People Are Bringing Back Shrinky Dinks on TikTok as a Genius Crafting Tool
A nostalgia-fueled DIY trend is bringing these magically shrinking kits back in style.
There is an undeniable joy found in taking part in the same activities we enjoyed as kids, but as an adult—and with a bit of an adult twist. In the latest iteration of this nostalgia-driven trend, some DIY designers are taking our favorite childhood craft—Shrinky Dinks—and using the craft kits to create beautiful pieces of art and functional works, making everything from Christmas tree ornaments to lamps.
A Shrinky Dink kit contains paper-like plastic sheets that you can draw and color on, then heat to make the sheets shrink, transforming a large piece of art into something small and dainty and significantly more detailed. Shrinky Dinks were enormously popular in the ’90s and early 2000s, and now creators on TikTok are totally obsessed, too.
Related: How to Make the Vintage Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Tree Wall Hanging
One TikTok creator, @lilayu.art, created a sweet tulip lamp with the help of Shrinky Dinks. She started by drawing a bunch of tulips on Shrinky Dink sheets and then coloring them. She carefully cut them out along the lines and then punched a hole in the center of each little flower. Then, she held the flower down with a wooden stick and used a heat gun to shrink the pedals up in the desired shape, using her fingers as guides when necessary.
Once they were all cooled, she poked the bulb from a string light through the hole and used a hot glue gun to ensure it stayed in place. The string lights she used had wiring in them so they’d stay upright, but you could also add wiring around any old string lights you have around. She chose to glue the base of the lights to a wooden platter and have the tulip lights grow upwards in a sort of Beauty and the Beast–inspired rose structure.
Another creator took a more classic route by drawing designs on Shrinky Dink sheets, coloring them in, punching holes at the top, and popping them in the oven. When she took them out, she had perfectly sized ornaments.
Elsewhere, one creator used Shrinky Dink sheets to turn her favorite designs into little magnets for her refrigerator, while another used Shrinky Dinks to create an adorable “Virgo” sign to hang on her wall.
Not all of these creatives are using Shrinky Dinks to create home decor items. For instance, @Capy_store used Shrinky Dink sheets to create a ring in the shape of a fish. First, she drew out her fish, colored it in, and carefully cut it out. Then, she used a heat gun to melt the fish right onto a wooden ring sizer, which ensured that she was not only shrinking it into a circle but also shrinking it to the correct size. After she was happy with the size, she covered it with UV glue and nail glue.
It’s really no surprise that we’re seeing somewhat of a resurgence of Shrinky Dinks today. Shrinky Dinks are versatile and fun, can be used with colored pencils or markers, and allow artists to get creative to make custom jewelry, keychains, charms, ornaments, lamps, lights, home decor, and more. They’re also relatively inexpensive, at about $10 for 25 sheets, and combines the elements of creativity, versatility, and a touch of magic for endless creative opportunity.
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