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Perler Bead Earrings: A 10 Minute Craft!

You know life is busy when you have to schedule phone dates.  But that’s what it has come down to for me.  And I might venture to guess I’m not the only one battling the busyness bug?  Maybe you have little munchkins running around your ankles or maybe you work long hours with barely a moment to catch your breath?  Maybe you have an unending to do list, too?

I don’t know about you, but when I don’t have much margin in my life, I tend to relegate my creative endeavors to the back-burner…when in reality, the thing I probably need most is to get lost in a good craft project.  Nothing relieves my stress more!  Are we wired similarly, dear reader?

Well, I have news for you, friends: crafting doesn’t need to take all day.  In fact, I have a fun project to share with you all that only takes 10 minutes.  Did you hear that?  10 minutes!  (No lie.)  And for you busy bees, it might be the best 10 minutes you spend all day.  You can even invite the kids to join in on the fun.

Here it is:

Perler Bead Earrings: A 10 Minute Craft by The Thinking Closet

Do you remember Perler beads?  From craft time in Sunday School?  Summer camp?  With your gum-chewing babysitter?  This craft is a total throwback to the 80s, and why not?  The 80s are baaaack!  (Or maybe they never left.)  Here’s the scoop on how to make these cutesy earrings in 10 minutes flat.

Perler Bead Earring Tutorial:

SUPPLIES: $6 total.

  • $1.00: Perler bead set with pegboard, parchment paper, beads.  Purchased at Dollar Tree
  • $3.99 $2.40 (with 40% off coupon) Darice Silver-Plated Jump Rings from Jo-Ann’s
  • $3.99 $2.40 (with 40% off coupon) Darice Silver-Plated Ear Wire from Jo-Ann’s
  • Needle-nose pliers
  • Iron & ironing board

$6 worth of supplies for Perler Bead Earrings

Step 1.  Arrange the beads on your pegboard in a design that suits the eye!  I was able to fit both of my earrings on the pegboard at the same time, which helped ensure I had enough beads to cover the set.

Perler Bead Earrings...step 1!

Step 2.  Iron time!  Lay down the piece of parchment atop your design, then with a hot dry iron, gently iron the beads.  Because the parchment is semi-transparent, you can tell when the beads have fused together.  It really only takes around 10 seconds with a circular motion of the iron.  You want to make sure that you can still see the holes in the beads, so don’t go too crazy with fusing!  If the parchment sticks to your design, allow it to cool a bit, then peel it away.

Ironing the perler beads to fuse them together....

When you peel away the parchment, one side will look a bit melty, but the other side is pretty much unscathed.  It’s up to you if you want to flip it over and repeat the ironing process on the back to make it more durable; I chose to leave it since I found the fused beads secure enough for ear-dangling.

Fused perler beads after ironing....

Step 3.  Use your pliers to attach your jewelry findings.  First, attach a jump-ring through an opening at the top center of your bead design.  If you stop here and add the hook, the earring will hang parallel to your neck instead of perpendicular to it.  I prefer the look of the earrings a bit better when they’re perpendicular, so I added a second jump-ring to the first, and then the ear wire.

Adding the jewelry findings to the perler bead design.

Annnnnnd in three easy steps and no more than 10 minutes, you’re done!

Perler Bead Earrings Finished in 10 Minutes Flat!

This project was so speedy, I even knocked out a few more sets of earrings with the rest of my Perler beads.

Perler Bead Earrings...a quick and easy craft you can knock out in 10 minutes time!

Oh yes.  The 80s are most definitely back, and I dare say, they’re here to stay.

Perler Bead Earrings: A 10 Minute Craft that is fun for all ages.  Via The Thinking Closet.

If I had this much fun making them as a 30-year-old, imagine how much fun they’d be as a craft activity at a girls’ birthday party or slumber party.  Someone send me an invitation!

Dollar Store Run:

I hope you all are feeling a Dollar Store run coming on to pick up some Perler beads of your own.  And while you’re there, you may want to nab some plastic toy animals to make Gold Animal Place-Card Holders.  And some nail polish and bobby pins, so you can make some Color-Blocked Bobby Pins, too!

These quick n’ dirty crafts will help keep us afloat when the waves of busyness threaten to knock us down.  It’s amazing what a 10 minute craft can do for the soul.  Don’t you agree?

