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Charming Drink Charms

Charming Drink Charms

Total Time Needed: 1-2 Hours

Help your dinner guests keep track of their beverages with personalized Shrinky Dinks charms, inspired by an idea sent in by reader Monica Stone of St. Charles, Illinois. "They added a little pizzazz to our family gathering," she reported. No stemware? Clip the charms onto colorful rubber bands, then slip the bands around your cups.

Materials

  • Digital photos
  • Shrinky Dinks Shrinkable Plastic for ink-jet printers (available at craft stores or at shrinkydinks.com)
  • 2-inch circular template (such as a jar lid)
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • 3/4-inch wire earring hoops (look in the beading section of craft stores)
  • Clear nail polish

Instructions

1. Select a digital photo of each guest or take one as they arrive. Following the Shrinky Dinks directions, brighten the images on your computer so they appear washed out (they will darken as they shrink) and crop them to roughly 3-inch squares, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the head. Print the images onto a plastic sheet.

2. Using a circular template, mark and cut out each image. Punch a hole in each for the wire hoop, then bake the charms according to the package directions.

3. When they've cooled, coat the finished charms with clear nail polish and let them dry. Finally, attach them to the wire hoops.

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