DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
June 16, 2017This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #OurCaringHands #SoftsoapTouch #CollectiveBias
One of the things I have been reinforcing with my kids recently is the importance of recycling and repurposing. You know those plastic food containers that restaurants give out when you take food to go? You can actually create adorable plastic charms with them! I know… mind-blowing! Today, I will be sharing with you the easy tutorial to do just that. When it comes to crafting, my kids always enjoy creating stuff with their hands and this project was a big hit with them!
For my kids, the messiest projects are always the best ones! To clean their hands after a craft session, I like to use SoftSoap® Hand Wash Plus Lotion™. It’s a fabulous everyday soap that doesn’t dry out our skin at all. In fact, this unique, non-greasy formula leaves our skin irresistibly soft & smooth.
We made a bunch of these shrink plastic charms. We transformed a few of them into necklace charms and we transformed a few of them into key chains. We are going to give the key chain ones to my mom for Mother’s Day! Is there anything better than a homemade gift made by a child? When it comes to gifts, my mom always prefers handmade creations. It’s always way more precious than anything one could buy at the store.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
To get started with this project, you will need to find plastic food storage containers. You can typically find them at bakeries, restaurants and supermarkets.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Collect a few of them and clean them thoroughly.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
*IMPORTANT: To make sure that the plastic shrinks properly in the oven, make sure you see the number 6 inside the recycling triangle. This indicates the exact composition of the plastic and is necessary for proper shrinkage in the oven.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Gather the rest of the supplies for the project:
- permanent markers
- hole punch
- jump rings
- wire pliers
- pair of scissors
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Using the scissors, carefully cut out sheets of the plastic so you can draw on them.
*Tip: Be very careful, as this plastic is sharp. It is wise to wear protective gloves during this step.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
My daughter had a blast drawing different shapes on the plastic sheets. She drew hearts and stars and fruits.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
I made a batch of my own designs, too. After drawing is complete, cut out the individual shapes with the scissors. Again, be very careful since the plastic edges are quite sharp.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Next, use the hole punch to create a hole in each of the cut-out designs.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the designs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about two minutes. You will see the pieces shrink by about 300% in the oven. Here is what they look like when they come out! Notice how much smaller and shinier they are! They also get much thicker and more 3-dimensional!
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
We used the pliers to attach jump rings and key chain rings to two of the charms. These have been given to my mom as part of her Mother’s Day gift.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
We attached jump rings to a few other charms and strung them on a necklace. My daughter, Sophia, was super excited about wearing these adorable handmade charms to school.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
These shrink plastic charms are so adorable. I know my mom will love receiving these hand-crafted gifts!
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
After a crafting session, it’s always time to clean up. To get the table spotless, I like to use these up&up disinfecting wipes. I shop at Target weekly so I always like to stock up on convenient, effective cleaning solutions like this one.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
I also picked up from Target the SoftSoap Hand Wash Plus Lotion in two varieties: Shea & Cocoa Butter and Aloe Water & Lime. While the Aloe Water & Lime variety has a lovely refreshing scent, the Shea & Cocoa Butter variety has a wonderful indulgent scent.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
My daughters and I wash our hands several times throughout the day: after crafting, before eating, after playing in the yard, etc. With SoftSoap Hand Wash Plus Lotion, it’s easy to keep our hands looking and feeling clean & soft throughout the day. Did you know that this hand wash is the only one made with a touch of lotion? The formula helps to lock in moisture, so we don’t have to worry about our skin drying out.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
When washing hands, getting a great lather is always fun for my daughter. She loves to feel the soap between her fingers. This hand wash cleans skin effectively and is proven to hydrate skin, so I encourage her to wash her hands often.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Keep up with SoftSoap® on social media by checking out their YouTube page here.
DIY Shrink Plastic Charms
Also, be sure to look for SoftSoap® Hand Wash Plus Lotion at your local Target store. Shopping at Target is always a pleasant experience. Everything is so well-organized and the employees are always friendly & helpful.
Experience a caring clean with SoftSoap Hand Wash Plus Lotion and tell me: Have you ever made your own decorative charms? Does your family enjoy crafting together?
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I just saw a video a few days ago about shrink plastic charms and I was intrigued but had no clue how to do this. I love how you give step-by-step directions. I’ll have to make these with the grandkids soon. So cute!
I had no idea it was so easy to make Shrinky Dink Charms! My kids LOVED those when they were little. What a fun craft!
Oh my goodness I remember shrinkies from when I was a child, what an awesome idea to DIY them from plastic containers!
What a fun idea. I know my kids would LOVE to do these. Thank you for the very thorough tutorial. It will make the project so easy.
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So fun! I need to do this with my daughter. She’d love it. And I use this soap often.
