Shrinky Dink handprint keychains are the perfect craft gift for kids to make! Honestly, anything with a child's handprint is going to be a treasured gift whether it's for Dad, Mum, the grandparents or any other special person. It can however be difficult to find a really cool gift for Father's Day that the kiddos can make. That's why I love these keychains specifically for our amazing fathers and grandfathers.
If you love handprint crafts as I do, you'll find the “You Make My Heart Flutter” butterfly handprint printable craft that I made with my son. We also made some cute Thanksgiving Turkey handprints.
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Supplies
- Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint
- Shrinky Dinks Clear Sheets
- Mod Podge or other sealer
- Keyring Chain
- Hole Punch
- Paint Pen or permanent marker (optional)
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
You can buy keychains, or I had several spare plastic tag keychains so I just took the tag off and used that instead.
As my kids are older, they wanted to write their names on their handprints. This is entirely optional, you can also choose to write it with a permanent marker once you have finished.
Making a shrinky dink handprint keychain
- Begin by protecting your work surface (it always pays to be careful when children and paint are involved!).
- Using the paintbrush, paint your child's hand (it could be cold and they may be sensitive to it!). Place their hand down onto the shrink plastic. Ensure all fingers and the total area of the hand has imprinted on the plastic sheet well.
- If you are writing your name below then do that now. Otherwise, you can wait until it comes out of the oven. Wait for the paint to try completely.
- Cut around the handprints, not getting too close to the paint. Then punch a hole into the plastic, again leaving a reasonable amount of room between the paint and also the edge of the plastic.
Time for the shrink magic!
- Place your cut handprint onto a baking tray lined with baking paper/parchment paper.
- My boys loved watching their handprints shrink in the oven! Bake the handprint according to the directions listed on your Shrinky Dink paper. Typically baking guides would be something similar to 160°C/325°F for 1-3 minutes. Keep an eye on them though, as they shrink quickly! Your handprint will typically flatten out however if you still have some slight curling of the edges, use a kitchen spoon or spatula to press down and flatten them before it cools.
Assembling the Shrinky Dink handprint keychain
Once your masterpiece has cooled, you can now apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to protect and seal the handprint. This will stop the paint from coming off. Try not to coat the punched hole too much as we need to be able to attach the chain to it.
Truth be told, I completely forgot about this step! My kids gave their keychains to their Nanny (yes, I know I've been talking about what a great Father's Day gift this is haha). And Nanny has just put them away in a box so her keychains are completely fine. However, I wouldn't recommend skipping this step if you actually intend for them to be used.
Now you can finally loop your keychain around the punched hole and you're all set!
My boys attached their handprints to the same keychain, which I think looks cute. You could also add footprints to compliment your shrinky dink handprint keychains too! Do you have any other handprint crafts you would like to see? Comment below to let me know, I just might whip something up for you.
Other Resources You May Like:
FREE PRINTABLE: Butterfly Handprint Art Template
FREE PRINTABLE: Mother's Day Gift Tag Craft Template
ARTICLE: Smartie Pants Gift Jar Gift from Children (free printable)
ARTICLE: Father's Day Printable Bookmark Coloring
FROM MY SHOP: Children's Chore/Reward Charts
