Perler Bead Projects for Kids

August 8, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

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

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Book Review: The No-Brainer Brain Explainer

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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