Shrinky dinks may be a blast from the past — they were all the rage in the ’70s and ’80s — but they’re still the best way to turn your favorite memories into beautiful pieces you can wear on your wrist, around your neck or in your ears. All you have to do is pick your photo, trace it onto shrink film and follow the simple steps below.
Shrinky Dink Jewelry
Level: Easy
What You Need
Instructions
1. Trace and Cut Your Image
Place the shrink film over your image. Carefully trace around the outline and fill it in with a Sharpie.
Cut around the shape with embroidery scissors, being super careful not to make any accidental cuts.
2. Punch
If you’re making earrings or a necklace, punch a hole where you want the jewelry wire to go.
3. Bake
Bake at 280 F for 1-2 minutes. The film will shrink to about â…“ of its original size.
Remove the shrinky dink(s) from the oven and set aside to cool.
4. Place the Wire
To make earrings, place a rump ring through the hole in your shrinky dink and squeeze the ends closed with pliers. Then insert earring wire and secure with pliers.
That’s it! Then you’ve got the cutest custom jewelry!
Cuff Variation
If you want to make a bracelet, follow steps 1 and 3, but skip step 2 — you don’t need the hole punch.
After baking (and while the shrinky dink is still warm), hold it against the bracelet so it molds to the shape.
Glue the shrinky dink in place with craft glue and let dry. Then it’s ready to become serious arm candy!
what is shrink film?
If you click on where it says “shrink film” in blue under “What You Need”, the hyperlink will take you to a seller of shrink film on Amazon. Alternately, you could google “shrink film” or “Shrinky-Dinks”, and voila! You’ll learn that it’s a film that shrinks to less than half of its original size when you heat it in the oven, as shown in the tutorial above. Shrink film comes in colours; it also comes in white or clear, and you can write or colour on it with markers before baking for a totally custom long-lasting plastic craft experience.