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Shrinky Dinks

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Shrinky Dinks reached their height of popularity in the 80s. They were an activity set for children consisting of large flexible sheets, which once baked in the oven, turn into smaller, hard plates or pieces of jewellery. Many of the sets were themed on popular children's characters, which you could have fun painting them in before baking.

The toy set itself was invented in 1973 by Betty Morris and Kathryn Bloomberg, who were devising a boy scouts toy for their children. They went on to be sold in local shopping mall, then by larger toy manufacturers under the title Shrinky Dinks.

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Do You Remember Shrinky Dinks?

Do You Remember Shrinky Dinks?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    My mom bought my sister and I Shrinky Dinks regularly to keep us busy. We'd color in the characters on the plastic sheets, cut them out and poke a hole at the top so we could hang them later.We would put them on a cookie sheet and then my mom put them in the oven for us and she'd turn on the light so we could watch them shrink inside the heated oven.We'd put a thread in the punched hole and hang them in the windows of our house. So pretty!
  • Anonymous user
    on
    You used to get free Shrinky Dinks in cereal boxes! It was great.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I remember my sister having these. It was one with different faces and bodyies. I just used to trace them onto paper. Frankenstein on a muscular body was my favourite.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Ah yes! getting them free in Cereal packets! Shreddies always had the best gifts but tasted like cardboard so it was always a trade-off to get the best freebies! We used to do it the cheapskate way and just use crisp packets instead.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Got my first(a tom and jerry one)From shreddies.Anyone elsedo the same with crisp packets??
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Yep, I got the Blackhole movie ones free in boxes of shreddies.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I remember some of my first Xmas decorations being shrinky dinks. I still have them to this day :)
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Shrinky Dinks! Quite possibly the best 'toy' of the 80s! it's difficult to discribe just what it was exactly the sheets were made from suffice to say that they looked like tracing paper but were stiff. the colouring of the various pictures was fun but when done watching as they shrunk in the oven was was even more enjoyable! if you didn't want to colour in a specific picture you could also get plain sheets where you could design, coulour in and create your own Shrinky Dinks. I remember sticking everything from badge pins and brooch pins to them to magnets and cardboard (to turn them into bookmarks)! Ingenious!
  • Anonymous user
    on
    My little brother loved shrinky dinks, so much so that he sought other likely-to-shrink things to put in the oven. Crisp packets shrunk quite well, some other stuff just melted horribly and stinkily. Tupperware turned liquid and then caught fire. after that, Mum banned him from playing with them, even the real shrinky dinks.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I think I had a Strawberry Shortcake set of Shrinky Dinks.

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