Perler Bead Projects for Kids

Perler beads are a super fun craft item for kids to use. Also known (by me, anyway) as melty beads, these colorful pieces of plastic are assembled into different shapes on a grid, then melted together by ironing on top of them (with protective paper on top, of course!).

They’re a great craft for kids who are big enough not to put the beads in their mouths. They give a lot of great fine motor skill practice, help kids to learn how to follow a pattern (it’s almost like coding) and requires patience if the project is very big or detailed. It’s also a lot of fun to see the magic of the beads turning into a solid piece, and making fun 8-bit images of all sorts.

If you’re new to working with melty beads, check out this list of 17 easy Perler bead projects from Cool Kids Crafts. One of my favorites is the rainbow, which comes from Steamsational.

Instead of filling a peg board with beads, you can use a cookie cutter and layer the inside area with beads, then bake in the oven to make an ornament. Mama in the Now has the tutorial.

These melty bookmarks from What Do We Do All Day are both easy to make and useful for kids, as a teacher gift for the library center or for grandparents.

DIY Candy has a great collection of summer themed Perler bead patterns for all skill levels. The mermaids shown above are from this list.

Kandi Patterns and the Perler website are two great places to look for all sorts of Perler bead projects. Kandi Patterns has fuse bead projects as well as cuff beading, peyote stitch and more, but most of these can be used for Perler beads. They also have a pattern maker currently in development so you can make your own designs. The Perler website has lots of great detailed projects that are good for older kids and adults, including lots of three-dimensional project like the nutcracker shown above.

And if you don’t want to melt your melty beads, you can combine them with another classic kid craft material — rainbow loom bands — and make a fun bracelet. Check out the tutorial from Dabbles and Babbles.

If you really get into melty beads and want to add some technology into the mix, check out my review of the smART Pixelator melty bead device.

Fun Thanksgiving Perler Bead Patterns

Perler Bead Snowflake Patterns

Valentine’s Fun With Perler Beads

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Gifts Kids Can Make with Perler Beads

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]

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