shrink plastic ring tutorial
Thank you to everyone who requested a shrinkydinks ring tutorial! I hope this will answer all your questions. Please leave me a comment if you have any questions etc, or link to pictures of your own rings!
This tutorial is Donationware – the instructions are available for free, but if you like it please consider sending me a donation to show your appreciation:
Send me a donation and receive the easy-to-print PDF version of the tutorial as a thank you! The PDF also includes my tips that I’ve made in the comments since creating this tutorial.
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The complete instructions are available below, regardless of whether or not you choose to pay for them 
This is a PlanetJune original tutorial. Please do not share or reproduce this tutorial; instead post a link to http://www.planetjune.com/crinkleball
I’ll answer some questions from the comments on my previous shrinky rings post before I get started, and add more hints and tips throughout the tutorial.
Shrink plastic, for the uninitiated, was originally marketed as a toy for kids. It starts life thin and flexible. You draw on it and then bake it in the oven, and it shrinks to become about 1/3 of the starting size, but 9 times as thick. This thickness makes it strong and hard. It will not bend after baking, so if you try to pull your ring open, or stand on it, it may snap, but it is strong enough to withstand regular use as a ring.
The last step (bending the ring into shape) is the most difficult, so I highly recommend that 1) you read through all the instructions before starting, and 2) practice on a blank piece of shrink plastic so you can get a feel for it and test your size and bending technique before putting too much effort into your design!
Full tutorial instructions are after the jump…
1. Find your shrink plastic
I use Shrinky Dinks Frosted Ruff N’ Ready, which accepts rubber stamped images beautifully. Any transparent shrink plastic will work. If you use the coloured opaque shrink plastic, you would have to decorate the outside of your ring instead of the inside. You could also use the inkjet printable type of shrink plastic.
Note: If you are looking for sources, search for “shrink plastic” (generic term) not “shrinkydinks” (brand name) and you may have more luck. For example, for you UK people, googling ‘Shrink Plastic UK’ (without the quotes) will give you lots of online stores that sell it. You’re looking for large sheets of it, not pre-cut shapes.
2. Measure and cut to size
Note: Different brand of shrink plastic may shrink by different amounts, so you might want to try baking a plain test piece to make sure you’ve got the size right before spending time on decoration.
If you know your ring size, you can use a ring size converter to calculate the desired circumference of your ring. The circumference in this case will be equal to the length of your strip of plastic (after shrinking). Shrinkydinks shrinks by approx 3 times, but I found I had to allow an extra 10% in the length measurement to compensate for the curvature in the finished ring. For my rings (finished size approximately US 6, UK J, and 6mm tall) my starting dimensions are 14.2 x 1.6cm.
To cut the plastic, I like to use a guillotine (paper cutter) to get straight lines, but it’s probably not good for the cutter blade (I use an old cutter blade). You could also use an xacto knife and metal ruler, or just cut the plastic with scissors.
The corners can be very sharp, so I like to round them off slightly with scissors before baking (don’t worry if you forget this step; you can file or sand them down after baking).
3. Decorate shrink plastic
Follow the decorating instructions that come with your shrink plastic. Here are some ideas:
- Rubber stamps + alcohol-based permanent inks (be warned: other types of stamp ink will smudge)
- Fine-point permanent marker (e.g. Sharpie) to draw or trace your designs
- Coloured pencils (use in combination with the above to add colour)
- Print designs directly onto your plastic (inkjet shrink plastic ONLY)
If you’re using the frosted type, remember to decorate the rough (frosted) side.
I used peg stamps to decorate my first rings. The designs are only 1cm tall so fit my rings perfectly. Below I have also tried some other rubber stamps:
Don’t forget to let your ink dry before adding any coloured pencil embellishments, and remember that colours will become more saturated and vibrant after baking, so less is more in this case.
4. Find a suitable form to bend plastic around
Here’s a useful tip to find an object of the right size to create your ring: take an existing ring, and try to slip it over various thin cylindrical household objects, e.g. marker pen barrel, wooden spoon handle, lip balm tube. You are looking for an object that is a tight fit inside your ring. If you don’t have anything suitable, you could buy a short length of wooden dowel of the right diameter. Your object will come into contact with hot plastic, so don’t use any treasured possessions for this step.
5. Shrink your plastic
This is the fun part!
Preheat a toaster oven or conventional oven to the temperature specified on your packaging. Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area so any fumes don’t build up.
