Thing 1 and Thing 2 are obsessed with Beanie Babies. We own more than I care to say. They come our way in a continuous stream from grandparents, thrift shops and garage sales. It's hard to say no when I see how often they are played with and loved. Slept with. Taken on trips. Clutched as security blankets during doctor's appointments. Toted around in purses and backpacks. Dressed in Barbie clothes and an array of hairclips.
Now the girls discovered a new fun thing to dress them with: Personalized collars made from shrinky dinks and embroidery floss.
I'm charmed by the ones made by my youngest, with the creative spelling and the rough cuts. I started out using a jump ring to attach the collars but when the numbers started to climb I gave that up and just knotted them on instead.
Do you have collarless Beanie Babies? (gasp!) Draw a collar tag on shrinky film with colored pencils, at twice the size you want the final product to be. Cut it out and punch a hole with a standard hole punch. Shrink in the oven according to the directions and tie it on your Beanie pal with embroidery floss or yarn. Now when it is left behind in the produce section, the cashier will be able to refer to it by name over the intercom. "Will the owner of...er...Pugsley...come to cash register seven?"
What a fun idea!
ReplyDeleteWhere in the world do you find shrinky dinks these days? I'll have to look at wally world today.
ReplyDeletewe have tons of beanie babies too! our menagerie even includes a butterfly and giraffe. my daughter would love to give them tags, but where do you get the shrinky dink film??
ReplyDeleteIt seems like I heard about some common household item that would shrink like a dink. . . what in the world was it??
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find shrinky dinks? Hobby Lobby?
Ok, found it: #6 plastic.
ReplyDeletehttp://unplugyourkids.com/2008/06/15/homemade-shrinky-dinks-weekly-unplugged-project/
I bought shrinky dink stuff at Michaels! Still have a load of it and since my child is now a sophomore in college and the beanie babies were sold before we moved...what was I going to do with this leftover! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteYou can find shrink film at your local craft store, or you can always shop the 'magical world of shrinky dinks' here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goestores.com/catalog.aspx?Merchant=shrinkydinks&DeptID=34365
Ginger, intriguing. I've never tried homemade shrink film. Let me know if it works for you!
ReplyDelete"Will the owner of...er...Pugsley...come to cash register seven?" Made me laugh right out loud!
ReplyDeleteReally fun idea!!! Cool :) Now you have track of your "pets" :) have a nice weekend
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time in your blog ! Nice blog !
mariapalito
We have a real pug dog named Pugsley!
ReplyDeleteUhm, this is going on our summer craft list :). E has quite the collection of animals (only a few beanie babies), but sadly one of his favorites was the shown 'Tracker' which we lost in Portland on our last trip. The hotel swears they couldn't find it even though they found the blanket he was wrapped up in. So sad ... E still talks about him. I should check Ebay :).
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend!
MB, my daughters say, "But our Pugsley is real. What does she mean?" :-)
ReplyDeleteAndrea, hey! Yes, you should check the ol' ebay. You'd no doubt find one. My husband maintains you can find anything on ebay, and from some of the obscure stuff that lands on our doorstep addressed to "Michael" I would have to agree.
Shrinky-dinks... brings back MANY fun memories.
ReplyDelete