the design and use a hole punch to make a hole. Then place your design on some tin foil. We cooked ours in the toaster oven. There are some fumes, so you may want to consider opening a window or taking the toaster oven outside.

4. Bake the shrinky dink for about 2 minutes at 200 degrees. It's fun to watch! It will curl and look all messed up, but then like magic it will uncurl too. When it's flat again, it's done!

5. Caution! They will be very hot at first! Have an adult use the spatula or tongs to remove the shrinky dink from the foil! Let cool for a few minutes before letting the kiddies touch them.





My students sewed their charms on these "Success Bags" where they collected mementos from the school year.

More Trash to Treasure at Reinvented!