Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know how popular these Boho rainbows have been. Why not make your own and make them into a great pair of DIY rainbow earrings?
Using simple craft materials that are readily available, these DIY shrinky dink earrings are so simple to make. You don’t even have to be super artistic or super crafty. They’re practically fail-proof.
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Materials Needed:
● Large sheet of number 6 plastic. You can use a plastic take out container, just check for the number 6 symbol in a triangle to ensure it’s the right kind of plastic. If not, you can order Shrinky Dinks from Amazon
● Scissors
● Permanent markers in assorted colors. You can definitely use Sharpies, but these are the ones we used in this project.
● Rainbow Template (if you need it)
● Single hole puncher
● Parchment paper
● (2) silver earring hooks and (4) silver jump rings
● Round nose and needle nose pliers
● Cookie sheet
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Begin by cutting your take out container into two separate flat sheets, but be careful not to tear it, as it is thin and tears easily. Place the first sheet on top of your template, and begin tracing the rainbow with the permanent markers.
You can place a small piece of painter’s tape on the plastic sheet to help hold it in place. I outlined each part of the rainbow first, and then colored it in.
Once you have traced and colored the rainbow, move the plastic over the circle template. Make sure to leave plenty of room between the rainbow and circle, as you will need excess plastic around the rainbow. Trace and color in the circle.
3. Repeat step 2 with your second plastic sheet.
4. Cut out the circles, staying close to the outer edge. Cut out the rainbows, but leave about ¼” around the outer edge, and cut flat across the
bottom. Using the hole puncher, make a hole at the top center of each rainbow in the excess clear plastic portion. This is why it’s important to
leave the extra ¼”. Next, make a hole at the top and bottom center in each circle.
5. Place the rainbows and circles on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave plenty of space between each object, as they move quite a bit when baking, and you don’t want them to stick together.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven, and bake for 2-3 minutes. Keep the oven light on, and watch them as they bake. They will curl up, and some of the sides almost look like they are going to touch, but then they will start to flatten back out, and shrink in size. Continue baking until all pieces are completely flat, which usually takes around 4-5 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and let cool.
7. Once cooled, open a jump ring with a pair of round and needle nose pliers. Place the jump ring through the top of a rainbow, and one hole in the pink circle. Close the jump ring with the needle nose pliers. Open another jump ring, and place it through the other hole in the pink circle, and through one of the earring hooks. Close the jump ring with needle nose pliers.
8. Repeat step 7 with the other rainbow and circle. Your earrings are ready to wear!
Notes:
● The plastic will shrink considerably smaller than the original size, so it may seem like you are cutting and coloring a very large rainbow, but it
will shrink to the perfect size for earrings.
● The color of the markers will turn much darker once baked, so make sure to pick lighter colors for any shrinky dink projects.
● This craft project is so versatile. You could make this into a keychain or necklace too.
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