So, J and I decided to make Perler Bead stuff today because I got this huge bucket ‘o beads on Amazon for about $5 before they discontinued Amazon Mom and made everyone start paying for shipping again. Boo! Anyway, I’d been looking around on Pinterest for ideas, and we decided to start simple with a heart. Here’s how to do it!
This is great for little hands!
Start by preheating your oven to 350ish. I’ve read 400 also, but use your judgement based on your oven. Next, get to work greasing a cookie sheet with standard cooking oil. Kids dig this part! We used some Canola oil and it worked just fine.
Then put a metal cookie cutter on the cookie sheet. Take the paper towel you used on the sheet and rub a little oil on the inside and bottom of your cookie cutter for good measure.
Have your kids start sprinkling little handfuls of beads into the heart until it’s almost full. If you want this to be a trivet/hot plate, you really want the beads to be a flat layer, not all piled up, so be aware of how many your kids are dumping in there.
J did some "dumping" right as I finished spreading them out.
Once you have the beads all settled where you want them or (for a trivet) pressed into a flat layer (I left ours in a single layer but with some open-side up, some round-side up for a texture variation), it should look something like this (below).
Ready for the oven!!
Next, put your cookie sheet carefully (not moving the beads) into the oven and set the timer for 5 minutes. These things melt quickly. You’ll know it’s done if you lightly drag a spatula over the top of the beads, and they’re “tacky” like semi-wet nail polish. They’ll feel rubbery and won’t move when pushed with the spatula, but they’ll “give” a little like rubber.
Ta Da!!
Take the cookie sheet out and let cool for a few minutes. Gently remove the cookie cutter, and use your spatula to pick up the heart (or whatever shape you made!). Put it on a paper plate and transfer to the freezer for about 10 minutes to set.
We added a bow to ours! You can hot glue a magnet on the back, or add a ribbon to make a fun little wall hanging! If it’s a trivet, you can glue felt or even cork on the bottom! Have fun!
Finished product!
You can find me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/tara_cohen/ Happy crafting!
