The images look stretched – they looks long and tall. And it’s true for the printable version, the shrinky dink version is absolutely unacceptable. I’m totally sympathetic to this Etsy Seller that couldn’t find a suitable alternative. Just look at their Amazon reviews! Pretty brutal, right? Perhaps it was a batch or perhaps the new production of printable shrinky dink paper just isn’t what it used to be. With that came a bad batch of printable shrinky dink paper. In 2014, the company was bought by Alex Brands, the toy company behind Backyard Safari, Slinky, and Scientific Explorer. If you’d like to jazz it up even more, add on one of these cool leather tassels.Īnd there you have it, the perfect meaningful Mother’s Day gift for Mom or Grandma that didn’t break the bank.Shrinky Dink Paper has been receiving a lot of criticism lately. Follow the steps above to punch the hole, cut, shrink and assemble.Ĭombine with your child’s initial for a super custom feel. Older kids can do this themselves, younger kids will likely want to leave this step to mom or dad if you want to end up with any sort of resemblance.Ĭolor them in or leave them as is. Using a fine-tip Sharpie, trace the outline of their features and clothing. Grab a head-and-shoulders photograph of your child (4×6 school photos are great for this) and place the key chain on top. Now if you want to go one step further and personalize these creations even more, try your hand at adding a custom headshot of your child by following the steps below. Ta-da! Aren’t they incredible! HEADSHOT KEYCHAIN CHARM Once they’re cooled, pop on one of the jump rings, and attach to the key chain.

If they’re not completely flat against the baking sheet, take a spatula and press down on them while they’re still warm. At that point, give them another 30 seconds and then take them out of the oven. In due time (usually another minute or so), the designs will flatten out and stop shrinking. Pop it into the oven, turn on the oven light and anxiously await the shrinking to begin.Īfter about a minute your heart will start racing as your handi-work starts to shrivel up and look totally warped. Preheat your oven to 350✯ and place your creations on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, a few inches apart. If you have letters with a middle section like “D” or “B” you can use a utility or X-acto knife to cut out the center (or honestly, save yourself the trouble and just let it be). You can then take a sharp pair of scissors and cut around the edges, about a ¼” or so from the edge of the outline and around the hole. Once your letters are colored, you’ll want to punch your hole slightly above the top outline. Remember that when you shrink them the colors will intensify and any “mistakes” tend to magically disappear – so don’t sweat the small stuff. You can even have your kids write a sweet message on them to amp up the aww-factor even more. We used a fine-tipped Sharpie and these Paper Mate ones with great results. Colored pencils or more permanent-type markers work best (washable Crayolas tend to blead and smudge). Then let your kids go wild creating designs and coloring them in. Once you have your letters printed, simply put the Shrinky Dinks Paper over them (rough side up) and have you or your kids trace the outline with a Sharpie.

If you want to get fancy and try a script font, have at it. We found that creating a simple Word document and typing the letters using “Franklin Gothic Heavy” font in size 400 worked perfectly. To create these beautiful initial keychains, you’ll first want to print out the initials you’ll be using (we selected the initials of our kids, but you could use Mom’s initials or get creative and spell out M-O-M or I-❤-U)

Sharpies, colored pencils or other permanent markers.

Keychain: We went with one of these handy Lobster Claw hooks we picked up from our local craft store, but they’re fairly inexpensive on Amazon (and you’ll end up with plenty so you can make these for all your family and friends!).

Shrinky Dinks Paper: We used this Shrinky Dinks Frosted Ruff N’ Ready Creative Pack, but any shrink film will do.

Shrink paper