It’s time for all us teachers to get together those adorable, handmade, kindergarten Mothers Day gifts! So today I am sharing this adorable, easy, and inexpensive Mothers Day Necklace or Keychain that your kiddos can make and moms everywhere will love and cherish forever!
A few weeks ago, I was reminded of the Shrinky Dink film that I used to make charms with when I was a girl. It dawned on me that as a mom myself, I would love to have a keepsake of my kids’ handwriting, but yet not have a trunk full of papers and old school projects. So my love of shrink wrap paper and treasured keepsakes inspired me to come up with this gift for Mothers Day. I can’t wait to see all of my student’s moms faces, when they receive this treasure!
Supplies:
Shrink Paper ( I bought mine through Amazon and you can too…just click my affiliate link here.)
Sharpies (This 24 pack on Amazon Prime is only $10.24!!!)
Ribbon
Ribbon
Step 1: I cut my 8.5×11 sheets in half and drew different ‘frames’ on each one. Most were ovals, but a few were hearts. I left the sharpies in my writing station, along with a few Mothers Day words that they could use in their writing. They wrote messages, drew pictures and signed their names, in their kindergarten writing.
Step 2: Next, I brought them home and cut them out. For some I used decorative scissors and some I used just regular scissors. No rhyme or reason to my method, as I was just trying it out.
Step 3: Use a hole punch to punch a hole wherever you want the necklace beads, ribbon, or key chain to go. You MUST do this BEFORE it goes in the oven!! Otherwise, it will be too hard to and thick to punch after it goes in the oven.
Step 4: Preheat your oven to 325 and lay shrink paper flat on parchment paper, wax paper, or a regular cookie sheet. Put in oven and ‘bake’ for 1-3 minutes.
Don’t be alarmed when it curls up!! I promise you that it will lay down flat. Please babysit your oven and shinky dink!! After it lays down and flattens out, remove from oven and allow time to cool. (If it is not completely flat, you can take a spatula and flatten it, while it is still hot!)
Step 5: After allowing time to cool down, lay them out and admire how adorable they are and what a keepsake they are going to be for your student’s mamas!!
Step 6: Finally, add your necklace beads, ribbon, or key chain holder.
I hope you love these and your kiddos enjoy making them for the special mother in their life!
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THAT is adorable…. Thank you for the inspiration 🙂
Did you cut the shapes (ovals, hearts) to be as big as half the shrink paper?
Yes, I pre-cut them. They shrink after they go into the oven.
Thanks!
If you give them the half sheet what is the approximate size that they will be after you shrink them? Trying to get a gauge of the size, but its difficult to tell.
It ends up being about 4″, after it is shrank.
I am so disappointed. After a week’s worth of work, I put my children’s art into the oven and it bubbled up horribly. It was impossible to flatten out the work. I even tried placing a layer of parchment paper on top of the art and a lightweight cooking sheet on top of that. They still were so bubbled that they would not flatten out.
My kids are so disappointed, because that was there one true “homemade” gift from them.
Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Cindy and thanks for your message. I’m sorry your keychains didn’t turn out. Everyone’s ovens are different, so it’s hard to say an exact temperature and time frame. But I put mine in the oven on 325 degrees for 2-3 minutes. They curl up and look like a mess, but I just leave them in and with enough time, they uncurl and lay flat. I have also heard other teachers say they used their toaster ovens and it worked like a charm! But, I always do a practice one, before I put the students’ in the oven. Hopefully, it works out for you. 🙂
You can also reheat them if they don’t come out right! It sounds as if the oven was too hot if they bubbled. Don’t give up on them – I have made them for three years and the moms love them!
We made these last year and loved the idea and product! I do forget though, does it matter whether they do their design on the shining side? Thanks!
Hey just wondering if you have to use permanent markers or if regular felt markers will work? Thanks!
I have only used permanent markers, so I can’t accurately tell you if felt tip markers work or not. Sorry.
Hi! Did you get the clear set or the matte set of shrink paper? Thanks! 🙂
I’ve bought both and they both have worked! 🙂 Thanks for your message!
Great! Thank you for your reply and for the idea!
Mine are smearing and the design is rubbing off after a few days. Did you seal with any type of clear sealant?
No, I did not seal them. What brand of shrinky dink paper did you buy?
Thanks for the Mothers Day gift idea. I traced my 2 year old’s hand and foot, then let him color them in. They came out perfect.
Hi, love the idea. Would love to make these in my Makerspace class. Could you give me details about the paper? What works best?
Check & read the blog post, as all materials are listed and linked within the post! 🙂
Would love to try these this year with my kiddos. A quick question: do you have to “double punch” the hole for the keychain to make it larger? Wouldn’t it shrink too in the oven? Thank you so much!
I do double punch and try to make the hole a little larger, so it fill be large enough to add a keychain or chain!