Shrinky Dinks and Beanie Babies

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?”