DIY: Shrinky Dink Valentines

Cute! Cute! Look at these adorable Shrinky Dink Valentines that Amy Christie created. Have you ever used shrink film? It’s so much fun! You buy it in 8.5 x 11 sheets and it basically looks like a paper-thin piece of plastic — you can find it in opaque white, clear, or tons of other solid colors.

Then you draw or print on it, and put it in the oven briefly, where it thickens up and shrinks dramatically. Kids go nuts watching it happen! We went through a fairly long shrink film phase when we lived in France and the main thing I remember is that all six kids, toddler to teen, couldn’t get enough.

We would use it to make charms for bracelets, key chains, or little tokens to keep in your pocket or add to a letter. And of course, you can make pins like these too! These are especially easy because you can use the free printable.

Ready to get started? Super simple instructions below.

Supplies:

printable shrink film in white
– text bubble PDF — free printable!
– scissors
– blank tie tack pins
– epoxy or strong glue

1) Print the PDF on the shrink film. The color is light but will darken through baking.

2) Cut out the shapes.

3) Bake according to the manufacturer’s directions on the shrink film pack.

4) After they are cooled, use strong glue to adhere pin backings to the backside of the speech bubble.

And that’s it! It’s an easy homemade valentine for classmates — make enough for each student, then pin them to cardstock squares where your kids can write “from: June.”

There a good little size. Fun to use as lapel pins, tie tacks, or to add to the flair on your denim jacket. : )

If you make these Shrinky Dink Valentines, let me know! I always love hearing when you try out a project you found here on Design Mom. Happy Valentine’s Day! (And find more cute photos below.)


Credits: Photos and crafting by Amy Christie for Design Mom.

10 thoughts on “DIY: Shrinky Dink Valentines”

  1. If you want to do it even cheaper, plastic “6” will shrink too. Most salad bar containers are “6”. They don’t give you the nice opaque white though and that’s better for pins.

  2. Love this idea! I might try to tweak it as I like to make a little crafty gift for my Valentine’s day dinner party guests and they’re a bit older than your target audience! ;) But the more I look at the designs, maybe not – they’re so darn cute!

    Thanks for sharing!

  3. I’ve been thinking about adding a DIY valentines day list! I’m running out of time though. I may just make a post and add some links. If I do, you’ll be getting a pingback haha :)

    Where do you buy the “pin” part on the back?

  4. Hi- The link for the PDF printable still only links to another web page. I was hoping to do this craft for valentines day cards, and bought supplies before checking out the pdf link. Also, the link for the printable shrink film links to regular shrink film which is not usable in a printer. The picture of the shrink film in the post is the correct item that is needed. Thanks for the cute idea!

  5. Pingback: 10 hard to resist DIY Valentines | Kittenhood

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