Note: Please read the instructions below all the way to the end before baking your ring – the shaping happens very quickly after baking so you need to be ready…
Place your strip (decorated side up) on a piece of brown paper on an oven tray, and put it in the oven. Keep watching… this is where the magic happens. Your strip will begin to curl up and wiggle about as some parts heat more quickly than others and so begin to shrink more quickly. Don’t worry if it looks like it’s stuck together – in my experience it always flattens out as it continues to shrink. When it has finished shrinking, leave it in the oven for another 30 seconds to heat through evenly.
Here’s an animation of the shrinking process:
6. Shape your ring
When your strip comes out of the oven, you will have to work quickly – you only have about 10 seconds before it has cooled and becomes rigid. Disclaimer: to protect your hands from the hot plastic, you should probably wear a thin glove (for more control) or an oven mitt (for better protection against the heat) but I don’t bother – it is hot, but the plastic doesn’t stay hot for long enough to burn skin.
Remove the brown paper from the oven. Wait for about 2 seconds (so it’s not too hot to touch), then carefully wrap the strip around your forming tool, with your decorated side facing in towards the tool. Hold it in place for a few seconds until it becomes cool and rigid.
I’m not going to lie, this step is tricky. You really do have to work quickly, and not make any mistakes, otherwise you won’t have time to wrap the entire strip around your object before it cools. But don’t lose hope! There is a magic fix for a badly-formed ring like the one below…
Pop your misshapen ring back into the oven on the brown paper, balancing it upright on its curved surface so the join is at the top (as in the picture above). After a minute or so, the plastic will relax back out of its shape, and revert back into a flat strip… I told you this stuff was magic! Let it heat through for about 20-30 seconds, then try to form the ring around your tool again.
Left: unsanded edges; Right: sanded edges
That’s it! You can sand down the edges to give a smoother finish, but this may partially obscure your design. You could also paint the edges after forming for a different effect. For more durability of your design, use a clear coat to carefully varnish the inside of the ring (one coat should be enough).
You can make matching earrings, charm bracelets or necklace pendants – just punch holes for the jewellery findings before shrinking the plastic, and remember that the holes will also shrink, so don’t worry that they will be too large.
Enjoy your new jewellery!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please leave me a comment if you did, and consider leaving me a donation. Thanks!
Shrink plastic « LIVLIG said
[...] Als kind speelde ik wel eens met krimpplastic: plastic waar je op kunt tekenen, en dat je vervolgens in de oven legt om het in een paar minuten te laten krimpen tot iets van een derde van het originele formaat, maar 9 keer zo dik. Zo kon je van een grote tekening kleine oorbellen maken bijvoorbeeld (filmpje van Planet June): [...]
heather said
i love this idea and i want to do it for a school project but idk if i should buy the shrinky dink ruff n ready AND stazon solvent ink pad. please help.
Seabeanie said
Hey these are really cool but do you think you could make bracelets instead???
June said
Seabeanie, the only thing limiting a cuff bracelet is the size of shrink plastic you can buy. A strip cut from a regular 11″ long sheet will shrink to under 4″ in length. But you need to leave room to get the bracelet on and off, so it should be fine!
Alternatively, you could make a bracelet from 2 or more curved pieces (punch holes in the ends before baking and curving) and join the pieces together with jump rings or other jewellery findings.
Dedou said
Thanks loads for this tutorial! I’m inspired to do all sorts of things with this cool stuff – glad I found your blog, kind of you to share so freely:)
Lisette aka Liszha said
Wow, supergreat idea! thanks for sharing
Laura said
I ment to let you know I tried it for a bangle. It worked well check out my results here-
http://community.livejournal.com/egl/14439111.html
Thanks again fo this awsome tutorial. =D
Gaelene said
Great tutorial! I have the shrinky dinks plastic sheets somewhere. Will definitely have to try. Thanks.
Gaelene’s Creative Korner
getcha said
I hope someone sees this since this thread is a couple years old =o)
I’m using Shrinky Dink Frosted Ruff n’ Ready and StazOn Solvent Ink Pad
Each time I stamp (on the rough side) the ink runs. I’ve tried less ink, blotting the stamp before stamping on the SD, but it keep running into the roughed up lines.
I’ve used both clear mountable stamps and rubber wood mounted.
I’ve let the ink dry on its own as well as gently blowing across it and it still runs.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Hints or tips? Thanks!!
