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January 23, 2014 | 53 Comments

Melted Bead Craft – Valentine’s Day Wind Chimes

valentine's day craft

This is not a hands off kind of craft. My three year old did the first half with no help and I did the 2nd half of this melted bead craft all by myself. I have been wanting to try melting pony beads since I saw my friend Jean’s post on Artful Parent ages ago. My original idea was to make heart pendants for my daughter’s preschool class. That was a giant craft fail because of the way the beads melted. You could still try that but I didn’t want all these hearts to go to waste so we turned them into heart wind chimes for Valentine’s day.

Gather your materials. You will need plastic beads – we used red pony beads and clear tri-beads. A heart shaped silicone treat pan, ribbon or string, a hot glue gun, scissors, and a stick. melted bead wind chimes

Start by filling your pan with beads. My daughter filled some with all clear, some all red and some a mix.  melted bead wind chimes for valentines dayFilling the hearts was fun for her because she did it independently but she was also working on skills like visual perceptual and fine motor skills as she grabbed the beads and managed to fill but not overfill the cups. valentine's day melted bead craft

Once all the beads were in we were ready to melt, I followed Jean’s instructions for the melting the beads and popped the pan in the oven. She checked on it a few times.melted bead heart craft There were no fumes while melting but when I opened the oven door they were very strong. I was expecting this so I had my windows wide open and the fan on, still it was strong.  If you are sensitive to fumes you could try it on your grill or maybe try a different valentine’s craft. I don’t want anyone surprised by the fumes but do know that they were gone 20 minutes later when my son with the super nose came in and didn’t notice a thing.

When they cooled I popped them out of the pan and immediately noticed that the beads that were against the side melted in a sharp point. Not exactly kid safe for Valentine’s day favors for a bunch of three year old children. heart melted beads I had the hearts in my hand and noticed they made a cool clinking sound and decided that was it, these could make great wind chimes! I grabbed my glue gun, some ribbon and a stick from my garden. heart wind chimes melted beads

To make the chimes – glue the hearts on the ribbon. I tried to get them staggered on the different ribbons. I did 4 ribbons total with 3 or 4 hearts on them. heart wind chimes for valentine's day

Next I wrap the ribbon ends around the stick gluing it down with hot glue. heart windchimes melted beads craft

Finally tie on a final piece to each end of the stick to hang. heart craft melted beads

I love how they look and bring a little love to our front porch and my daughter loves checking on it when she can hear it clink in wind. heart windchimes for valentines day

Have you ever had a craft fail turn out in the end?

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Elementary, Age: Kindergarten, Heart, Preschool Crafts, Valentine's Day | 53 Comments

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53 Comments

  1. Amy says

    January 24, 2014 at 3:36 am

    I love this idea what a great valentine craft to do with the kids

    to Amy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amy'>reply to this comment
  2. Jan says

    January 24, 2014 at 7:58 am

    One of our PBS kids newsletters last year had melted pony bead bowls in it. We made them for grandparent gifts for Christmas. Super easy, super smelly, and super pointy! I know just what you mean by the sharp pointy edges. We love them but do handle them with care due to the edges and they turned out great as colorful gifts. We dealt with the fumes longer than 20min but our house doesn’t open up to air out very well and it was too frigid out anyway. 🙂 I love how you turned this around to make it work! Btw, my kids have made several of the pink and red collage hearts and have extended the idea to add embellishments. We now have several varieties of valentines to hand out and I’m not sure which they’ll choose for their classroom. Love your blog!

    to Jan" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jan'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      January 25, 2014 at 4:17 pm

      I really debated posting because of the fumes , they can’t be healthy. That was part of the reason I didn’t want to redo it and decided to make the best of the pointy hearts.

      Glad you like the blog – I hope you keep coming back and enjoying it!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
      • tammy says

        January 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

        If you have an old toaster oven, you can use that and bake them outside. Also you can place a metal but where you want to put a string through for hanging.

        to tammy" aria-label='reply to this comment to tammy'>reply to this comment
        • tammy says

          January 15, 2016 at 4:12 pm

          That should be metal nut! (As in nuts and bolts)

          to tammy" aria-label='reply to this comment to tammy'>reply to this comment
          • Darlene says

            January 18, 2016 at 9:24 am

            Using a nut would be good we made xmas ornaments with peppermint candy crushed in cookie cutters this year. But needed a good way to hang without using a drill to put holes in. Also this was made with neices and nephews ages 3 to 11 great time

        • CG says

          February 12, 2016 at 2:58 pm

          Great craft! I had my 4yr old help sand the sharp edges off (after a rough sand by mom to get the really pokey parts). She thought it was pretty cool. Love the bolt idea!!!

          to CG" aria-label='reply to this comment to CG'>reply to this comment
        • Karen says

