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.
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 (the ink blurred a bit).
I’m wondering what you think and I want you to let me know in the comments!
Important Things to Remember
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!
Are you ready to give this project a try? Get the printable how to below:
Shrinky Dink Necklace
Materials
- Shrinky Dinks
- Sharpie(s) Dark Brown and Teal, or colored pencils
Video
Instructions
- 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.
- Create your design on the Shrinky Dink material using Sharpies and stencils.
- After removing the stencil, go back and thicken any lines that might not have fully transferred with the stencil.
- 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.
- Finish by putting Dimensional Magic on the pendant and allowing to dry.
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
Also if you like handmade jewelry and accessories using Dinks, visit some projects from my friends below:
I think it looks awesome and I love the blurring. It’s just a really sweet design overall actually.
Love it! I’ve used Shrinky Dinks before… They’re fab.
I thought the blurring of the bird was intentional. Your friends aren’t lying, it’s definitely a keeper! And pfft, I’ll send you a stamp to send it to me before having you flush it! 🙂
I would forsure wear it, I love the bird and I love how the color of the stripe turned darker. I really like it 🙂
While I support supporting CraftFail, this does not qualify! (See even Heather said so!)
I had no idea what you were talking about as far as a mistake until you pointed it out, and then I had to go back and look… no fail for youuu! 🙂
I like the way the bird looks. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Honestly – if you didn’t point it out, I’m sure most people (like myself) would have thought that it was supposed to look like that. I really think it’s beautiful!!!! 🙂
I wouldn’t have guessed that it isn’t what it’s supposed to be if you hadn’t told us. I think it looks great the way it is. And yeah, VERY weird that one Sharpie ran and the other didn’t. I haven’t done one this big but the few times I’ve played with Shrinky Dinks(without a lot of success getting them to color the way I want them), I’ve used my heat gun to shrink them. It’s a very violent process as it flops around shrinking but FAST.
I like the blurring. I commend you! I’ve worked with shrinky dinks for jewelry (except I went the extra painful step of trying to get it to fit into a pewter pendant), and it’s a royal pain in the butt! (But I got a super-sweet stormtrooper necklace out of it to wear at conventions. That’s as close as I get to dressing up!)
Where can I buy Shrinky dinks like now?
That is really cute!
I’ve never done shrinky dinks but now I want to! I remember other kids doing them. I like your bird!
Love “Dinks.” Just bought blank sheets of Shrinky Dink plastic at Hobby Lobby, and have made a series of original charms for a bracelet. So fun!