I was brainstorming DIY tween gift ideas back before Christmas and couldn’t come up with anything for my nieces (last year I made them Harry Potter leg warmers!). After I’d already bought them something (a subscription to Kazoo magazine, it looks so cool!), I realized that it would be easy to customize a shrinky-dink keychain for their interests. My friend Kelly, who blogs at Handmade Boy, said she could never find anything with an alto clef symbol and I made one so I could send it over. She said her daughter loves it, and took some lovely photos of it so I could share!
A zipper pull is an easy diy gift – you could make it in their favorite Harry Potter house crest, a band logo, an astrology sign, anything that is easy to trace!
This particular one would work as a gift for a music lover of any age, I love this shot, it looks so elegant!
If you’d like to make your own DIY shrinky dink keychain, with any design, it will take less than an hour. This would be a great craft to do with a group of older kids, too.
Supplies
- Shrinky dink sheets*
- Fine tip permanent marker
- Keychain finding*
- Small pliers or wire cutters
- Hole punch
- Scissors
- Oven (toaster or full size)
- Pattern/silhouette of the desired drawing, shrunk down to approximately 1-4″ tall. I printed mine off Google images!
Steps
Step 1– Print off the pattern, and then use the permanent marker to trace and fill in the pattern on the shrinky dink sheet. You can also add color, with additional markers or colored pencils. Using a ruler helps keep straight lines straight! Use your hole punch to punch a hole at the top, for the keychain.
Step 2– Trim all the excess shrinky dink paper off and then bake according to the package instructions. Preferably in a less gross oven – in my defense, my Mother In Law accidentally lit our toaster oven on fire and it is never going to look cleaner than this now. I actually bought a specialty shrinky dink oven* from Goodwill Outlet, but it can only do tiny shapes.
I experimented with three different sizes – you can see here the start and finish of each.
Step 3- Use pliers or wire cutters to attach the keychain finding through the hole you created.
You’re done! Hang it on a bag, jacket, or pocket zipper.
Karen
Wednesday 18th of January 2017
Too cool! Thanks!
Katy McKinley
Monday 16th of January 2017
Shrinkydinks are so much fun to play with!
Stephanie - Swoodson Says
Friday 20th of January 2017
I want to see what you make with shrinky dinks with all your cute designs!!