I haven’t made a Shrinky Dink in over 15 years. I know this because I was cleaning out a cupboard at my parents’ house and I found a box of them half used among my fourth grade school supplies. But after a good, solid break I figured why not give them another go. And here we are.
If you need a supplies list for this little ditty, here you go:
- Shrinky Dinks – don’t go cheap on these (I did and it was not great)
- Ultra fine Sharpie
- Colored pencils
- Pin backs
- E600 glue
You know how the rest of this story goes: draw your design on the rough side of the sheet, outline in Sharpie (if that’s what you want), and fill in with colored pencil. I did find that nicer pencils with a lower wax content – I’m talking the good ones sold individually at your local craft or art supply shop – worked infinitely better. These gave a much more satisfying and saturated color. Another word to the wise: fine Sharpies (you know, your standard type) tended to bleed a bit more and made the designs a little muddy. And of course remember to make your designs about three times larger than the size of your desired finished product
Let me tell you how this one ends now: you cut it out, bake it according to the package’s instructions, and glue your pin to the back. And that’s all she wrote for this one!
I won’t lie to you: I love my hardcore cats pin. I’ve got a few more tattoo-ispired designs in the works.
For me, there’s no beating the Menomonee River Parkway for a lazy Saturday bike ride: it takes me exactly where I want to go and it looks great doing it. You’ve got almost five miles of pristine bike paths, the beautiful scenery of Hart Park, and the river weaving through the whole thing. And to make it better, you’ve got awesome architectural details like this drawbridge (not an actual drawbridge) that lead to the Hoyt Park beer garden.
