August 22, 2011

Experimenting Again: As Seen On Pinterest...Bead Bowl

Here is the pinterest pin link!

I saw a very cool melted bead bowl on Pinterest & wanted to try it myself.  The blog it came from was in a different language...and even with Google Translator...I felt I was missing some information.

I first rubbed the inside of my dish with veggie oil & heated my toaster oven to 200 degrees(this is info I got from the google translator).  I grabbed a couple handfuls of beads from my craft supplies and spread them out in the bowl. I "baked" the beads for 10 minutes, but could tell hey had not really melted.  I was concerned that the beads were too thick/hard, and may not be the type of beads used on the post I had seen.

After pulling the bowl out after 20 minutes in the toaster oven, I realized I probably was right.  The beads were not the kind used in the images I had seen on Pinterest.  Oh well...I was experimenting...so failure is fine. You learn from your mistakes and try again!
This time I went through my beads and found ones that looked like what I had seen.  These were thinner & seemed to be softer.  I had ones that had painted stripes & ones that were solid.  I placed the striped ones in the bottom and a majority of the solid ones on the sides (no reason..just how I did it?!?).  Back into the toaster oven at 300 (I upped the temp a bit).  I quickly realized the beads on the side were melting, but the beads on the bottom seemed to not be?!?!  I left them in for about 15 minutes, and here are the results.


The bowl worked this time!  However, I do not see this being a lesson I could really use with my classes during a regular school year.  It may be a project I file away for an art camp.

12 comments:

  1. I tried this one too, but I figured out what the beads are - they are called "perler beads" and I bought a cheap version in the dollar store. I recognized the beads because my son loved them when he was young. You made a design with them on a little pegboard, and then put a release paper on top, and ironed over it to melt them together. As a parent it was always a pain ironing these things, and we had them hanging in the windows everywhere for a while.

    Anyhow, like I said, I tried it myself and it took a while to melt in the oven but came out pretty cool, but I agree, this is not a project for school. First, it takes a LOT of beads, and an oven, and just is not practical.

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  2. So cool! How did you get the beads to stay on the sides and not slide down to the center? Was it just a shallow bowl... or did the veggie oil help it stick? Also... did you just use a glass bowl?

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  3. COOL! I wonder if this would work with other plastic-y things? Drinking straws?? Keep experimenting :)

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    1. Try plastic crow beads. 400 degree oven. One layer of beads. Use cake pan or muffin tin or whatever you like. Bake for approx. 20 minutes. Cool thoroughly ~ approx. 30 minutes. Drill hole in top. Hang using fishing line. Very cool suncatcher! Now, let your imagination go wild! Enjoy!

      Check out Pinterest ~ Plastic bead crafts, suncatchers

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  4. @ Phyl...OH!!! Is that what they were?!?! I know what you are talking about...never used them..but know what they are.
    @ Hannah...the veggie oil helped to stick them in place(kind of). I used a small Pyrex bowl, but I think you can use regular ceramic bowls because the temp isn't high(not sure though...haven't tried any other).

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  5. There are a lot of melted bowls on craftster, I really like the army guy ones http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=187014.0
    Have you make record bowls? they are pretty quick and easy, they might work better in the classroom.

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  6. But such a cool idea...see now I am thinking as a project for my 4 kids to do for gifts not as a classroom project!

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  7. Yes, these are cool, and unique! But just be careful when melting plastic in the classroom. Some of the plastics give off noxious, chemical fumes that students shouldn't be inhaling. This project might be a good one to do in a small group of teachers for a workshop or department meeting.
    Cynthia S.

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  8. Well, they may not be practical (or safe in the classroom) but they are very COOL!! Good job Mr. E! I love that you didn't give up until something melted! Ha!

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  9. thats awesome!! I want to make one just for me!! :) Thanks for sharing

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  10. Wow, so cool! I didn't know they made beads for melting…what a fun craft to try.
    http://www.ibebloggen.com/

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  11. Oh gee. Now I have to make one for me...lol Cool idea.

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