Cool 3d Perler Bead Designs

-Supplies used in this project provided by Oriental Trading Company. This post may contain affiliate links.-

In an attempt to keep the screen time to a minimum in our house these last few weeks with everyone home I thought it would be fun to set up a little kids activity station in our living room. Most of my kids really like doing little arts and crafts, but I don't really love them getting into my craft supplies. I thought maybe setting up an area with stuff that they could just use, no need to ask would help keep them busy and creative.

So I ordered a bunch of little craft kits and supplies from Oriental Trading, gathered up a few other supplies we already had, found some extra baskets around the house, and set up a little area for the kids to make stuff.

When I was choosing supplies to order perler bead kits (or fuse beads) were at the top of my list. One of my boys, who usually has no interest in crafty stuff, mentioned a few weeks ago how much he loved making bead art. At a summer camp he has attended the last couple of years they have had big buckets of perler beads that the kids can use to make stuff and it is one of his favorite activities there. It is so hard to find things like that that interest him that I knew I had to get some.

My kids have spent so much time making things since we set up our kid craft area and the perler beads have definitely been a huge hit. They like making things from the patterns that come with the kits, just filling the shapes with colors and patterns, and creating their own designs.

I thought it would be fun to share a few summery designs that you can make. I designed all of them on a square board with 14 pegs across.

How to Make Summer Perler Bead Designs

You will need:

A bucket of perler beads or fuse beads (The one I got is out of stock but this one on Amazon is similar)
square fuse bead board
Iron (I love using my EasyPress Mini, it is the perfect size)
parchment paper or ironing paper (usually a small piece comes in the kits)
optional: magnets

Instructions:

Put the beads on the peg board following the colors on the graph.

Cover the design with the paper and iron at medium heat for 10-15 seconds or until the beads start to fuse together.

Take it off the peg board and paper, flip over and repeat on the other side.

If you want you can add magnets to the back to turn them into a fun set of summery magnets.