Bead Crafts - Plastic Bead Art

(This bead crafts project is suitable for ages 8 and up to make, but parents will want to help them with the final stage which involves an iron.)

crafts-for-kids free-crafts

Your child will love to use this project to decorate his or her room. It's always enjoyable for them to show off their own creations to family and friends, and this craft lets them use their imagination and turn their own designs into art.

This craft project uses a particular type of plastic bead that melts and binds to the beads around it when heated with an iron. The beads all then stick together to make fun and colorful pieces of art. You can even buy glow in the dark beads to add an extra bit of fun to this bead craft.

bead crafts free-crafts-for-kids

There are various brand names that sell the beads, and you can buy them at most stores that sell crafts. To do this bead craft, you will also need a special plastic pegboard and ironing paper to make your designs.

These are very inexpensive and can be bought anywhere you find the beads. Most stores sell these bead craft supplies together in kits.

To make this bead craft decoration:

Place the pegboard on a flat surface. Use the beads to make any design you want on the pegboard. Be sure each bead has at least two other beads touching it.
The more beads you have next to each other, the better they will stick together to make a sturdy piece of art. If you put two beads in a line, they may pull when the piece is cooled.
Once the design is complete, cover the bead design with the ironing paper. Use a household iron heated to medium, preferably non-steam, to iron the beads together. Circular motions work best to get an even heating.
Let the beads cool before handling the piece. Take the ironing paper off carefully because you are going to use the same piece of ironing paper for the next side. Remove the decoration from the board and turn it over.
Repeat the ironing on this side again using the ironing paper.
Once your bead craft decoration is again cooled, remove the ironing paper and your child will have a unique piece of art to hang in his or her room. For another variation, attach a peel and stick magnet to the back of the piece and stick it to any metal surface in your child's room.

There is no limit to the designs you can make with this bead craft. The plastic pegboard comes in squares, stars, circles, and other shapes. The beads come in a large variety of colors, and as mentioned before you can even get glow in the dark beads.

If you buy bead crafts kits, they will come with patterns to use, or let your child use their imagination to put together whatever pattern they choose.

I hope you enjoyed this bead crafts project.