The Art of Shrinkable Plastic

I was browsing Shrinky Dink project images on Google, and I found this book—Shrink, Shrank, Shrunk by Kathy Sheldon—that I didn't even hesitate to browse! The pictures on the cover (kudos to the designers at Lark Crafts) sold me on the book, and when it arrived yesterday in the mail it did not disappoint. The arrival of the book was also perfectly timed because I was planning on messing with shrinkable plastic for a mini-project in my Creative Kids book. Not only are there great, fun, and amazingly sophisticated projects in the book, but you'll want to read through the first several pages that describe what can be used as shrinkable plastic and how to use it. The book teaches great techniques and gives trouble-shooting advice.

I got out my Sharpies last night (because I find that permanent fine-point markers are easiest to work with and create the best results) and threw together some Batman-inspired action bubbles to use for my book. I really wish I had the multitude of shaped paper punches that I'll bet most scrapbookers have among their craft tools (and let me just say that these would be especially perfecto for the cameo pendants in Shrink, Shrank, Shrunk) because they are so simple for creating shapes. Shrinkable plastic can be temperamental, and it doesn't cut very easily with scissors or even a craft knife (I have found).

This is a great rainy-day activity for kids, and even if you aren't trying to make detailed creations like those pictured in Shrink, Shrank, Shrunk, all you really need is something for cutting the plastic and a variety of permanent markers and colored pencils. If you have a regular hole punch and some string—instant necklace!