Fuse Bead Fun – Easy Crafts

I boxed up all our “melty beads” last week. That’s what we called the fuse beads made by Hama or Perler beads. We have done so many projects over the years with these beads. We’ve made refrigerator magnets, items for mobiles, package tags, Christmas ornmanets, and much more. If you’ve never used these beads, you should give them a try. They come in all sorts of colors, even clear, sparkly and glow-in-the-dark. You place the beads flat on a form. Some of the forms are shaped like baby chicks, children, dogs, dolphins, or rainbows. Other forms are just large circles … Continue reading

Pencil Cups – Easy Craft Idea

Pencil cups is a very easy craft project to help ease into the coming school days. You will need empty metal containers and paper. We used empty circular tea tins, a can of nuts, and a can baking soda can. As for paper, it can be anything – construction paper, scrapbook paper, a design you’ve printed off your computer, a plain sheet of paper the children colored, or even gift wrap. I like the sturdiness of scrapbook paper, they don’t fade like construction paper, or rip easily, but the others do work. Make sure the paper will wrap around the … Continue reading

Bottle Cap Magnets

Our refrigerator is just about covered with bottle caps. The boys and I had great fun making these bottle cap magnets over the last few days. You will need: Metal bottle caps (from soda or beer, or buy plain ones from the craft store) Magnet sheets (the ones that have an adhesive on one side make this extra easy) Glaze (Mod-Podge or Diamond Glaze or what we used – Krylon Clear Glaze) Tacky Glue Pictures, Paper, or Drawings Cut out small circles from magazines, postcards, photos, or plain paper. If the kids want to they can make their own drawings … Continue reading

Beaded Bookmarks

My favorite kinds of projects are easy and affordable. If they don’t even involve a trip to the craft store, that’s even better. I also like open-ended projects. By that I mean projects that can be expanded on, projects that don’t have to be done an exact precise way to work. Beaded bookmarks are that kind of project. And what’s more, they are actually quite beautiful. You will need a length of ribbon, or string, or yarn. The ribbon or string should be thin enough so that kids can slide beads on. I like to use the cord sold for … Continue reading