Do you love showing off your flair as much as we do? Then this activity is just for you! Follow along below to create your own homemade pins!
Supplies
Shrinky Dinks (Rough and Ready)
Colored Pencils/Markers
Plain White Paper (If drawing your own designs)
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (Optional)
Oven
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper or Foil Paper
Draw Them Out
If you like doodling or drawing then you can sketch out your own designs for your pins! You can usually fit 2-4 medium sized images on a sheet of paper. Remember to keep your drawings on the bigger size because they will shrink down.
*I used images from Tumblr and Instagram as my references when I was drawing.*
Trace and Color
You will want to place your shrinky dink paper with the sanded side facing up on top of your sheet with the images you want made into pins. Tape the edges down to make sure the pieces stay together.
Now it is time to trace and color your designs. I used Posca Paint Pens and colored pencils for my designs since they work best with Shrinky Dinks.
*Do not use crayons when coloring your designs.*
Get Cutting + Line the Up
After you have traced and colored in your design then it is time to cut it out. Cutting through Shrinky Dinks is kind of like cutting plastic so it can be tough at spots especially if you have a lot of curves like my designs did. Try your best to keep the edges as smooth as possible when you are cutting.
After you have cut out your designs you are going to line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil paper to place your designs on. Keep your designs spaced out since they will curl up and move a bit while they are in the oven.
Quick Bake You will want your oven at 325 degrees. You will place your designs in the oven for 1-3 minutes. I have an older oven so I did mine for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. You will see your designs start to curl up and that is supposed to happen! Once you see they are lying flat then you can pull them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.
Gloss (Optional)
In hindsight I wish I wouldn’t have glossed because they got very messy during this part but if you want to go for it! (I recommend putting them on a silicone mat if you use the Mod Podge dimensional magic.)
All you want to do is make sure the entire surface of the design is covered in the gloss. Be sure to pop any air bubbles you might see. Let it dry for 3-4 hours.
The Final Step
If you decide to gloss your designs then once they are fully dry you can move on to the final step….putting on the pin backs!
Put a small dot of a strong glue (I used Krazy Glue) on the back side of your design. Place the pin with the flat side down into the glue and hold it for a few seconds. Let the glue dry. Once the glue is dry you can add the pin back onto it.
*Larger designs might need two pins instead of one*
Then you are done and have your very own pins to put on your bags, jackets, or lanyards!
Stephanie Johnson, Teen and Technology Librarian
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