Very cute. My daughter loved them. In order to get the butterfly holes to shrink to their proper size, you have to take off the green topper after about four minutes and let it sit in the oven JUST in the purple mold for about 2-3 minutes. It tells you this in the instructions provided. The total cooking time should be around 7 minutes or so.
Following the directions, we didn't have any problems getting them to shrink to fit the lights. Overall, I think it was worth the money...regular shrinky dinks are fun, but it was nice having a way to display your artwork in a cute way. Plus, it was a fun Mother-Daughter project, especially for those of us who are not creative when it comes to crafts.
I bought this kit to do with my granddaughters 4 and 2. The 2-year-old is too young, but she enjoyed scribbling on some of the butterflies and was proud to be contributing. Even the 4 year old got tired of coloring. I helped with coloring and then I shrunk them in a toaster oven. Would have been a nightmare in a conventional oven because takes longer. Some of the holes didn’t shrink enough to work with the lights, but there are about 4 extra butterflies, so we had enough. I used a butter knife to weight down the wings while they were soft when they first came out until they hardened. It was a fun project and I enjoyed it as much if not more than they did. Now they have a short but cute set of lights that they created.
Fun project that my daughter wanted to do for a weekend project. We all took turns coloring different butterflies. There are 10 light pegs to put the butterflies on and 14 butterflies to color, so you get extras if you mess up. I also took the recommendation to remove the topper 1/2 way through. In a pre-heated toaster oven, it took around 2 minutes - 1 minute with the topper and then another minute with the topper off. I used metal chopsticks to gently mold the plastic when it was still soft and pliable just before I removed it from the base. I wish that the package included 2 of the bases/toppers. I spent around an hour standing in front of the oven shrinking the 14 butterflies individually.
I used a conventional oven. Much like the other reviews, I was disappointed by the large holes left after the shrinking. On the 5th one, I realized if you baked the butterfly again for 3 minutes without the blue/green weight on it, the hole would shrink! The instructions didn’t make that really clear. Anyway, this project was cute, fun, and ended with something functional. Minus one star only because more than one mold would have made this go MUCH faster!
Agree with the other ratings, I actually kept a butter knife on hand & when I saw the butterflies start to shrink I took the top plastic piece off & it didn't shrink it even more to make the hold small enough for the light. They still didn't stay in too great but they do look super cute hanging in my daughters room night! We both love them
Feature Product
- Decorate your room with beautiful butterfly lights
- New silicone mold shapes Shrinky Dinks into 3D butterflies
- Requires 2 AA batteries, not included
- Includes butterfly silicon mold, LED string with 10 LED lights, 8 color pencils, 14 pre cut and preprinted butterflies, 12 glue dots and easy instructions
- Recommended for children 8 years of age and older
Description
Shrinky Dinks 3D Butterfly Lights turns your bedroom into a butterfly habitat that lights up! The new silicone mold shapes the wings as they shrink, adding a new dimension to the classic craft. Color and shrink your butterflies and attach them to the battery operated string of lights. With the custom colors you choose, the set adds a unique and lighthearted atmosphere wherever they’re placed. Requires 2 AA batteries, not included. Includes Butterfly silicon mold, LED string with 10 LED lights, 8 color pencils, 14 pre-cut and preprinted butterflies, 12 glue dots and easy instructions. Recommended for children 8 years of age and older.
I followed what a previous review suggested. I preheated the mold, then after it shrank as much as it would with the top part of the mold on, I took the top off and it shrunk the rest of the way. Perfect holes for the lights. I did not use the stickers, as the butterflies fit snugly over the lights without anything needed.
These turned out really cute! The only thing I didn't consider was the time it took to color all of the Butterflies LOL baked them in the toaster oven for about five minutes each. Ended up having to remove the glue discs and just use a hot glue gun to keep them attached to the lights.
Worked exactly as described if you carefully follow the instructions and bake them a little longer if needed to make sure the hole shrinks to the proper size. It was a fun project to do with my daughters. We used permanent markers for some of them but also had success with the colored pencils provided.
Excellent product! My 7 year old & I followed the directions and had no problems getting the hole to shrink or attaching them to the lights. Baking takes patience but it is very much worth it! End result is exactly as described! Only downfall is baking them one at a time.
So much fun! Works great. Needs a little attention while cooking. Had to guide a few wings so they didn’t curl while
Baking