Making Shrinky dinks is so much fun. If you’re going to take the time to make something, you want to use the best colors to use on Shrinky dinks for the best outcome.

Best Colors to Use on Shrinky Dinks

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Making Shrinky dinks is so much fun. If you’re going to take the time to make something, you want to use the best colors to use on Shrinky dinks for the best outcome.

Making Shrinky dinks is so much fun. If you’re going to take the time to make something, you want to use the best colors to use on Shrinky dinks for the best outcome.

Keep in mind that when you bake a Shrinky dink, the color intensifies. This means that light colors produce rich results, but dark colors can look too dark. A dark outline will make the color pop and keep the colors from bleeding over the sides of the plastic.

There are many things that you can use to decorate your Shrinky dink plastic. My favorite is sharpie markers, but you can decide for yourself. Do a little experimenting. Here’s what I’ve found out.

Shrinky dink acrylic paint

When using acrylic paint, you must thin it before applying. If you use it at full strength, your design will be bubbly. Once they are cooled, you can cover them with Diamond glaze to keep the paint from flaking off as well. The apple brand of acrylics from Walmart works well.

Best markers for Shrinky dinks

My favorite markers to use on Shrinky dinks, as I stated above are sharpie markers. Anything that is alcohol-based with vibrant colors will work great. The key is the alcohol. It makes them dry fast and keeps them from running when heated. Washable markers are water-based and are not recommended. They won’t stay on the plastic.

unicorn and owl shrinky dink necklaces hanging on board

Permanent markers work best. There are multiple brands of permanent markers, but sharpie makes a great product for a reasonable price. And they come in a great variety of colors. Sharpie really does rock the marker world.

Can you use Crayola on Shrinky dinks?

Using Crayolas on Shrinky dinks is discouraged because the product is too oily and runs when heated in the oven. But the twistable crayon pencils work great. Crayola makes a great quality product in these crayon pencils. Check out the heart shrinky dink to see how great they look after baked.

fresh baked shrink art, owl, unicorn, hearts.

Best colored pencils for Shrinky dinks

Any colored pencils work great on Shrinky dink plastic. The key to getting vibrant designs with colored pencils is to lightly sand the shrink plastic to score it. This helps it hold the color from colored pencils or twistable crayon pencils.

Shrinky dink oven temp

The average temperature to bake your Shrinky dinks in the oven is 325. But check your individual brand packaging to make sure that is what is recommended. Some require a lower temperature. If you have trouble with the Shrinky dinks curling up and getting stuck together, lower the temperature and let them melt more slowly.

baking sheet in oven with shrinky dinks on it.

If yours get stuck, while they are hot, try to pry them apart with some spatulas. Usually, you can get them unstuck and press them flat with your spatula after that.

Did you know you can even make DIY Shrinky dink plastic? It’s a super cool upcycling project with the trash that would have ended up in a landfill and is not recyclable. You might even already have some around your house. And don’t forget you can even make these handprint keychains too!

hand print shrinky dink keychain made with stamp pad and two rings next to it

You can also get printable Valentine and garden printable Shrinky dink patterns from this article. The link is at the top of the post.

For more great shrinky dink patterns, check these out:

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