Ths is really cute and crafty, my daughter is a girly girl and she would love these. We need to collect some containers.
These are so cute! I have never thought about making these but I know my daughter would love it!
These are such a great craft/ science experiment for all ages! I made them a while ago with my sister kids and they loved it.
I had no idea those were so easy to make! My girl would love to make these.
[…] DIY Shrink Plastic Charms – 1 freebie(s)? […]
Wow! This is a creative way to help children hone their artistic skills. This is something new to me.
This is a great idea. It’s a good way to spend some valuable time with your kids and teach them something new.
What an amazing way to spend time with your children! Great activity to do together and a wonderful learning experience. Thank you so much for sharing.
Those are so cute. I remember when my c daughter was a bit younger, we used to make these stuff too.
What a fantastic idea! I think the pineapple is my favorite. I love how easy clean up was too.
This is such a cute craft! I had no idea that you could make your own shrink toys! I love that this is a reuse craft also!
What a clever and cute way to make charms! My kids would LOVE to do this and now that it’s summer we’ll have time to give it a try… thanks!
What a fantastic idea!! I had no idea that you could recycle common food containers into shrinky dink type of things. I bet your daughter was so proud.
These DIY shrink plastic charms are an awesome craft idea for the kids. I will have to share this idea with my niece for her kids. Thanks for sharing the idea.
I’ve seen the videos but I’ve never attempted to make any! I’m sure my daughter will love this idea and I can’t wait to make this with her! Love how cute the charms are!
Wow. Easy to make charms! My daughter would love to make some too. She loves making her own jewelry, especially beaded bracelets. We will try making these on the weekend.
We used the lids butchers use for paper containers to put liver in small round ones. And the size was great and no cutting not sure if big box stores would have them but meat markets may my daughter now almost 46 kindergarten class maybe moms day pendants for gifts still hang mine on Christmas tree so ornaments personalized can be made also! The teacher loved our liver lid magic and I used idea in Girl Scouts also.
Have fun shrinking the lids way cheaper than the real stuff.
Yes this is such a fun, affordable way to craft with kids.
I just love this idea. I plan to use this idea for the next dinner party I have. I plan on making customized name/id tags for my wine glasses using this technique!
Wonderful idea! I think that will be a big hit with your guests!
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Such an amazing idea to recycle plastic food containers! We can help to reduce plastic waste and teach our children in one single fun activity.
Yes, this is a fun project that’s also good for the environment!
It’s so fun. I used to spend time for this. I believe that the children will love it
Omg they are so cute, and easy to do , great so let kids have fun also to learn how to recycle things. Thanks for sharing the ideas.
Wow!! My daughter would love to make her own. Thanks for sharing!
How clever! I’m totally doing this with the Kiddo this Summer!
Well very clever way for kids spend their time also learn how to make stuff with these things. Great!
This is so creative and suitable as a small project for kids to learn about recycle things.
I can not wait to do these because they look so cool when they come out of the oven.
Great sharing, I think this would be good for my kids and all …, thanks for sharing them.
[…] DIY Shrink Plastic Charms by Engineer Mommy […]
Useful information! Thanks for your great sharing
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This is so innovative and appropriate as a little task for children to find out about reuse things.It’s so fun. I used to invest energy for this. I accept that the kids will love this blog
This is such a cute craft! I had no idea that you could make your own shrink toys! I love that this is a reuse craft also!
thank you for sharing
Useful information! !!!!
it was really great
Great Ideas! I love this post. Thanks for sharing!
LOVE THIS IDEA! I NEVER KNEW THESE PACKAGES COULD BE USED A SHRINK PLASTIC! THANKS FOR SHARING 🙂
Wow, I never knew you could do this! Thanks for the great idea.
Wow, I never knew you could do this! Thanks for the great idea and love your site
So easy and great. I like it. I was able to do it myself according to your instructions. It is simple and effective. Fun and simple. Thank you for sharing. Hope you will have more good articles. Amazing.
Ah I love this! I had a real plastic melting phase a while back where I made vinyl record bowls and bizarre things from those little green army men!
LOVE THIS IDEA! I NEVER KNEW THESE PACKAGES COULD BE USED A SHRINK PLASTIC! THANKS FOR SHARING 🙂
cute, smart, and i love the creative minds….voted of course!!!!
Thank you for sharing. This idea is very useful. I will share this idea for many people. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Your share is awesome.
A fabulous idea for the children. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing. That’s a great idea.
Your share is very awesome. Thank you so much.
Great idea!. I used to spend time for this, I believe that the children will love it
I’ve been wanting to try it out for a while, but didn’t want to spend anything on them. Now this is the easiest and cheapest way for me to be able to create new designs!