Last week my daughter and I were having some special girl time and we made some Shrinky Dinks…the princess pack. It was a lot of fun to see her face when her creations came out of the oven a fraction of the size that they once were. So I got to thinking “hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I put some of those plastic craft beads in the oven.” I tested it out and after a few tries I finally figured out the correct temperature to melt the beads…and they were SO pretty!
For about $5 you can get one of those big buckets of beads at your local craft store (many of you likely already have some in your home).
-Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F
Lay out the beads in the shape you wish them to be. Make sure that they are really close together so that when they melt they stick together.
Set them on some parchment paper and then pop them in the oven for around 10-12 minutes. When they come out they will be melted and stuck together.
I even tried it with those glassy/glittery beads. And it worked great! These took about 12-15 minutes to melt appropriately.
Once your designs are cooled (it only takes about 5 minutes) decide what you want to make with them.
I used a little super glue and attached them to some pretty bobby pins for a fun, springy hair clip. My daughter loved them….but I will admit I will likely borrow them from time to time.
If you have a book worm in the house super glue a few onto the top of a paperclip to use as a page marker for their books.
You can also attach them to the top of a thumb tack and use them for your cork boards. What a fun way to bring a little smile to peoples faces and personalize them! Hope you enjoy this craft/activity with your girls. I’d love to see what other fun shapes you make with these!
