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 love this! I want to try this myself. Thanks for sharing your photos! This gives me the motivation to make my own shrinky dink pendant necklace.
I love it… the blured bird looks like you planned it that way… I tried the same thing on a color pencil project and it faded it in ramdom spots ruinning my piece…… I was glad to see this one, it gives me the gumption to give it another go 🙂 thank you for sharing…
It’s perfect! I was once told that the way to know something was truly hand-crafted was by the small errors within the finished project. I thought you created this effect on purpose until you pointed it out. Love it!
I think it looks great like that. I just wish i could do this, I havent had much luck with the shrink products. The never seem to turn out like the instruction.
How did the brown turn to black?
Hi Anonymous! It’s because it shrank. The colors do that when you shrink them. The particles come together and make a darker color. It still looks kinda brown in real life, but black in photos.
I think the blurring is awesome and looks totally intentional. It adds more texture and dimension. It also adds more color. It has sort of an overlay or screen printed look.
Very nice necklace! Wou make it look easy to make!
Hi there, I featured this project on FaveCraftsBlog’s Sharpie Crafts Link Love Roundup! See it here:Thanks so much. I love the project!
Your pendant is really pretty! May I ask what kind of circle cutter you used? I’m looking for a circle cutter for shrinky dink in 1 3/4 inches. Any helpful tips on where to find one would be appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Anonymous! I used the Martha Stewart circle cutter. Works pretty well!
I like this. It is really neat simple. Love the colors and strips and the bird being a swallow. Sometimes mistakes turn out to be a good thing!