June said
That’s strange – StazOn Solvent Ink is one of the brands that Shrinkydinks specifically recommends. I’d suggest you email Shrinkydinks to ask for help – they have an email address on their website
getcha said
thanks for responding June. I’d sent them an email and am waiting to hear back from them, I was hoping maybe someone had also had this experience and could help.
Mair said
Hi there
You may like to try Archival Ink from Rangers.
All the best
Mair
Tammy F. said
You might also try using a very, very fine grit sandpaper to sand the piece in a cross-hatch pattern before stamping. I have done this before running it through my inkjet printer when using the regular Shrink Plastic sheets from Ranger. I have to let it sit a while so the ink fully dries, but the light sanding seems to make the ink set better.
Friday Link RoundUp | So You're EnGAYged said
[...] PostsAwesome cufflinks by blockpartypressNot your old school ugly Shrinkydinks, but modern looking Shrinkydink rings.A bright, cheery wedding quilt Broke Ass Bride shows readers how to make a handkerchief into [...]
Chandra said
That was the best tutitorial I have seen yet, Great going to get started very soon!!
Thanks a bunch!!
Peggy Schofield said
I love love love this idea and I would love to do this for girls camp. My problem is this I suck at the math. Is there any way you could help me figure out the different ring sizes… they will range from US 5-12. The girls are ages 12-18
I would really appreciate the help
Peggy
June said
Peggy, the problem is that different brands of shrink plastic shrink by different amounts, and even shrink slightly differently along the length and width of the plastic! So my advice would be to make a shrinky ruler:
Cut a strip of the plastic (in the same direction you’ll be making the rings)
Mark it in 0.5cm or 1/4″ increments
Bake it (don’t form it into a ring!)
Once it’s shrunk, you’ll know exactly how much your plastic shrinks by, and so how long you need to make your starting strip to form the right size ring.
Also, remember that the internal diameter of the finished ring will be the same size (or slightly larger if you can’t form it tightly before it sets) than the object you wrap it around to form the ring, so you’d need different sized cylinders to match those ring sizes.
And one more thing: it’s okay if there’s a little gap between the two ends of the ring! So you might want to make all the strips the same length, and then just wrap them around a larger cylinder to make a larger ring (with a larger gap).
Peggy said
Thank you so much…that helped me alot
I’m doing them this year instead
thanks again
Shelagh McFarlane said
what a brilliant tutorial. will definitely be trying this one. thank you
Petalbelles said
Brilliant! Thank you for the tutorial and a great idea for a children’s activity. As an aside, I attended a local environmental fair where one of the activities was using clear plastic food containers (#6, I think) instead of shrinky dink material. We used sharpies and a tiny toaster oven to make little pendants. I wonder if those food containers would work instead of the shrink material. Probably not as nice but cheaper which is a plus for children’s activities. I’m not sure of it was #6 or #7, but it had to be that particular number. I’m sure we could find the exact number on the web.
June said
Yes! I haven’t tried it personally, but I’ve seen many people mention it. The correct plastic to use is #6. You’d have to experiment to see how much it would shrink, though – different #6 packaging may shrink by a slightly different amount, which would affect the size of your ring!
kring said
thanks a bunch for this! you’re awesome!
Kirsty said
has anyone has trouble with the ink transferring to fingers? I used permanent markers and sharpies but the picture ended up on my hands! Is there a way to finish your design so this doesn’t happen. I’ve tried nail polish, pva, varnish etc and the all make the inks run instantly? Thanks.
June said
Kirsty, see my answers from a few months back, here: http://www.planetjune.com/blog/shrink-plastic-ring-tutorial/comment-page-3/#comment-94393
137 inexpensive, handmade holiday gift ideas, Part 6 - Craftynest said
[...] supplies into a shrink plastic kit for the child to make his/her own projects. Simple key fobs Shrink plastic ring DIY Shrinky Dink [...]
Lori said
SSSSoooooo cool! Thank you for sharing!
gül?ah(turkey) said
thank you nice design
alison said
it didn’t work it got stuck all together
Angie said
I just tried making one of these rings. When I put it in the oven, it did the shrivel up thing but then it got all stuck together. I tried straightening it out to let it flatten out, but it wouldn’t…any suggestions?
June said
Angie, if it’s really stuck together and doesn’t uncurl when you reheat it, when it’s hot you can use a chopstick (not fingers!) to help free it, and then it should straighten out again.
If it comes unstuck but won’t flatten, use a piece of cardboard to press down on the piece when it’s just come out of the oven, and you should be able to flatten it out. (You’ll then have to reheat it so you can bend it into the ring shape.)
