The girls are in love with their new bowls. I kind of am too. Don’t they just look like pieces of art. They are so easy to do to.
All you need are a bowl, cooking spray and Perler beads (found at most craft stores).
Spray a layer of cooking spray in the bowl. Take the pearler beads and drop them in the bowl. Once you have a few handfuls in there, start to push them down so they form one layer. As you push them down, the beads will begin to climb up the bowl. Add more if you want a larger bowl. Just make sure they’re in one layer.
Once the Perler beads are pushed down, bake them on 375. I baked them for 12-14 minutes. However, I’m not sure how consistent that would be, so I’d keep a watchful eye on the bowl. The plastic begins to melt and the beads adhere together. I thought it might smell really bad, but it wasn’t bad at all. I had the small whiff of plastic as I opened the oven.
Abby decided she wanted her bowl to hold sun glasses. Great choice. We needed a place for these. I just thought the results were beautiful. I originally saw this idea on Pinterest, but when I clicked on the link it couldn’t find the page. So, I had to wing it. Turned out great.
Gorgeous! Another project on out to do list:)
Great idea! My little ones would love making these!
I love these! I’m going to have to make them with my grandson – I think he would get a kick out of how they stick together. Thanks for sharing!
I’m here checking you out from the Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things. If you get a chance check out my Sunflower Wreath posted there or at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3903374216259&set=a.3871155090801.2150445.1036342162&type=3&theater
I love this project. What a great gift idea and so simple to do.
Beth @ Hungry Happenings
We love perler beads. I will definitely have to try this with the kids.
What a lovely idea! Great bowls!
these are so so fantastic what a clever idea and they look gorgeous! I hope you’ll link it up at my What We Wore, Read and Made party
marissa
rae gun ramblings
Great idea !
but what is it the cooking spray and at which point of the process do we use it ?
You spray the bottom of the glass bowl before you put the beads in. Here’s a link to cooking spray: http://www.pamcookingspray.com/ It’s basically away to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bowl. If you don’t have cooking spray, you could probably just do a thin layer of oil or grease on the bowl. Not sure if it will be messier, but I’m sure you could just wash it off.
Thanks a lot,you ve been very helpful
Dina from Athens,Greece
I love these bowls. I wonder how deep you could make it before the beads start to fall from the sides back in the middle? Thanks for linking up at Mom’s Library!
I love these bowls! My daughter will for sure want to try this out. Thanks for sharing!
Blessings,
Nici ~ Posed Perfection
Congratulations! Your project was featured in July’s Top 5 most popular posts on Fun Family Crafts! Thanks for sharing your creativity, we love it! If you would like a special top 5 button to display, you can grab it at the bottom of the feature post. Thanks! http://funfamilycrafts.com/july-2012-top-posts/
Thank you so much! That’s really exciting. I tried to grab the button a few times and put it on the post, but it didn’t work for me. I just highlighted the html code and pasted, so I don’t know why it’s not working. Let me know if there’s another solution for that. Meanwhile, I’ll do a text link.
Did you use a pyrex bowl? and what size is the bowl you used?
I am having a hard time figuring that out.
Thank you,
Christine
My bowl was Pyrex, but you just need an oven safe bowl. The size I used was 7 1/4 inches in diameter measuring from the inside edges. I’m sure you can do other sizes though. I just did a placemat in a jelly roll pan http://www.meaningfulmama.com/2012/08/day-227-perler-bead-placemats.html, so I imagine there are a few options of things to do with these beads. I hope that helps!
it does! we are making them right now…
what kind of bowl? glass?
Yup – it’s an oven safe, glass bowl.
Great post! I quoted your blog in my post.
http://minimatisse.blogspot.com/2012/09/melting-beads.html
Thank you for linking back. Now I totally have to try the cookie cutter idea.
We made these yesterday and they kinda look like a piece of modern art. My mom was convinced we can sell them (hooray for super supportive mamas!)Thanks again for this awesome idea:
I quoted you twice: http://jewishhomeschoolnyc.blogspot.com/2012/10/parshat-noach-rain-and-rainbow-projects.html and here http://jewishhomeschoolnyc.blogspot.com/2012/10/perler-bead-fun.html
Do you think it would it work with other plastic beads? I have a big container of ones I bought from the dollar store that I don’t know what to do with!
I’m pretty sure it would work.
I’m trying it now, while the kids are napping! If it works I will help them make a few for themselves and the grandparents for Christmas. Today we tried the salt dough ornaments and they look great! My son (almost 4) scribbled blue marker on the one that was supposed to be Santa, and I admit I colored my 22 month old daughter’s one for her!
Did the dollar store beads work??????
She sent me pictures. They did work. They took a lot longer to melt and the result seemed a tad different. The beads seemed more round to me I the end. Still cute, and it looked like her kids enjoyed it.
Hi! We made these for several Christmas presents this year. We did a Pyrex glass bowl, ramekins for small little bowls, and also the cookie cutter suggestion in the comments above. Today we also did them in the bottom of a 13×9 Pyrex pan for a small placemat (in lieu of your pan/rod tutorial) which turned out to be really cute. Next we are thinking of just lining the bottom of ramekins for “coasters”. Thanks for the fun idea!
How do you take the bowl out of the glass bowl? or do you leave it there?
If you use the non-stick cooking spray, it should just pop right out. Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
How long do you let the beads/bowl cool before popping out? And was there anything you did to encourage them to come out? My granddaughter is in such a rush.
I don’t remember how long it took to cool to the touch. I would set it outside if you are in a colder area. You could probably also put it in the refrigerator. It should just pop out when it’s cold enough.
Thank you. We just couldn’t wait so as soon as we could handle them I slipped a butter knife and out popped the bowls. We are very happy with this project!