I finally found my inkjet compatible shrinky dinks paper! I made the key chain I had wanted to make back in December, and I also made a cute dog tag for Murray. I’ve edited the photos of Murray’s tag to remove or blur our address and phone number, but the info is on there.
for my PO Box
Collar from Pattern & Paw. Enter ‘nicoleislovely’ to save 15%!
How To?
It’s a very easy project.
First, you’ll need to come up with a design. I know that not everybody is artistically inclined, so… I created a free Pet Tag Template for you! It’s the tag I used for Murray, cleaned up and simplified for widespread distribution. ;) You’ll need Photoshop to use the template, but I also included a plain jpeg version.
You’ll have to lighten your design at least 50% before printing. The 3″ circle will shrink down to about 1.25″ after baking, and the colors will be much more vivid. After printing, cut your design out and punch a hole now if you want one.
Keep an eye on the shrinky dinks while they’re baking. Mine only took three minutes.
before baking
fresh out of the oven
You can leave them as-is, but a clear topcoat is recommended. I just used clear nail polish.
I left the back of my key chain white, but I colored the back and sides of Murray’s dog tag with a brown Sharpie.
That’s it!
Love this, would also like the template. Please send?!
I too would like the template. Gorgous dog btw
I love these….so cute. Looks like I’m the only one though that can’t open the template. Am I trying to get it from the wrong spot?
Thanks
Tanya
Would you please send me the link for the shrinky dink key chain circle. Thank you so very much for a great project.
Hi,
I made these for my dogs (before I found your site). I used the printable shrinky dink plastic as well as the traceable ones. They all turned out well, the traceable ones had better and true colors, the plastic printable ones ‘smeared’ with exposure to water even after coating them.
The BIGGEST problem I had was the hole. I created it according to the directions, and had to remake it when it came out of the oven while still flexible. It was far enough away from the edge and was the perfect size for the ring (however using a regular size hole punch is not recommended in the Shrinky Dinks instructions, because it shrinks to nothing, I found this out) I was happy with how most of mine turned out ( I made 6 for my dogs) but withing a month, the hole had broken on every single one of them. The plastic seemed to be more sturdy than the traceable, but they all broke with normal use and the dogs playing with each other. I still have a ton of pages left so Im going try again. Any suggestions before I do???
I had good results with a regular-sized hole punch, but I did find that it broke after a while as well. Unfortunately, I don’t think they hold up to heavy-use (though mine did last longer than yours). You can try reinforcing the opening with metal, perhaps something from a jewelry supply store?
they actually make a thinker one now designed for luggage and pet tags its called ‘ULTRA THICK MISTY WHITE’
however they don’t have any of that size/kind for printers that Ive seen but they do mention that they can be used for designs on both sides, which is nifty. you can make the front pretty with just their name and then your address and phone number on the back.
I’ve updated the post to include a new link to the free Pet Tag Template!
Great idea! I’ve also read that recyclable #6 plastic will “shrinky dink” too! – just another idea out there.
I loved it! I want to make some for my little Emma, can you please tell me what kind of paper you used?
Thanks!
Shrinky Dink paper. I linked to it above.