Oven for shrinking Styrofoam
Historically, shrink art has been a very popular craft. Now, it is becoming popular again. Crafters, teachers, and group leaders can buy shrink art sheets or kits.
Stryrofoam plates, however, work very well for shrink art crafts. Styrofoam is much less expensive, and even free, if using recycled foam plates. While the Styrofoam is not transparent, it shrinks very easily and is also fun for kids to watch the foam melt and shrink.
Adult supervision is advised. All that is needed is an oven at 200-300 degrees, cookie sheets, Styrofoam plates, scissors, and markers or crayons. At 200 degrees, the crafts melt in 2 minutes or less. At 300, crafts melt faster, but almost too fast for kids to see the process.
Mobiles
Hanging mobiles
Mobiles are fun to make and hang. Styrofoam plates are big enough to draw or trace almost anything that will shrink for s great theme mobile.
For sports themes, draw and cut out favorite sports items, or overlap big open letters to spell the name of a sports team or player. Make a fish or bird mobile by drawing, cutting, and coloring different colors of birds or fish. Airplanes, rockets, or even the solar system will make a great mobile.
To hang your mobile, glue string onto each piece. Or, you may poke a good-sized hole in the foam before shrinking. Hang your shrink craft pieces from a non-shrunken Stryofoam plate, a clothes hanger or a dowel stick.
Decorations for Any Holiday
Cookie cutter shapes
Make holiday ornaments with cookie cutter shapes. Press a cookie cutter into a foam plate, or simply trace the cookie cutter shape. Cut out and color with markers or leave plain to decorate after shrinking. Be sure to poke a hole into each shape to push string through for a hanger.
Turn some of these ornaments into a wreath by gluing them onto a whole Styrofoam plate from which you have cut the middle.
Picture frame ornaments are easy with shrinking foam. Cut a large shape, or melt a whole plate. The larger the shape, the more curled and fun it will become. After baking and cooling the frame, paint or decorate as you wish. Then, glue on a picture of your family or yourself for a great gift.
Make candle rings from any shape cut out of a Styrofoam plate. Cut a large hole in the center of the shape. When finished, slip a long tapered candle onto the bottom of the candle ring. Bigger candles can have shrink craft rings, too. Make several smaller shapes of your choice. After melting and cooling, glue the shapes into a circle shape to fit around a candle.
Turn your shrink crafts into gift tags, basket name tags, table place markers, or greeting cards. Leave as they are, or glue onto construction paper or blank greeting cards.
Just for Me Crafts
Glue a magnet piece onto the back of your shrink crafts. Stick on your locker, home refrigerator or wherever you like. String several shrink crafts onto long pieces of fishing line to make a garland. Hang the garland in your bedroom window, along a mirror, or make lots of garlands and hang from the top of your door to create a curtain.
