Shrinky Dinks - Backpack Bling

Do you have memories of Shrinky Dinks from your childhood? I remember coloring Smurfs Shrinky Dinks at my kitchen table and then waiting for them to shrink in the oven. My husband actually mentioned Shrinky Dinks after I told him about the process to make the "stained glass" butterflies. I hadn't thought about them in years and I was excited to try them with C and R. I was really hoping to find some superhero Shrinky Dinks, but I had no luck. After searching a bit, I found a Shrinky Dinks activity kit made by Alex. C and R were both happy with the selection of shapes and creatures to color and shrink.


The directions recommend using a toaster oven (you can use a conventional oven though) and I found this so easy because there is no time waiting for the oven to preheat. It only took a few minutes for them to shrink and cool so there is no waiting there either.


R enjoyed watching them shrink, and she liked the final products but she was not interested in coloring the Shrinky Dinks. This did not surprise me at all. C enjoyed the whole process.


The kit we purchased came with key chains so we actually decorated C's new backpack with two of his Shrinky Dink creations.

All of a sudden, the child who has been telling me that he does not want to go to Kindergarten was jumping up and down asking me when he can go to school with his Shrinky Dinks. If I knew it was that easy, I would have done this long ago. I hope the joy lasts because we still have more than a week before school starts!