DIY Shrinky Dink Jewelry: Make a Necklace

Do you love Shrinky Dinks? This Shrinky Dink necklace was so easy! If you love Shrinky Dink jewelry, this is a fun project to try with Sharpies and stencils.

I’ve been on a DIY jewelry kick for a while, and I’ve had some shrink plastic in my stash for about six months that has been begging to be turned into something.

Combine these two things with some Dimensional Magic and you have a Shrinky Dink necklace! If you like making DIY necklaces, you’re going to love trying this project.

Shrinky Dinks in Crafts

This Shrinky Dink jewelry project is actually a little bit of a CraftFail because it didn’t go as planned, but it might be okay.

I’m wondering what you think and I want you to let me know in the comments. First I’ll walk you through the craft.

Using Shrinky Dinks for Jewelry

Shrinky Dinks shrink to about 1/3 of their original size and get nine times thicker. It’s magic, people. The nice thing about Shrinky Dinks is that even though they get smaller and thicker, they’re still very lightweight.

You also need to remember to punch your holes before baking your Dink. If you don’t, you’ll have a heck of a time trying to get them punched afterwards.

I’m pretty sure the only way it would happen is if you used a drill. I learned from experience and after throwing a few Dinks in the garbage!

Shrinky Dink Jewelry

Gather These Supplies

• Shrinky Dinks – Bright White Plastic Pack
• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
• Stencil One stencil – bird from the Nature 8-Pack
• Sharpies – Dark Brown and Teal
• Stencil tape
• Jewelry supplies – silver necklace chain, jump ring (from Michaels)
• Circle cutter or scissors
• Hole punch – 1/4″
• Oven to bake Shrinky Dinks

You will first need to cut a circle shape out of your Shrinky Dink material. I used a circle cutter and did about a 3 3/8″ circle (it was completely random, I just made sure my stencil fit), but you can also trace a shape and cut it with scissors.

Next I taped down the stencil and filled in with the Sharpie color of my choice.

Then I removed the stencil and went back in to thicken up the lines in certain areas where I felt that they were a little too thin.

I punched a hole in the top of my disk with a regular sized hole punch. Then I used my brown Sharpie to create vertical lines that were as evenly spaced and straight as I could make them. I eyeballed it.

I baked the Dink. And I was like a kid in a candy store, sitting there with the oven light on, watching the Dink shrink. There were some precarious times when I thought it was going to fold over on itself, but it ended up righting itself and shrinking correctly.

The instructions say if it does fold on itself, you can untwist it and flatten it out while still hot. Luckily this didn’t happen. I removed my Shrinky Dink necklace from the oven and allowed it to cool.

I finished by putting Dimensional Magic on the pendant and allowing to dry. Notice in this photo that the Sharpie ink colors got much darker than they were originally.

Also notice that the Dimensional Magic made the ink of the bird bleed but NOT the stripes. Weird, huh? To finish the Shrinky Dink necklace piece, add a jump ring and a chain.

Everyone that I’ve asked so far likes the blurring of the bird, but I’m asking you – what do you think of my Shrinky Dink jewelry? Feel free to be honest. Is it worth wearing? Or should I flush it down the toilet?

Afterthoughts on This Project

I have two thoughts on my Shrinky Dink necklace now that it’s over and done with.

1. I’m wondering if I would’ve let the Sharpie dry a lot longer before baking if there would’ve been a difference in the blurring. Just thinking that maybe the Sharpie would’ve set more in the material somehow.
2. It’s been recommended to me by several people that the Ruff n’ Ready sheets might help with the blurring. They are made to look frosted so have a textured side, which may take the ink better.

If you’ve had success with Shrinky Dink jewelry, I’d love to know in the comments!

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Use Shrinky Dinks

Use Shrinky Dinks to create colorful art, keychains, magnets, jewelry, and more! Learn how to make Shrinky Dinks here.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Active Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Yield: 1 project

Cost: $10

Equipment

• Scissors
• Hole punch (optional)

Materials

• Shrinky Dinks
• Colored pencils or Sharpies

Instructions

• Create your design on the Shrinky Dink material using colored pencils, markers, or other ink. Some sheets come plain and you will make your own design; others have outlines already on the sheets.
• Cut the shape of your choice out of the Shrinky Dink material.
• Punch any holes BEFORE baking the Shrinky Dink sheet.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place the Shrinky Dink shape on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
• Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 1 – 3 minutes, watching the Dink shrink.
• If the item folds on itself, untwist it and flatten while still hot.
• Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let your Shrinky Dinks cool before handling.

Notes

Remember that the design will shrink to 1/3 the size after cooking, so be sure to scale appropriately.

Also if you like handmade jewelry and accessories using Dinks, visit some projects from my friends below:

• Shrinky Dink photo keychains
• DIY Shrinky Dinks flower rings
• Make Shrinky Dink charms