Craft it with Hama Beads: Easy and fun patterns for gifts and accessories from fuse beads

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You could add string through your designs and make them into hanging decorations. At Christmas, you could even go a step further and make Christmas tree decorations out of Hama beads. Gift Ideas Create your design: Place individual beads onto the pegboard, following the chosen pattern. For young children, a small sample design or simple shapes like hearts and stars are a great way to start. Preheat your iron: Plug in your electric iron and set it to a medium heat or low setting, depending on the manufacturer's instructions. A dry household iron, such as the Sunbeam Hot-2-Trot or Sunbeam Steammaster Steam Iron, works best for this activity. Make sure the iron is heated evenly for the best results.

Remember that the overall goal is to melt the beads together on both sides while still leaving the holes open. Here’s how you get the best results (using a rainbow as an example). Use Ironing or Parchment Paper Once you’re done learning, you can get a ton of patterns at the end of this post. Then your journey can really begin! Transfer your taped design onto a solid, heat-resistant surface, such as a baking sheet or a silicone mat.

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Last year my girls even made all their teachers Hama bead bookmarks with a ribbon tied through the bottom. Why Choose Hama Beads

Iron/Mini heat press - Fusing your beads together requires even and medium to high heat, the easiest way to do this is by using a household iron (make sure to have the steam function turned off!). If you're an avid crafter and regularly work with materials such as iron-on vinyl, you'll likely have a heat press at your disposal – small handheld heat presses can also be used for fusing perler beads. A perler bead is a small, round plastic bead with a hole in the center. They’re made from a food-grade plastic called low-density polyethylene, and are heat activated. Perler beads (you might call Hama beads, or fusible beads) are a super fun craft activity for kids from age 6 right up to adults. There are even jumbo fusible bead options so even preschoolers can have fun making some simple perler bead crafts. Getting crafty with Perler bead is a great activity if you have a group of kids of different ages and interests, and it’s the perfect tween and teen craft too.Are you eager to get crafting with perler beads but not sure what project to try first? We've rounded up some fab project inspiration to help get the ideas flowing. Creative coasters

Place a piece of ironing paper or parchment paper on top of the taped design and proceed with the ironing process as usual. The masking tape will protect your design and provide a barrier between the beads and the surface. Make your favorite fruit bead designs by following the pattern and simply iron to fuse the beads permanently. You will need: Make this adorable perler bead hedgehog. This perler bead version of Starry Night would make a great coaster. Paint drip perler bead heart. Cute pandas made of perler beads. We had fun making this large Bob Ross design (original design source AC Moore) Super Mario Bros designs. VW Bus design. The masking tape method is a technique used in the Perler bead community to protect plastic pegboards from warping due to heat exposure during the ironing process. It involves transferring the Perler bead design from the pegboard onto a solid, heat-resistant surface before ironing.

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Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is after Halloween, but these gorgeous skulls could be used for both celebrations. If your pegboard set doesn’t come with ironing paper you’ll need some. We use the same few pieces over and over again.

Hama Beads are easy to use; I have even had a 3-year-old who has put the Hama beads onto the pegboards when I was childminding. Obviously, the ironing part is an adult-only job. Great Activity This cute Frankenstein pattern is perfect for Halloween and Krysanthe has lots of other simple Halloween patterns to try too. Perler Beads– This set is a great perler bead starter set or this starter set with most of the colors you’ll need. I also recommend getting some neutral colors like this set that are great for creating people and faces as well as a set of grays. Hama beads have a lower melting point than perler beads and end up shorter and more rounded at the edge when fused. They also have a shiny look once fused, whereas perler beads have a more matte finish.

Just FYI: Perler beads are recommended for ages six and up, so this is a very fun craft to try with kids. They love perler beads (also known as hama beads, fuse beads, or melty beads). But don’t be shy – adults love them too! Tips for Using Perler Beads These are a great and practical Hama Beads Idea turning them into a wonderful bookmark that can be used again and again. To make this we used the large square pegboard and put the pegs diagonally across it. Hama Bead Bowls Flatten the design: To ensure a flat and even surface, place your creation between two sheets of wax paper or aluminum foil and put it under heavy books or a baking tray for a few minutes.