If all that fails… scrap the ring and try again with a new piece! It’s all a matter of trial and error. If you shrunk it at too high a temperature, it could be fused together permanently, so check your baking temp if it doesn’t come apart even when you reheat it – you may need to use a lower temperature in future.
Fun With Shrinky Dinks: Blog Ring | Just Something I Made said
[...] Today I shrunk my blog header into a thumb ring!I won’t even attempt to top this excellent shrink plastic ring tutorial on PlanetJune. For my ring, I just changed it up a bit by printing my blog banner to Shrinky Dinks® Ink-Jet [...]
Kelly said
Thank you for the great tutorial.. I linked you on my blog…http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/2011/02/shrinky-dink-ring.html
How To: Shrinky Plastic Ring said
[...] came across this tutorial on PlanetJune a few months ago, and I am going to try it [...]
vt said
Hola quiero saber si Ud me puede hacer el anillo transparente pero q el aro sea CUADRADO Y CON DIBUJO DE CÓMIC
Malinda said
Hi June! Stumbled across your tut and I can’t wait to try it out! Except, I’m having a hard time figuring out how you got your starting dimensions since I’m comparing with the size converter you linked. My ring size is 8…do I multiply the circumference (in the cm listed, which is 56.6) by 3 since it will shrink to a 1/3 of the size?? so my starting strip will be 169.8cm x 1.6cm??
June said
In case anyone else has the same problem, the ring size converter I linked to gives the circumference in mm, not cm, so you’ll need to divide by 10 to get the cm value (so closer to 16.9cm than 169 cm)
Also, Malinda, if your ring has a small gap between the ends like mine do, that will be included in the final circumference measurement, so you can start with a slightly shorter length of shrinkydinks. If you want to make sure you get the size right, try baking a plain one first and see if it fits before you go to the trouble of decorating one that may be the wrong size!
Malinda said
Nevermind, I think I figured it out. Thanks again for the fabulous tutorial!
<3
Clever ways to upcycle/recycle - CurlTalk said
[...] it's not exactly upsycling/recycling but you can make pretty cool rings out of shrinky-dink paper. If you've got some time on your hands you could even make a bracelet. [...]
Simple Saturday Tutorials said
[...] Shrinky Dink Rings via Planet June [...]
Sharon at www.momof6.com said
This is such a great idea! I will be sharing your picture and link on my Links to Love post on Sunday 4/17 at http://www.momof6.com!
Links to Love | Mom Of 6 said
[...] is such a cool idea! Shrinkydink rings! Thanks Planet June (for the craft idea) and Simple Crafter (for showing it [...]
Michelle said
I had no idea you could curve the shrinky dinks like that and make rings out of them. I would actually wear that. I get so bored with my daughter putting flat pieces of plastic in the oven. Thank you for the detail of your blog. I am going to “try” to make these.
Dori said
really nice tute!
Teresa G said
Thank you this is awesome.
Mei said
These are awesome. I recently made some of these and the tips you gave made the process much, much easier. Thanks for being so generous with your ideas!
http://meiphemera.blogspot.com/2011/05/fiction-vs-non-fiction.html
(I hope that comes up as a link to the pictures…also, if this is spammy, please delete it; I don’t mean it to be spam.)
June said
Not spammy! Your rings are lovely; I’m glad my tutorial helped you
Day 5: Shrinky Dink Rings | dianne faw said
[...] rings are fun to make! I saw this incredible tutorial by June Gilbank and decided it was my creation for Day 5 of 30. I used Stampin’ Up’s [...]
Dianne Faw said
Hi, June – this is really a wonderful tutorial! I used it for my Day 5 Creation of 30 Days of Creativity and put up a link in my blog. Thank you! http://diannefaw.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/day-5-shrinky-dink-rings/
Ariiaa said
Oh …i just love these cute rings…its so easy to make… i’ll try it soon… thank you for sharing
DIY Shrinky Dinks for Adults | Family Style said
[...] PlanetJune for the full tutorial! #babbleshare-commentsbox{ background-image: [...]
MamaMay said
I featured you!
http://allawesomelinks.blogspot.com/2011/07/shrinky-dink-rings.html
pilaifarmer said
this is a great project, thank you for the tutorial. FYI…S&S worldwide has shrink plastic in other colors, red, green purple. etc…i am going to try this in the coloerd shrink plastic i ordered. again thanks
GinaC said
I am not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but plastic clam shell food packaging works just as well as expensive shrink plastic, and it puts a piece of trash to good use!
