Perler beads, also known as hama or fuse beads are the perfect rainy day craft for both adults and kids alike. When I was an after-school program director for the Park board these were the go to activity to keep 30+ kids seated and quiet for at least an hour. There is something slightly addictive about putting tiny little beads on a pegboard and creating wonderful quirky patterns. The ease and relative low cost (after the initial purchase) make them a great craft for ages 6 and up. The company does make bigger beads for ages 4+ so the little guys can get in on the fun. A quick search on Google will get you tons of free patterns and ideas.
Since this week marks the 30th birthday of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, I thought it would be fun to celebrate with some Mario themed crafts. Geeks all around the world have created some super awesome crafts using perler beads. The whole pixelation of many old school games and cartoons are perfect patterns for this craft. Check out this link and this one for some inspiration!
Today the hubby and I made some magnets and a red piranha plant for the circulation desk at work. (this is why I am the cool Library assistant) Feel free to copy our designs and ideas for your own fun projects. I am doing a simple tutorial just in case someone has never heard of these beads before.
What you need:
- Perler beads- These can be found at Wal-Mart and most craft stores for $2.99 and up for a variety of colors. I purchased a big bucket for $11.99 at Michaels.
- Peg Boards- For the patterns I used I got a package of plain square boards for $4.99. They can be connected for bigger projects.
- Fuse sheets- These are usually included in any bead purchase or kit and are reusable
- Iron- preheat according the the directions on the bead tub or kit.
- Extras- Mini clay flower pot (.69 cents), green paint and magnets.
Total cost– around $20 for the initial purchase. You can get lots of projects (depending on the peg board size) from one tub of beads.
Difficulty level- ** (you don’t want your 6 year old touching the super hot iron)
Step 1– Choose your pattern and select your board size. Fight with your significant other over the black beads, because there are never enough.. ahem. The Mister chose the Mushroom with the red cap and I decided to make a piranha plant that the kids can’t poke to death.
Step 2– Start placing your beads. It takes a while to fill everything in so you can see why the kids in my program stayed quiet for so long!
Step 3– Once everything is completed carefully carry your project over to be ironed. CAREFULLY or all that hard work ends up all over the table!
Step 4– Iron the beads using the paper and preheated iron. Once it’s finished and cooled peel it off and add magnets or turn it into a plant that never needs watering!
Finished projects– Here are the Mario creations and some other projects that we decided to tackle. Our fridge is starting to look pretty KOOL!
Extra steps for a Piranha Plant pot:
Step 1– Once you have ironed and cooled your piranha plant paint your tiny pot to look like a green pipe. Acrylic paints work the best.
Step 2– Hot glue your plant to a trimmed Popsicle stick and fill with gravel or sand to keep it weighed down. (stop up the hole in the bottom first) I just added some perler beads to the pot until I could get some sand.
Hope you have been inspired to create some KOOL fuse bead crafts. I would love to see what you come up with. Add a comment with your finished creation below.
~VEB
