Home made shrinky dink charm bracelets:

Cut 1/2 dollar size circles out of meat tray styrofoam. Punch a hole with a hole puncher at the top (like a sales tag).

Decorate with colored permanent pens.

WArning: DO NOT DO THE NEXT STEP WITH CHILDREN. PUT TOASTER OVEN OUTSIDE BECAUSE OF FUMES.

Place in preheated toaster oven (350 f for one minute or less). They will shrink to the size of a dime. Use hemp to braid and string the beads and charms.

Practice with temp and time for the desired affect.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 03, 2001

Answers

Great craft idea Ann. I'm an avid recycler and now I'll have one more thing to use those meat trays for.

-- Grannytoo (jacres40@hotmail.com), November 03, 2001.

You know what else you can shrink in the oven? Those Old Dutch potato chip bags. Just make sure you open them carefully, and put them nice and flat on a tray. The small bags shrink to about 1" X 2", and the print shrinks perfectly too.:)

-- Rebekah in Canada (rebekah_swinden@hotmail.com), November 03, 2001.

Wow! Cool idea for doll houses-- which I think I'll start as another thread soon!

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 03, 2001.

O.K. how do you guys find this stuff out ????????? And I can't play to because I don't but meat in the store anymore !!!!!!!!!!! O.K. so I found 1 downfall to raising all my own meat {ya I know the manure ain't fun either }

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 03, 2001.

This is not a healthy thing to do--when styrofoam is heated, it gives off all sorts of toxic fumes.

If you still want to do this (and I don't advise it) at least relegate to a toaster oven you don't use anymore for food.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 05, 2001.