12 Epic Halloween Shrinky Dinks Ideas for Adults & Kids
Happy Fall, y'all! Today we are talking about some super fun, super easy Halloween Shrinky Dinks. Whether you buy store bought shrink art crafts or want to do DIY shrinky dinks for Halloween, we've got you covered!
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When it comes to Halloween Crafts, shrink paper is one material that makes cool projects with a LOT of possibilities.
The fun part is that you do not have to be a master artist to make really adorable crafts using shrink film. We have done freehand drawing and traced coloring book pictures in the past, and both have come out awesome.
Wait until you see these awesome Halloween ideas, you are going to have so much fun!
Shrinky Dinks Materials
For any shrinky dink project we do here, we have the following supplies on hand. If you need any supplies, click through the links to purchase:
- Our favorite brand of shrink film (I appreciate that it is available in a 6 page pack or 50 page pack!)
- Our favorite markers to use on shrinky dink material – You need lighter colors because they darken when they shrink. (TIP: Test your colors first to see what they look like after being baked!)
- Parchment paper (TIP: We bake ours sandwiched in a folded piece of parchment to help it fold over on itself less)
- Hole Puncher (It's good to have various round punches but large shape punches are fun too!)
- Jump rings, key rings, jewelry supplies and magnets
- Sharp scissors
- Spatula
- A cookie sheet or baking sheet pan
- Our pre-heated oven to bake them (some people use a toaster oven instead)
Note: Some people prefer acrylic paint or colored pencils to use on the rough side of rough n ready shrinky dinks as an alternative to permanent markers.
Shrinky Dinks Tips
We have a WHOLE big article of our best Tips for Shrinky Dinks but here are some that you really cannot miss.
- Check the package instructions for your kit or shrinky dink paper for oven temperature, different brands require different temperatures.
- If you are making key rings or jewelry be sure to punch your holes before you shrink your plastic. The punched hole shrinks too so make it bigger than you will need it to be.
- Aim for smooth cut out shapes that go around whatever picture you drew on it. This will help avoid sharp corners and will help it shrink better.
- If you need precise sizing consider making a shrinky dink ruler guide so you know exactly how your brand shrinks compared to the original size.
Read all of our best Tips for Shrinky Dinks for best results.
Shrinky Dinks for Halloween – So Many Cool Ideas!
There are not too many store bought Halloween-specific sets, but these are the ones I have found so far:
- Halloween Shrink Art by Creatology
- POP Halloween Keychains Cat & Ghost or Pumpkins
- Halloween Shrink Art Craft (availability was limited when I found it)
But really there is so much freedom when you make your own shrinky dinks that I think it's better to find a cute picture you like and trace it, or freehand draw whatever design you want.
Here are some amazing and fun examples of ways to use Shrinky Dinks this October.
- Shrinky Dinks Bat Bracelet – (pictured) I really love the technique used to make the bats in this project. It definitely has my imagination going wild!
- Easy Halloween Shrinky Dinks Magnets– (pictured) What a fun and easy project for adults or kids to make.
- Amazing Die Cut Shrink Film Jewelry – Here is another technique I would have never thought to try. You have to see these gorgeous results. This is probably more or an adult or teen Halloween craft due to the intricacy and use of the die cut machine. The skeletons are just genius.
- DIY Shrinky Dink Earrings for Halloween – She really shows a clear demonstration of cutting smoothly around your shape and shows how big your holes need to be for earrings, necklaces or bracelets.
- Halloween Shrinky Art Charms – This website has a nice, free Halloween shrinky dink printable template to trace Halloween shapes onto your shrink paper. There is a cute spider, ghost, witch
- Gustavo The Shy Ghost Shrinky Dinks – This adorable craft tutorial is perfect if you want a story tie in for kids while your plastic shrinks. It has a bonus of showing how to use plastic packaging instead of store bought shrink film.
- Stylish Halloween Shrink Art Jewelry – This has more of an adult look and it also has a free printable template. I love the classy, classic look or the black cat earrings but they are all so cool.
- If your kids have a Halloween costume picked out, have fun making a mini version. Just print out a picture of your character and follow the directions for this Jointed Olaf (for inkjet shrinky dinks) or this Jointed Shrinky Dinks Robot (for tracing on clear shrink film).
- Make a photo keychain of your kid to remember your favorite Halloween. I tried to print a photo on inkjet shrinky dinks once but they aren't strong enough to withstand the key ring scraping onto it, so I recommend printing a photo and tracing on clear shrinky dinks for this project. Or you can use a jump ring to connect the keychain to solve that problem.
Which one of the epic Halloween Projects are you most excited to try?
Let's hear it in the comments below!