This is the type of packaging I am talking about:
http://www.brenmarco.com/userdocs/ItemImages/260115lrg.jpg
June said
That’s right! Just make sure that it’s #6 plastic – I just checked and here in South Africa clamshell packaging is made from #1 (the same as soft drink bottles)! So do check the plastic type (the number in the triangle of arrows) on the package before you try to shrink it and check it says #6.
Lynda Allred said
Great tutorial! Very precise and helpful! So I used to do something similar when I was a young girl (like 40 years ago) we used liver lids! The local grocers would sell liver (yuk) in these little plastic containers with lids on them. BUT they were nice enough to let us buy just the lids for a small price. It worked similarly …I am glad to know that you can purchase the sheets of plastic now. I would like to do this with my grand kids. Are the sheets available at regular craft stores? JoAnns etc..? Or where have you purchased them?
Thanks again,
Lynda
June said
Yes, most craft stores sell the sheets now, usually near the scrapbooking supplies
Cocktail machines said
I just ran across some shrinky dink paper in an old craft drawer. I’ll have to let the grandkids try this out. Looks like fun.
Daily Craft said
Great project! I just wanted to let you know that we featured this project on our Facebook page with over 17,000 fans. We’d love it if you’d use our Featured Blogger button, available at: http://www.dailycraft.com/thank-you-for-crafting/. Our audience loved the project and we look forward to sharing more from you. Please let us know if you have any questions or projects you’d love us to feature! Thanks!
frizzy said
hey june I know every one is saying this but you truly have a great tutorial!!!!
i just have one problam I truly am not good at math and I dont get how to find my size!!:(
PLEASE HELP
June said
Here’s something you can try that involves NO math! Cut a strip that’s 15cm (or 6″) long. Use a marker to draw a little line every cm (or 1/4″) with a ruler, so it looks like a little ruler (you don’t need to number the marks though). Shrink the strip and wrap it around your forming tool (use the method in my tutorial to find the right size of tool using an existing ring). Now you can use your marks to find out how much too short (or long) it is:
- If it’s too short, guess how many of the spaces between your marks would fill the gap then make your next strip that many cm (or 1/4″s) longer.
- If it’s too long, count how many marks you’d need to cut off to make it the right length then make your next strip that many cm (or 1/4″s) shorter.
Janet Trieschman said
great tutorial. I linked to it from my blog.
Shrinky Dink Rings | CKC Creative said
[...] is the tutorial from PlanetJune I used to make my Shrinky Dink rings. Just a quick note about the instructions. It took me forever [...]
Linda said
Hi June,
There was an article in today’s paper from Fayetteville, NC about your shrinky dink rings. I had no idea this stuff was still out there. I am a crafter and always looking for new things to do with my 2 granddaughters.
This I am going to look for when I go to my craft store. Thanks so much for sharing. By the way, I never get my crochet animals to look as good as yours do. Does practice make perfect you think??
Thanks,
Linda in NC
June said
Linda, practice definitely helps, and there are also several techniques you can use to improve the appearance of your crocheted animals. Take a look at my tutorials at http://www.planetjune.com/help and see if they make a difference!
Susan said
Thank you for the great project idea and tutorial! My 1st -4th grade Sunday School class LOVES Shrinky Dink Plastic projects. I can always find something the boys will like to make. Our best success is with the frosted ruff n’ ready. We use rubber stamps with the StazOn solvent ink, permanent sharpies for outlines/names and colored pencils. I use a heat gun to shrink because they love watching them shrink. Be sure to have a bamboo skewer ready to flip them over and a wooden block to flatten, if necessary. I do the shrinking on a (dedicated) non-stick metal cookie sheet.
I have had luck using a black & white – TONER ONLY copier with the ruff n’ ready. While the image will not be perfect-once shrunk, looks great.
If you forget to punch the hole before shrinking, a dremel is your best friend.
Lydia D. said
Thank you so much for posting all these great ideas!!
Braedon said
Thank You!!! Still getting the shaping it part down but these are awesome!
lost all my cool wrings and I tried making wire rings ( did not work).
Thank You!
Sarah said
I can’t figure how to mesure and cut. I am a size 9, and I can’t figure how to mesure… because it will shrink. Please help!
I love shrinky dinks and this looks like so much fun!
June said
Sarah, I answered your question in an earlier comment – to save me retyping it, please check my response here