Perler Bead Pipe Dreams Tutorial

Alright everyone, I finally had some time to sit down and write the tutorial for making these awesome Piranha Plants and Nippers!

Supplies Needed:

Perler beads
Small ceramic pots
Floral foam
Green spray paint
Elmer's glue

Step 1: Paint the Pots 

This step is pretty easy, just make sure that you paint the inside rim of the pots as well! I picked these little 4" ones up at Goodwill for 60c each, and they were the perfect size for this project.

Step 2: Make your Plants

Let me just start by saying that Perler beads are awesome! I haven't played with these since I was a kid, and a bucket of 1,100 beads was exactly what I was missing in my craft closet. Not only did I make these potted Mario plants, but we made a whole bunch of fun critters.

Now, for anyone who has never used Perler beads before, here is a quick step by step:

First, lay out the design on the Perler peg board (some bead kits include these, but I purchased mine separately because I wanted to have more than one).

I did not use patterns when designing my plants, but in case you want them I found a few basic outlines which would work: Piranha Plant and Nipper Plant. Another thing that would work as a pattern would be to take a close look at the finished pictures of my plants and just copy those patterns!


Once the patterns are completed on the peg boards, the next step is to iron them together.

Using wax paper to keep the beads from sticking to the iron, I ironed each one for 10-15 seconds until the top layer of beads was melted together. Once the beads were cool I popped them off of the peg boards and very lightly ironed the other side to make sure that the finished pieces were sturdy enough to stand on their own.

Step 3: Put the Pieces Together!

I picked up a little package of floral foam at the dollar store, and that is what I used for this project.

I cut each piece in half and then stuffed it into the bottom of the pot until it was flush with the sides.

I cut a little slit into the foam, which I then inserted the flower stems into. As a final way to secure the plants together, I poured a thick layer of Elmer's glue in the pot to hold the plants straight.

Once the glue was dry (days and days later) it was mostly clear and looks great!

Now, even though those were the main projects that we did with Perler beads, we did experiment with a few other ideas. We used the basic Perler bead techniques to make some other designs...

And then we tried a fun new technique that involved filling cookie cutters with Perler beads and sticking them in the oven until they melted! That turned out these incredible 3 dimensional stand alone animals, which I LOVE.

So there we have it, the results of my recent experiments with Perler beads. We had so much fun playing with these that I'm sure I'll end up finding new ways to melt them, so stay tuned!

And now, it's time to go paint a pantry and completely finish the laundry room that I posted a picture of last week.

Major Crafting Update

I have a lot to share today... I have had quite the busy week, completely full of  painting, building, and crafting! So even though the ultimate goal of posting is to share a tutorial for my Super Mario plants made from perler beads, I have a few other things that I just can't resist sharing pictures of. Stay tuned, though, because that tutorial will be coming soon!

Almost all of these projects are bits and pieces of the MAJOR REMODEL that is going on at the house right now. When I say MAJOR REMODEL, I mean that walls are coming down, rooms are being added, ceilings are moving, and everything is being repainted and redecorated. It is so major, that every time I talk about it I think it deserves to be in all caps. Most of the house is still torn apart and not ready to be photographed, but that won't stop me from sharing a few bits and pieces of the finished project! First off...

Isn't it amazing what a fresh coat of paint and some decals can do for a room? Laundry day doesn't seem as daunting with a bright and happy laundry room like this one! Painting the cabinets is what made the biggest difference in here, and we painted all of the doors to match. I think my favorite part is the blue handles on the cabinet doors, though.


Since this MAJOR REMODEL involves redecorating the entire house, that means that we also need some new art. So I went to work with a stack of canvases and a very large map, and came out with:

I love it! It looks great on the newly painted yellow wall and it really brightens up the room! This painting is big, all of the canvases combined add up to about 6' x 3', but it was totally worth the time and effort. Check it out over on my paintings page, along with photos of some of my other pieces!


So then, after days of painting, I decided I needed to get to work on a project that was a little bit more 'involved'. I invited a friend over to help me out, and we pulled out all of the power tools and a pile of wood and molding and we built an awesome mantel for the fireplace.

The mantel turned out so much better than I had imagined! It wasn't too difficult to construct, and a great chance to get some more experience with all of the exciting power tools. The mandolin hanging on the fireplace just adds to how great it is! Oh, and did I mention that we recently whitewashed the bricks in the fireplace? Because we did, and it made things so much better. That will all be a part of the post that I'll make when the MAJOR REMODEL is finished.


Finally, when I had finished all of the big projects, I needed some sort of a craft that was fun and easy and could be done while sitting around and watching TV. It was a good thing that I had just picked up a huge bucket of perler beads at Micheal's! Two friends and I created a whole menagerie of beaded critters, including the Potted Plant Creatures that I will write a tutorial for ASAP. But until then...

We used a few different techniques and all of our animals came out looking awesome! I'll talk about all of that in the tutorial, though.

And with that, I believe that this crafting update has come to a close. Stay tuned for the tutorial on how to make some of these perler bead critters!

Paint Chip Calendar

After a recent trip to Lowe's with my sister, we ended up with a stack of paint chips in every color imaginable. What could we do with these paint samples? Well, she inspired me to create a paint chip calendar!

This project was quick and easy, but also very cheap! My frame was under $10 and paint chips are free at the hardware store!


Supplies Needed:
Paint chips (at least 35)
Picture frame with glass (mine was 12"x16")
Dry erase markers
Scissors, glue, and tape

The first step of this project is the most difficult... That's when you have to decide what color pattern you want to put your paint chips in. I was torn between doing similar shades of the same color, alternating between two different color hues, and going for the whole color spectrum. After a bit of deliberation, I went with the color spectrum. There need to be 7 chips per row, and 5 per column (35 total).

 Once you have decided on your color pattern, it's time to start gluing them down! The frame that I had came with a piece of cardboard backing and I attached my paint chips directly to that. I used glue to secure each one to the backing, and then taped along the bottom of each row for some extra support.

It's important to make sure that as you're attaching the chips, you know how much of each chip you want to be visible. The chips that I used were 3 1/2" tall, but to make 5 rows of chips I could only use about 2 1/2" of each chip. Instead of cutting each chip down to size, I overlapped the first few rows and trimmed off the excess along the bottom.

Here it is once everything was glued and taped into place and before I trimmed the bottom row:

Next I trimmed the bottom and put everything back into the frame:

The only thing left from there was to add the dates with my dry erase markers and hang it on the wall!

 

And there you have it, a re-useable dry erase calendar made for nearly nothing! This is a fun and easy project which anyone can find a use for. I have seen a few different styles of this around the web, so if you have any other examples, share them! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the paint chips that I have left from this project...