Looking for a sweet and easy DIY to do with your little one for Valentine’s Day? How about making these cute Valentine Perler Bead bracelets?
It’s not only simple to make, but it’s truly easy enough that you could make enough for your child’s whole class if you are a little ambitious. Plus, if you or your child love Perler Beads like I do, you might already have most of the supplies on hand.
So, let’s get started and make this darling Valentine’s Perler Bead bracelet.
Supplies Needed for Valentine Perler Bead bracelets
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- Red, white, and pink Perler Beads
- Parchment paper or Perler Bead ironing paper
- Letter cube beads
- Stretch Magic Jewelry cord
- Super Glue
Now I said that you needed red, white and pink Perler Beads, but honestly, that’s not quite true. I used those colors because I thought they have a Valentine’s Day feel, but you can get creative and use any colors that you want. Oh, and really, you also don’t need to add the words. Again, I was really going to for that Valentine’s Day vibe. I guess what I’m saying is, take this project and make it the way you want to make it.
Melting the Perler Beads
You may have noticed by looking at the picture that some of the beads don’t exactly look like Perler Beads. Well they are, they are actually Perler Beads that I melted in the oven before I made the project. I’ve actually seen this technique on Pinterest, and I’ve known for awhile that this was something I wanted to try.
The pictures I’ve seen had necklaces made with all melted Perler Beads, but I wanted to add some normal Perler Beads to give the bracelet a more complex look.
To melt the Perler Beads start by preheating your oven to 400. Then put some parchment paper of ironing paper onto a cookie sheet. You’ll need to put the beads you are going to melt standing up on to the paper. I used 13 melted beads on my bracelet. So do at least that many.
I won’t lie. The first time I tried this I failed at an epic level. I stood them up on aluminum foil and put them in the oven for 3 minutes. I honestly felt they were nowhere near flat enough, so I left them in for another 2 minutes.
When I came back 2 minutes later the holes were completely closed. They actually would have made cute little stud earrings IF I could have gotten them off the foil. It was a disaster.
So, I tried again. With Perler Bead ironing paper (I couldn’t find the parchment paper). I put them in for 2 minutes. Decided they needed one more minute and then they were perfect.
Moral of the story. 3 minutes in the oven and don’t try to substitute aluminum foil.
Don’t the melted Perler Beads look perfect? This color is the glow in the dark pink, if you are wondering.
Once you pull them out of the oven (in 2 or 3 minutes) let them cool off before using them.
Making your Perler Bead Valentine Bracelets
You’re now ready to make your bracelet. Cut a length of your Stretch Magic Jewelry Cord that is at least 4 inches than the bracelet you want to make. You can measure the wrist of the person who is going to wear it to get a basic idea of how big it needs to be.
Next you need to figure out what you want your bracelet to say. I chose to use the word love because it seemed like a great one for Valentine’s day. Other simple ones you could use are: XOXO, kiss, smile, or sweet. You could also use a name to really personalize it.
String the letter beads onto the jewelry cord first so that they will be the farthest away from the knot you are going to tie to connect the ends. Once the letters are on, you can start adding normal and your melted Perler Beads.
You’re going to want to have a pattern. You can see how I did mine in the image below, but how you choose to make yours is up to you.
Put enough bead onto the jewelry cord until there are 2 inches of cord hanging out on each side. The back of your Stretch Magic has images on how to tie the knot. Listen, I couldn’t figure it out. So, what I did was just make whatever knot I wanted and then put a dab of super glue on it so it would hold. I’m pretty sure the package says to use super glue to hold it, so really the type of knot really does not matter.
Voila! You now have an amazing Valentine Perler Bead bracelet.
Before you go, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter below. You can get some awesome Perler Bead info delivered straight to your inbox. Happy beading. Oh, Oh, if you love this project, you might also like these Minecraft Perler Bead Valentines.