Hey friends! Allie from Allie Scraps here today!

This past year, I have been really trying to get back into some of the crafts I loved as a child — I blame Swifties and the sudden friendship bracelet craze— but I wanted to go beyond the boxes of beads I’ve collected even more of this year.

Enter: Shrinky Dinks! I loved these as a kid, and spoiler alert, they are just as fun now!

If you’re not familiar with Shrinky Dink , it’s special plastic that you can draw on (I recommend a Sharpie to start!) and cut out— stick it in the oven/add heat for just a few seconds, and it shrinks down to 1/8th it’s size! This creator on IG has been one I’ve been following for her tips and super fun videos for making Taylor Swift themed charms.

Shrinky Dinks make the perfect charms, and I thought it would be fun to add some “True North” charms to a. Friendship bracelet!

To start, I used Crystal Clear Shrinky Dink plastic and traced some of my favorite True North stickers— I printed a page in black and white on plain paper, just so I could get the outlines that I needed — I did this part with a sharpie and made sure the lines looked good!

After I traced the shapes/stickers I wanted (I liked a lot of the lighthouses and anchors!) I flipped over the plastic and started coloring on the other side with some acrylic paint markers — this keeps the outline more defined, and makes it look really dimensional after you’re done. — I tried to stay really neat with these, since you will see them on the back! But the “streaks” will even out when they shrink down! I added some more outlines, and punched a hole with a regular hole punch — it will get much smaller! And cut out everything!

After all of that , I warmed up the plastic (read the package directions!) and had some little fun, nautical charms! From there, I just added jump rings to the little holes, and then added them to my beaded bracelets! (I love using these beads!)

You don’t have to do friendship bracelets, either! You can make planner charms, earrings, necklaces… there’s so many opportunities to have fun with these charms!