Perler Bead Earrings

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Our 6 year old daughter is really into arts and crafts. I can always guarantee the toys she is going to play with everyday are her Legos and her arts and crafts bin. If she has a spare moment she will pull out paper and pen and draw. So when she had a Daddy Daughter Date night they decided to pick out a craft project they could do together. She got really excited about ​Perler Beads, and so did her creative dad. 

They spent the night making cute scenes of unicorns and rainbows to decorate her new room with!
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Then the Perler Beads came out to be used everyday for the whole of the next week. Many MineCraft characters, more unicorns, Godzilla, and even a big Megaman made their appearance. But I was hitting a creative block of what to make to join in on the fun. That’s when my daughter said she was going to make her own bracelet. 

She designed a very cute simple square bracelet for herself and it reminded me of the fun earrings I used to wear in high school. My freshman year of high school those large chandelier earrings were in vogue and I loved to wear them.
(Side note: One of the reasons I loved them was the nostalgia they  provided from this picture book we had about getting pierced ears. Lots of fun earring designs in there!)

And so I decided to design and make little, funky, colorful earrings. It was so easy and fast. I made three pairs for myself and then used a jewelry making kit my cousin gave me to attach them to hook earrings.  Here is a kit I found on Amazon.  And here is a kit specifically for jewelry! ​
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To make the earrings I used a square base plate and whatever Perler Beads I liked to make cute designs on the plate. If you decide to do this, make sure the beads are adjacent to each other so they will melt together.

After you have the design you like, use a hot iron and a piece of parchment or wax paper over your beads. We found it worked best to Let it melt the beads for a few seconds before trying to move the iron around. Otherwise the beads would come loose and your design could be ruined.

Once the first side is done flip the base plate over and remove your designs. Put the melted side down on another piece of parchment. Replace the parchment over your design and melt the other side. When that’s finished, set something heavy over your earrings to keep them flat (if that’s the look you’re going for.

I accidentally melted the hole away in my peeler beads so I just heated up a needle and melted a new hole in the top bead. You could also attach post earring backs or clip on earring backs with glue or by melting the plastic and pushing the post into it, though I have not tried that method.

The earrings came out so cute and fun! My daughter decided to make me more and we’re going to get some clip-on backs to add to some of the earrings for her to wear.To make the earrings I used a square base plate and whatever Perler Beads I liked to make cute designs on the plate. If you decide to do this, make sure the beads are adjacent to each other so they will melt together.
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This would be a fun activity to do at a birthday party. I love the kind of party favors that will last more than a week and will be something the party goer can use over and over again. 

Or do it for a Girls Night with your friends! It would be an awesome Galentine’s Day Activity.

Or just on your own, the possibilities are endless!

We've found other sources of ideas for Perler Earrings, too! Check these out: 
​Maker Mama
The Thinking Closet

Here are some great Perler Kits to help you with designs:
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