Saturday 28 March 2009

Art Projects - kid craft, creativity for kids


This 'Shrinky Dinks Refill Kit' might as well be named 'Make your own Shrinky Dinks'! Basically, it contains 6 sheets of "magic" shrinky dink paper, which are completely blank. You get to create your own designs and make your own shapes. It's your choice! My kids simply loved watching their drawings bake in our toaster oven - and SHRINK to 1/4 of the original size!

A few tips:

1. For color, you will need to use colored pencils only - not crayons or markers.

2. To create a dark, black outline, a felt-tipped ink pen is the best option.

3. Also, make sure to apply your ink and colored pencil to the rough, matte side of the paper, not the shiny, smooth side.

4. When it comes time to bake them, put the smooth, shiny side DOWN, and let the colored side face UP. As they heat up, they begin to wrinkle and move... but not to worry! They will flatten out once they shrink evenly.

*Note* It is importiant to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees BEFORE you place them inside.



As a child, "Shrinky Dinks" were amazing... I remember coloring the pre-drawn pictures and then cooking them up - to shrink them down. This set is even better, because you get to create your own designs and cut them out into different sizes. I have seen similar "Make your own Shrinky Dinks" or "Refill" kits - anywhere from $10 to $20 per set. This pack offers the same, at half the price! Great fun for boys OR girls (just keep in mind that they DO require the use of an oven, and your art will shrink down to 1/4 of the original size - so they're not good for kids who still put things in their mouths!) In this digital age where every toy has a wire, or requires batteries... it was nice to sit down with my kids and create little pieces of art. They each got to come up with their own designs (which was great for my 12 year old - who is "too cool" for coloring in little pictures - that is, unless he drew them himself!) Our self-made Shrinky Dinks are now serving as key chains, but better yet... they serve as little reminders that sometimes spending family time together is better than any expensive video game... even if only for one afternoon! Creativity For Kids Activity Kit: Shrinky Dinks Refill Set

I've ordered shrinky dink pages before, and thought that was what I would be getting again. These pages are tiny! I thought we'd be able to do proper sized christmas ornaments with these. You need full sized sheets in order to do so. This are not 8x10 pgs. If you are just looking for a small sheet to make jewelry pieces or small designs, this will work just fine. It'd be nice if the the sellers would put the dimensions of the sheets on their product description. I couldn't find this information on any sellers sites.

The standard Shrinky Dinks kits are fun but sometimes you just want to create your own design! I'm so glad they make these blank refill sets. They're great for just letting kids be creative. I've found it's best to have children sketch out what they want to draw on a regular sheet of paper first (especially with younger kids) otherwise the sheets don't last too long and a fun project can become frustrating. Great rainy day art project! Also fun to use as an adult. They work great as home made name tags etc.

I use Shrinky Dinks to make geocaching travel tags and signature items, so I prefer blank sheets. This set is perfect for what I need.



I like to use the toaster oven to shrink my dinks as it uses less energy and I can see the process more clearly. - Art Projects - Creativity For Kids - Shrinky Dinks - Kid Craft'


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