Hello, Hello Kitty!
So my daughter is pretty obsessed with Hello Kitty. We have Hello Kitty blankets, pillows, toys, books, stuffed animals, stamps, notepads, sweatshirts, tee-shirts, a jewelery box, panties, a backpack, a couple of lunchboxes, a freakin’ Hello Kitty toothbrush. And that’s just off the top of my head. She loves Hello Kitty.
So when we spent part of the day making our Perler Bead bowl and heart, she wanted to make a Hello Kitty out of beads. This is a much bigger production than filling a cookie cutter with random beads. First, I didn’t have a template, and second, I had to hand-sort white beads out of this gigantic Jug o’ Beads.
So, if you’re going to do this, I strongly recommend sorting the beads before you pre-heat the oven because this takes a lot longer than you might expect, especially when your 4-year-old gets distracted 3 minutes in and starts naming the beads and telling their life stories.
THE INSTRUCTIONS:
Ok, so first, sort some beads. You’ll need a LOT of white beads, along with some red and/or pink for the bow, plus some black for the eyes and whiskers, and a little yellow for the nose. As I didn’t have a template that could go in the oven, I was working from a little change purse and eyeballing it. If you can find a template you can print onto wax paper or something else that can go into the oven, more power to you. Another idea that, of course, occurred to me AFTER we finished was that I could easily have printed a pic of Hello Kitty and put it underneath a glass lasagne tray so I could have seen through to the template but not had to put the paper in the oven. So, there ya go. That might work better than eyeballing it. Ok, that would definitely work better than eyeballing it. What can I say, I was exhausted enough to agree to make this thing at 6:30 at night. I wasn’t doing my best thinking.
Getting back to it:
Start by using some canola oil on your glass lasagne pan (we used a cookie sheet, but you’ll be smarter and use the template/glass tray combo). Lay out the beads, and when you think you’re getting close to finishing, turn on your oven to 400. When your project and the oven are ready, bake the beads for about 5 minutes and check on them. If they look kinda melty, they’re done.
Take them out and let them sit for a few minutes, then remove your Hello Kitty with a spatula and set on some paper towels to absorb any leftover oil. Placing the finished product in the freezer for 15 minutes will help it set faster. To get rid of any more oil, you can wash it gently, once it’s completely cooled, with regular dish soap. Pics below! Enjoy!
I started with an outline and eyes, but soon found that working from the center outward would be better as I kept messing up the perimeter beads trying to fill in the rest.
Filling in the beads without worrying about maintaining the edge was much faster and easier. And with a template underneath, you'll have a much easier time 
Here's my "model" and our beaded Kitty all ready for the oven.
Kitty, looking a little melty right out of the oven.
Finished product! I have no clue what we're going to do with this thing. But she can be a trivet, a decoration, a magnet (use hot glue) or just a little wall decoration. I'll let the kiddo decide.
You can find me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/tara_cohen/
