How To: Shrink Plastic jewelry

Remember Shrinky Dinks??? They’re not just for summer camp and sleepovers anymore, folks! I desperately needed a pair of Steelers earrings for a game I was about to go to, so I decided I would attempt to make them using the Shrinky Dink film I had recently purchased for funsies! Using permanent markers, a hole punch, and my oven, I created a pair of cute and game-worthy Steelers earrings in less than fifteen minutes!

Here are the instructions:

Materials:

-Permanent markers (I used red, yellow, blue, and black in standard tip and a black, fine point)

-Hole punch

-Shrinky Dink film

-oven

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Print out Steelers logo (I simply searched “Google Images” and enlarged it as needed) Note: Make sure the logo you choose is approximately 4-5 times the size of the finished product, as it will shrink significantly.

3. Placing the Steelers logo under the Shrinky Dink film, use permanent markers to trace and fill in the logo onto the film. You will obviously be making two of these to have a complete pair of earrings (unless you’re going for the pirate or Mr. Clean approach, in which case one is plenty!).

4. After the ink has dried on the film, cut out the logos, leaving extra room at the top of the logos as needed where you  wish to make holes

5. Use the hole punch to create a hole at the top of both logos

6. Place your completed logos on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for about 3 minutes.

7. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the pieces cool

8. After pieces are cool, use needle nose pliers to attach an ear hook wire to each logo

Another example of jewelry made using Shrinky Dinks

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Some festive Shrinky Dink earrings for Fall



Simple, Inexpensive Earring Holder

Handmade MULTI-earring holder



Between the earrings I buy and the earrings I make, it is safe to say that I have a PLETHORA of earrings in my collection. The trouble I have had is storing them. Jewelry boxes don’t have enough room and force the jewelry to get tangled and earring holders are often more than I wish to spend for the small amount of earrings they hold. As a result, I found myself scouring my local craft stores for some way to fashion something that will stand on its own and hold LOTS of earrings. After almost an hour in the store, I decided on an embroidery ring and a large sheet of plastic, embroidery canvas. I used a glue gun to place glue on the inside of the embroidery ring. I then rolled the canvas into a cylinder and placed the bottom of the cylinder into the embroidery ring, so that the bottom edge of the canvas attached to the glue inside the ring. I then placed a line of glue along the area in which the plastic canvas overlapped itself along the side of the cylinder and VOILA!!! I have not counted how many earrings I could potentially place on my new holder, but I think it is safe to say I now have a reason to make many, many additional pairs.