Shrinky Dinks?

[Spixie33]

Hi - I have heard a lot of good things about shrinky dinks and how fun they are for crafts.

I found 10 sheets for 9.99 at Michael's. A bit pricey but since I have heard so much good about them - I splurged. I thought it might be fun to do on one of the dcks birthdays later this month.

Now that I have the sheets, I am not sure what to do with them. Does an 8.5 x 11 inch paper shrink down really small or could I divide a 8.5 x 11 paper in half and have two kids use it?

It would be nice to make a necklace but I am not sure how small they get and whether you can hole punch the finished product. I am hoping some other daycare providers have more experience on what can be done and what makes a great craft using these. Thanks

[Inspired by Reggio]

I have done these as 'gifts' for parents .... we did hand prints with craft ink and than cut them out and that size shrunk down to be about the size of a quarter ~ I will see if I can find a picture to show you.

if you want them for 'jewellery' I would definitely cut the 8x11 paper into quarters at least if not 1/6 of the paper other wise they will be more like 'sun catchers' for the window

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ok so this started out the size of a 5 year olds hand and than when baked shrunk down to this size compared to the standard size pearls beside it to give you a perspective.

[fruitloop]

You can use clear plastic containers too...like the ones that muffins come in from Superstore and such. They work awesome and it's recycling

[fruitloop]

I love the shrunk hand print. I think I might do that for Mother's day as maybe a keychain or something.

[Spixie33]

I have done these as 'gifts' for parents .... we did hand prints with craft ink and than cut them out and that size shrunk down to be about the size of a quarter ~ I will see if I can find a picture to show you.

if you want them for 'jewellery' I would definitely cut the 8x11 paper into quarters at least if not 1/6 of the paper other wise they will be more like 'sun catchers' for the window

Okay another dumb question -- is craft ink different from a normal washable stamp pad? Do you think a handprint like that could be done with tempura paint and hold up?

Did you really string all those beads and make the clasp?

I am so impressed.

[Spixie33]

Oh really? I will have to test this.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Okay another dumb question -- is craft ink different from a normal washable stamp pad? Do you think a handprint like that could be done with tempura paint and hold up?

Did you really string all those beads and make the clasp?

I am so impressed.

I used the craft ink from my scrapbooking stash so not the kids stuff ... I versamarked (a clear ink) their hand and than stamped it with the craft ink and they stamped their hand on the shrink paper ... the versamark step was so that it would wash off better as it creates a bit of a barrier on the skin and than we also did water play to remove the remaining evidence as these were surprises for mom.

I imagine you could use the washable ink or tempera paint ~ it would just take longer to dry before you can 'bake it' and with the paint you risk it 'flaking' when baking but imagine that the heat would cure the washable ink hopefully ... I used the craft ink cause the shrink paper is expensive even when you use a 50% off coupon and did not want to experiment with it since they were 'gifts' verses just a creative art exploration ... I have some left over pieces now I should play around with different mediums with it with them to see!

The beads and clasps were from the Dollar store ... I tied the one end of the clasp on for the children and they 'beaded' the necklace with a little coaching on finding the middle for the 'big hand bead' so that it hung nicely for mom and when they were done I tied the other end of the clasp on for them cause that was fine motor work beyond their control

We also made 'key chains' for dad with the same concept.