Perler Mini Beads

Do you remember your childhood like it was yesterday? What was in style, what was your favorite toy, did you play outside all summer long or were you glued to the TV? Back then I remember paper dolls, string friendship bracelets and Perler Beads. Remember those little things? Perler Beads are also known as Hama beads or Nabbi beads and are plastic fusible beads that are arranged on plastic pegboards to form designs. Perler has Mini Bead Kits that are perfect for school-aged kids.


My kindergartener comes home with new designs everyday from afterschool club and they're all pretty neat. The Mini Beads kit includes 8,000 beads which is insane. In order to come up with a great design you'll still have to purchase the pegboards, ironing paper, a pattern sheet, bead stands, Motionators, a Motionator Tool and snap-ins. 


There are different colored bead kits to choose from including cool colors like purple and blue, rainbow colors, and neutrals like brown and tan. Each color is divided by compartments in a convenient storage tray. These specific kits are recommended for age 12 and up, which is appropriate as the beads are small and adults have to help fuse the beads with an iron. The iron needs to stay level and you need to slowly move it in a circular motion for 30 seconds while pressing the beads gently. Something to keep in mind is to iron the outside beads on the edges first since they may topple over until they're fused together.


Many adults wonder what to do with these projects once they're finished, and there truly are plenty of options. You can attach them to a lunchbox or backpack, you can create a bookmark, you can turn it into a keychain, you can make an ornament and you can even attach it to a baseball hat; this is the part where you and the kids can get creative. When you're looking to have some fun with the kids, or simply need some quiet around the house then break out the Mini Beads from Perler.