Shrinky Dinks work excellently with various materials, including colored pencils and permanent markers. However, you don’t see many people using crayons when decorating their Shrinky Dinks. Why is that?
You can’t use crayons on Shrinky Dinks. If you do, the color will run in the oven and come off the Shrinky Dinks. The pigment melts because it contains wax, which doesn’t last when you apply heat.
So, you shouldn’t use crayons on Shrinky Dinks. This article covers all the reasons why and more. That way, you can get the best results with your creations.
Does Crayon Work on Shrinky Dinks?
Crayon doesn’t work on Shrinky Dinks. Many popular crayon brands, including Crayola, use paraffin wax and color pigment to make their crayons. It’s sure to melt and run when you heat your Shrinky Dinks in the oven.
In general, you should avoid materials that become runny when warm, like crayons, paints, and oil pastels. These art mediums won’t always yield good results with projects like Shrinky Dinks. A better choice would be colored pencils or Sharpies for vibrant colors.
Check out my other article that talks about using Sharpies on Shrinky Dinks.
Any art material that contains wax won’t work, including crayons and oil pastels. Some cheaper colored pencils are also very waxy, so those brands won’t stick to the Shrinky Dinks either.
Crayons contain wax, which doesn’t work well on Shrinky Dinks. The material will melt in the oven, leaving you with a mess. It’s better to use Sharpies or other materials you have at home.
How To Use Crayons on Shrink Dinks
If you want to use crayons on your Shrinky Dinks, you must purchase a set that will work. Most won’t since they contain a lot of wax, which won’t bind with the shrink plastic.
Twistable crayons are a decent option since they’re less likely to melt in the oven. Despite the twistable crayons containing wax, many artists online said they’d gotten good results using them on their Shrinky Dinks. So, choose a twistable crayon pencil if you absolutely need to use crayons on your Shrinky Dinks.
Once you have your twistable crayons, you can use them like colored pencils. Simply color on the rougher side of the shrink plastic so the pigment has a texture to grip onto. You may want to try a test Shrinky Dink first. That way, you won’t ruin all of your hard work if your crayon melts in the oven.
The Shrinky Dink company says you can also use “non-water based crayons” on their plastic. However, finding any product that contains wax and works on Shrinky Dinks can be difficult. Wax simply doesn’t combine well with heat, making it a wrong choice when baking shrink plastic.
Are Crayola Crayons Water Based?
Crayola uses paraffin wax and color pigments to make their crayons. Their crayons aren’t water-based since paraffin wax contains oils, and they shouldn’t run when you apply water to their pigment.
Water-based crayons are water-soluble, so you can blend them with water, much like when painting. Many artists compare using water-soluble crayons to using watercolor paints. Crayola crayons don’t do this when you combine them with water.
Technically, oil-based crayons are called oil pastels, which also won’t work on Shrinky Dinks due to their wax content.
Why Won’t My Shrinky Dinks Shrink?
There could be several different reasons why your Shrinky Dinks won’t shrink. Most of the time, the shrink plastic isn’t hot enough yet. It just needs a few extra minutes in the oven to heat up. Let it bake for about two or three more minutes while you keep an eye on it.
Since everyone’s oven is different, you might need to turn the heat up a few degrees to get the plastic to shrink. Then, give it another two minutes for the Shrinky Dinks to bake.
Check out this cool Shrinky Dink set. It comes with 51 pieces, which is also great for kids!
If it doesn’t start shrinking, you’ll need to try something else. A heat gun can be a decent option. While you’ll have less control over how the Shrinky Dinks shrink, the heat gun blasts your project with concentrated heat so the plastic can get hot very quickly.
To use a heat gun on your Shrinky Dinks, ensure you don’t hold it too close to your art. Then, keep the gun moving, so you get even shrinking. If a particular part doesn’t want to shrink, all you need to do is hold the heat gun there a bit longer. So, if your oven isn’t shrinking the plastic well, you can try using a heat gun.
Do Shrinky Dinks Go Shiny Side Up or Down?
It depends on what side you color on since you want the colored side to be facing up. You’ll also use different materials on different sides of the shrink plastic.
For example, if you’re using colored pencils, you want to color on the non-shiny side of the sheets. That side is rougher, which gives the color pencil’s pigment texture to “grab” onto. When using Sharpie or other markers, you want to color on the smooth, shiny side.
After decorating your Shrinky Dinks, you want to put them in the oven with the colored side facing up. Leaving the colored side down could cause it to bleed onto your baking sheet.
The shrink plastic should heat up the same, no matter which side is up. But you will get much better results with the colored side facing up. Overall, it depends on what art materials you use to color the Shrinky Dinks.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, you can’t use most crayons on Shrinky Dinks. Crayons contain wax and a color pigment, so they melt quickly in the oven. Whether you use water or oil-based crayons, the wax always has a chance to run. However, you’ll probably get better results when using something oil-based.
In short, you’ll want to try using a different medium. Many people who make Shrinky Dinks recommend colored pencils, Sharpies, and other markers. You can give them a try and see which is best for you! Sharpies, in particular, offer some of the most vibrant colors for Shrinky Dinks.
Make sure to follow all my tips and recommended products to ensure your Shrinky Dink project turns out great! Also, don’t forget to check out my other articles for all your painting Q&A’s. Happy painting!
