SHRINKY DINKS!  This week we enjoyed the joys of crafting with Shrinky Dinks while making a little something sweet for Daddy.  Last year, we made a Father’s Day key ring, which my husband loved to pieces.  Literally!  He was so upset when it broke, he asked me to glue it back together (just a note: Shrinky Dinks don’t glue too well – very messy).  We decided to replace the original one with some cute-and-creative updated key chains…

Materials: Shrinky Dinks (or any shrinky-plasticy-papery-type product – available at most craft stores), markers or colored pencils or paint pens, hole punch (standard size – smaller holes shrink too much), jump rings, key rings.

Trace your shape onto the textured side of the Shrinky Dink paper, and let your little artists go crazy!  Or you could do it in reverse – let them create their masterpiece with markers, colored pencils, or paint pens first, then trace or cut out your shape.  We decided to make a little “paper man” shape for each of the boys – just remember that Shrinky Dink plastic shrinks up at least half the size of your original shape, so enlarge your original shapes accordingly.  Cut out your shapes, punch a hole where you would like the key ring to be, and, following the directions on your Shrinky Dink package, let the magic begin!

While I don’t have any pictures of the pre-shrunken little dinks, here is an “after” dink with the original template that was used for a size/shrinking comparison.  The shrinking is always the most fun part… we had some friends over to do this craft with us, and none of them (including the mother!) had ever seen Shrinky Dinks before!  It was hilarious with the 7 of us crowded around the oven trying to see the process.

Here are the finished little dinks in my hand for a size comparison.  While my paws are a bit large, these little men are pretty tiny – smaller than a house key, so they will be nice and unobtrusive on Daddy’s keychain.

Here are the ones that our friends made – there are two little boys and a girl in their family, so their daddy will get a trio of little dinks for his keychain!

And I added another bit to our keychain gift – this is a re-creation of the original one Daddy got lat year.  Last year’s was an oblong shape, which I think contributed to its breakage.  This compact circle will hopefully fare better being thrown into pockets and onto tables.

All I need to do now is purchase some jump rings in the right size, attach them into the little holes in each dink, thread them all onto a keyring, and wrap them up for Father’s Day!

What are the plans at your house for Father’s Day this year?  We promise we  won’t tell!

linked up to Somewhat Simple’s Strut Your Stuff Thursday

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