Dollar Store Crafts by The Thinking Closet
Color Blocked Bobby Pins | Animal Place-Card Holders

Have a terrific Tuesday, dear reader!

P.S. I originally shared this post on Darling Doodles.  Thanks, Brie, for having me!

P.P.S.  Sometimes I party here.

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28 Comments

    1. Yes, short and minimal clean-up is what I need to strive for! (All too often, my projects are long and messy, though…maybe I need more Perler Beads in my life!) 🙂

  1. I love these colorful and fun quick craft ideas! Perler earrings really take me back to those days of ironing beads!

    You’ll be interested to know (maybe?) that I found colorful nail polish for 1.99 at CVS last weekend and bought me some bold colors to make the color-blocked bobby pins! Can’t wait to give that craft a try! xxoo

    1. Yes, I am interested to know that about your nail polish finds! I’m thrilled that you’re actually going to try out those color blocked bobby pins. Be sure to take pics, so I can feature you in my next Reader Showcase! (With pride.)

    1. Okay, a big YES to this 30-something slumber party idea. And I will TOTALLY be in charge of the perler bead craft station. And can I convince you to come to Haven in Atlanta next July?! Then, we can make this slumber party dream a reality. (Also, I think I might die from joy in getting to hang out with you in real life.) Think about it….

        1. Whoo hoo! 2014, baby! Here’s to hoping I can be at that conference with ya, girl. (I’ll be dreaming a little bigger in hopes of it coming true.)

    1. That could be a fun project for you two to do together! And even though I’m well past my teenage years, I have to say, I enjoy wearing them myself! #childatheart

  2. So fun! They look adorable on you! We’re having a princess b-day party next week at home and Perler beads may just have to make a party appearance there! Thanks for the suggestion. I’m totally with you on the need to schedule creative time when life gets busy. I actually have a sewing date with a friend this week on the one day when all kids are at school for 4 hours. For 4 hours, forget housework, chores, and errands…the mamas will be sewing!

    And by the way, I’m so thankful that you do take time to schedule those phone dates 🙂

    1. A princess b-day party?! How utterly fun! You know if I lived closer, I’d be operating the perler bead crafting station with gladness (and probably with an outrageous princess crown atop my head, too, because when at princess parties….).

      So glad to hear you have a sewing date on the docket! May those 4 hours be lengthened and lived to the full, Jessica! Can’t wait to hear all about it during our next phone date {wink}.

    1. I love that perler beads are fun for little girls and big girls alike! They’re a timeless craft supply in my eyes. 😉 Thanks for stopping by and for the comment-love, KC!

  3. My daughter would love to make these! She’s been wanting to make earrings but we haven’t tried any yet. This would be perfect! Thank you for sharing!

    I found your post on the Inspiration Monday Party.

    1. Ha ha. There really is such a thing as a “craft fix.” Now, the key is that I need to find MORE projects like these, that only take 10 minutes instead of 10 hours (I’m a slowpoke). 😉

    1. It’s true, Sharon! When you can say, “Look what I created in such a short time!” it just gives you a sense of accomplishment. It’s so much easier to tackle to less fun to dos after a stress-busting craft like that!

  4. Yes, I’m the same…crafty/sewing falls to the wayside when I’m busy but I should probably make time for it as it’s definitely a stress reliever! Maybe next week.;)

    The earrings are cute! It would be a great craft project for kids to do too. Hmmm…maybe for MG’s birthday party/sleepover. It’s not until March but I’m squirreling away ideas!

    1. Yes, squirrel that idea away on a secret Pinterest board somewhere…. But I love that you’re already dreaming and scheming for her birthday sleepover! (March is the best month for birthday sleepovers–though I might be a bit biased.)

    1. Yes, such a throwback to the 80s! And it’s pretty fun to watch them melt together under the heat of an iron. I was pretty conservative during the melting process, but you can go even meltier for a neat effect. When the twins get a bit older, I bet they’d love to create some perler crafts with their Mama!

    1. That makes me so happy, Katherine! Yes, as someone who has made perler crafts as a little girl AND a big girl, I can say that there’s fun to be had for all ages! (I’m sure that your family craft parties are some of the best craft parties around. How could they NOT be when you’re coordinating them!?)

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