Perler Beads

Perler Beads are a terrific craft for kids of all ages. My three kids ages 3, 7 and 10 make a lot of perler bead projects. That is one of the great features of this craft, it is something that all of my kids can enjoy doing together even though they are years apart in age. It is not always easy to find a craft suitable for all of them to work on together. That is just one of the many reasons why I love these beads.

My older daughters create more complicated projects from Perler bead pattern books or from templates that can be found online. And, many times they create their own unique designs. At the same time, my 3 year old son will make slightly less complicated projects, but there are awesome, too! I have many different Perler bead peg boards so he can make stars, hearts, animals, trucks, etc. Perler beads are very small and each bead is placed on a peg on the board. Therefore, it requires a great deal of fine motor skills. So, to see my 3 year old son do this, is truly amazing. I can't believe he even has the patience to sit there and complete a project, but he does. He also makes custom creations on his own. He has made a rainbow and a truck design all by himself. Perler bead crafts also help him with his color recognition and matching skills.

In a world full of televisions, computers, and video games, it is so wonderful to watch my kids do these crafts. They are using their imaginations, working on their fine motor skills and spending quality time together. It doesn't get any better than that!

My daughter's friend slept over the other day and she was so into making these, I could not get her to stop. The four of them were at the kitchen table all morning making projects. They barely stopped to have breakfast. Once perler beads projects are completed, they have to ironed so that the beads can fuse together. This requires an adult. So, basically I spent all morning ironing, but I didn't mind.

Perler beads are not just for kids either. There are many adults that create crafts with these beads. I have come across images on the Internet of some of these projects and they would blow your mind!

Besides creating a basic project, there are a lot of other things you can create with Perler Beads including keychains, spinning tops, springy headbands, switch plate covers, coasters, decorative candle rings, pins, lunch bag tags, fun soap bottles, picture frames, room signs, and tissue box covers. Perler beads also make wonderful Holiday projects. Your kids could create projects to hand out to their friends and family. You could also use Perler beads as a craft activity at your child's next birthday party. Simply purchase the boards that coordinate with the party theme and an assortment of beads.

Perler beads have won many awards over the years including Toy of the Year by Family Fun, Seal of Excellence, Creative Child Magazine, The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval and Dr. Toy's Best Classic Toy Winner.

Perler beads can be purchased individually by color or in assorted mixes. There are also Activity Kits available in different themes which include the beads and boards. I was first introduced to Perler beads years ago when my oldest daughter received a tub of them as a birthday gift. 8,500 beads to be exact! Since then I have purchased a few more tubs. Right now we are in the process of sorting the beads by color because that saves a lot of time when creating a project. You just need to purchase a plastic craft bead organizer and group the colors in the different compartments.

If you haven't tried Perler Beads yet, why not give them a try!

The photo galleries to the right include a selection of my kid's Perler Bead projects. You will find Holiday projects for Halloween and Easter as well as trucks, shoes, hearts, animals, guitars, fish, frogs, angels, stars, rainbows and much more.

Hope you enjoy viewing them!

Perler beads can be purchased in mixed lots and assorted tubs. You can use a plastic bead organizer to sort and store your beads. I found an organizer at my local craft store that worked perfectly. I find that it is best to take the time to organize your beads by color. However, since there are not enough comparents for every color bead, we separate them by color groups for now. I may purchase another craft organizer to break out the color groups, but one step at a time!

It makes it much easier to find the beads you need for a particular project. It does take some time to sort the beads. The photo you see to the right is of our Perler Beads. We are almost done organizing them!