Perler Bead Projects

   If you've been following my blog for a while, you know we enjoy doing Perler Bead projects as a family. We've made both Settlers of Catan and Hive out of them.

   Recently I decided I wanted to try using a cross stitch pattern as a Perler Bead pattern. I got on my trusty Pinterest and did a little search. I settled on a cross stitch pattern of the main Supernatural characters.

   If you've never used Perler Beads, they are these little beads you put on a peg board. They come in all sorts of colors. The peg boards come in many different shapes.

   Lay out your design on the board. You can use a pattern or your own imagination. I followed the cross stitch pattern but also mixed it up a bit. I guess it was mostly a guideline. Just make sure you leave a row of beads all the way around your project or else it will melt together. This includes diagonally.

   If you buy a kit, it comes with some type of paper you lay over it and then use an iron and melt them together. Be careful during this part. After you are done ironing, the beads will still be hot.

   You can carefully peel the beads off and lay it on a table or counter and do the same thing to the other side. Make sure you melt them as evenly as you can. If you miss a spot, they will fall apart. If you want to keep them flat, put them under a book or something while it cools. Otherwise it will curve a little.

   Once it's cooled, you can do whatever you'd like with them. You can string them up and put them on your Christmas tree. Give them to an older child to play with or put them on display. I have a nerd shelf that I have mine displayed on.

   If you want to try something a bit harder, I also found this pattern to make a TARDIS out of these beads. It was quite a project, but I couldn't help myself. It's a lot taller than I thought it would be. I changed a couple of things. I used yarn for the black part instead of embroidery thread. I also glued it together on the inside, she sewed it together. The top does come off, so you can keep stuff inside. I'm rather pleased with it!