Skip to main content

Styrofoam Tray Shrink Art

Making styrofoam shrink art was one of those fun childhood memories I have from being a kid.  My mom would clean off the meat or veggie trays from the grocery store, give it to us kids to draw on, then we would watch in awe as our creations shrunk before our very eyes in the oven.


I really wanted to do the same thing with my kids so I (silly-me) tried to find a tutorial of the sort on the Internet.  I did this mostly because I didn't know the temperature the oven needed to be or how long it should be in there.  Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't find one!  The closest thing I found was this website, but there were no pictures or anything.  I decided to wing it - it couldn't be that hard, right?


And, yes, this craft is super easy.  First, I gave the boys a clean tray and a bunch of markers for them to draw with.


I had to convince them to color a lot since they were only making small markings.


We put their creations on an aluminum-covered baking sheet, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees.


They shrunk really fast!  It was only about two minutes.  The styrofoam curled up, but once I pulled it out, I was able to flatten it without too much trouble.  I was actually surprised that it wasn't that hot.


Here is what they looked like when they came out.  The boys thought it was great.




Next time I do this (since I always seem to have these trays in my house), I think I'll try to make them into ornaments.  I'll need to make a big hole in the styrofoam since it will shrink a lot and then try to thread ribbon through it.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Nate BOctober 12, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    Fun! I remember doing that too.

    Can't you just make the hole after its shrunk?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AlishaOctober 12, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    No, the styrofoam is really hard once it shrinks. I think you would crack it if you managed to make a hole in it at all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElizabethNovember 11, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    Okay, now I totally want to do this with Caleb. But I'm wracking my brain, I don't think anything I buy comes on styrofoam. I buy my meat in plastic wrap tubes...I'm going to have to keep my eyes out, maybe some veggies...if not I'll get some styrofoam plates or cups just for this. It would be worth it. I did this with cups for a Christmas tree ornament (that I never ended up making): you were supposed to shrink them, then spray paint them black to make a hat for a snowman (which you make out of a lightbulb); you stick on "googly eyes" and a carrot nose out of orange felt or something, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AlishaNovember 11, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    I saw a craft idea similar to yours for the styrofoam cups - except instead of a snowman it was a pilgrim hat. Thanksgiving idea, perhaps?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Little Disciples

As I've been learning more about Charlotte Mason and her methods, I've been thinking especially about what she means by "Education is a Discipline."  As I was reading her thoughts on discipline from her Homeschooling series, I was particularly struck by the following quotation. Discipline is not Punishment ––What is discipline? Look at the word; there is no hint of punishment in it. A disciple is a follower, and discipline is the state of the follower; the learner, imitator. Mothers and fathers do not well to forget that their children are, by the very order of Nature, their disciples... How Disciples are Lured ––He who would draw disciples does not trust to force; but to these three things–– to the attraction of his doctrine, to the persuasion of his presentation, to the enthusiasm of his disciples ; so the parent has teachings of the perfect life which he knows how to present continually with winning force until the children are quickened with such zeal for virtue
7 comments
Read more

Typical Day at our Coop

Here is what a typical day looks like at "school" Play Time Drop-off time at school is 8:30AM.  We are currently made up of four families and have seven kids.  We intend to be more of a homeschool setting than a school, so we try to make it as engaging with the kids as possible.  They usually just want to hang out with their friends once they first see them in the morning.  Play time first thing in the morning allows for them to get some energy out, connect with their friends, and let the parents chat a bit before getting into the school day. Sharing Time Z sharing about his last book that he read Once we've gathered all the kids together, we have sharing time.  I do this mostly to ward off rabbit trail conversations and questions throughout the morning.  I have each kid come up individually and usually ask them a question.  Usually, it's something like, "What did you do this weekend?"  Or maybe it's "Show and Tell".  Many of th
4 comments
Read more