DIY Shrinky Dinks

You can recycle plastic to make your own Shrinky Dinks!  Yay!  I got the idea from this website.

Here’s what you will need:

• Plastic with the #6 inside the recycle symbol (cleaned up of course) – you can find these in grocery stores, delis, any place that sells food really (ask for some, you might get some for free).
• Permanent magic markers
• Scissors
• Aluminum foil
• Oven mitts
• an Oven (or toaster oven)

1. After cleaning and drying the plastic, cut off the sides to make a flat sheet. You can use either the top or bottom of the container.
2. Draw or write your design/message.  I’m not good at drawing but I can color, so  I printed out a cupcake clipart image from a Google and traced it.
3. Pre-heat the oven (or toaster oven) to 350 degrees, and put the a rack in the lowest position.
4. Create a tray with the aluminum foil by turning up the sides, and place you shrinky dink on it.
5. If your oven has a light, turn it on so you can watch it shrivel up and then straighten itself out.   The cupcake started out at 2 1/4  inches in length and took about a 1.5 minutes to shrink, ending up at almost 1 inch.

See, it really does work.  Recycle your plastic to make anything, sun catchers, ornaments, gift tags, etc.  If you make some of your own shrinky dinks, please post a photo.  I’d love to see them!

~Kim, CLP – Squirrel Hill