          January 4, 2017 at 10:55 pm

          That is a terrific idea. Or you could drill a small hole after they have cooled. If using glue on the ribbons, I would use E6000 in the tube.
          It comes in clear, white and black. I tell you this because sometimes I am a grabber. Having said that the black worked so well on the sole of my husbands favorite shoes. I think he has forgotten to look for new ones.

          to Karen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Karen'>reply to this comment
  3. Sam says

    January 24, 2014 at 9:21 am

    You could try hammering down pointy beads before they totally harden.

    to Sam" aria-label='reply to this comment to Sam'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      January 25, 2014 at 4:15 pm

      I tried with a few but was too late for the others. Good solution though.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
    • Karen says

      January 4, 2017 at 11:02 pm

      that may work great and I like the sanding idea .as well. after doing either of these a little more baking time in the toaster oven outside might be just the ticket for a smoother shiny heart after the pounding and filling or sanding.
      I am really enjoying your block. Please pat yourself on the back You have an a wonderful blog. I love it!

      to Karen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Karen'>reply to this comment
  4. School Time Snippets says

    January 26, 2014 at 6:54 am

    I hadn’t thought of just dumping the beads into the mold!! We *very* meticulously arranged ours when we made one last summer! Oyi!! That was a job in itself!! Love how yours turned out! My son has been wanting to make one again ever since… I just haven’t wanted to deal with the smell again!

    to School Time Snippets" aria-label='reply to this comment to School Time Snippets'>reply to this comment
  5. jaine (jane) says

    January 27, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Im going to make mine with melted wax and just before they set I will add the string, it will also smell beautiful

    to jaine (jane)" aria-label='reply to this comment to jaine (jane)'>reply to this comment
    • Rita O'Gorman says

      January 8, 2017 at 8:46 am

      Love this idea. I do poly clay and the melting of plastic in an oven you use to cook with just isn’t safe. The chemicals you smell are sticking to the surface of you oven and may contaminate the food you back afterwards.

      to Rita O'Gorman" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rita O'Gorman'>reply to this comment
  6. Dawno says

    February 2, 2014 at 10:06 am

    Is it possible to melt the beads, allow them to cool, flip them over in the pan and melt again to try and get rid of the pointy parts? Has anyone tried this?

    to Dawno" aria-label='reply to this comment to Dawno'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      February 3, 2014 at 1:38 am

      I bet it would although the clear beads may get golden if you bake them too long.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  7. Vania says

    February 2, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    Love these. Made them with my kids today and they just wanted to keep making more. I put them outside on the grill, only took about 10 minutes!

    to Vania" aria-label='reply to this comment to Vania'>reply to this comment
  8. Nayeli says

    February 7, 2014 at 8:34 pm

    This is such a cute idea! I used to be in school for occupational therapy and for our therapeutic media we did crafts like this. For one of the presentations, one group melted beads like these using an iron. We would put the beads in an already heart shaped mold. Its plastic and you just place the beads in each spot. I forgot what they are called but they sell the packs at the dollar store or walmart. Once the beads were placed in the mold we put a paper that came with the package and put the iron on top to melt the beads. But if someone does this the way you did it maybe try keeping an eye on them when they are cooling and if you see spikes push them down with a toothpick before it hardens?

    to Nayeli" aria-label='reply to this comment to Nayeli'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      February 9, 2014 at 2:43 pm

      Those are perler beads and I love them!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  9. Shari Kalous says

    February 8, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    Might I suggest lightly spraying the pan with pam? Just a very light coat shouldnt effect the beads melting. However, I am going to try this but have to get a mold first! Ive seent his done with metal cookie cutters as well and they used either spray oil or flour to keep them from sticking. Been a long time and cant find it now so I know it was one or the other. Keep trying and If I find a solution I will let you know!

    to Shari Kalous" aria-label='reply to this comment to Shari Kalous'>reply to this comment
  10. Gabrielle says

    January 27, 2015 at 7:59 am

    This is a wonderful craft that I would love to do with my son and the kids I babysit. I am wondering where I can get a heart silicone mold tray?!

    to Gabrielle" aria-label='reply to this comment to Gabrielle'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      January 27, 2015 at 11:51 am

      Walmart has these exact ones again this year!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  11. Simpson Strong Tie Restraint Strap says

    July 13, 2015 at 6:25 pm

    Hi friends, its wonderful paragraph concerning tutforingand completely explained, keep it up all the time.

    to Simpson Strong Tie Restraint Strap" aria-label='reply to this comment to Simpson Strong Tie Restraint Strap'>reply to this comment
  12. Peggy says

    November 16, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    I have been mellting pony beads in a toaster oven which is in the garage. Is there a way to get the smell out so I can use it again?

    to Peggy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Peggy'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      November 17, 2015 at 4:26 pm

      The smell was only temporary for me but I used a large oven, I wonder if toasting some old bread a few times would absorb the smell a little, I am totally just brainstorming this, it’s not based on any facts or experience.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  13. Monica says

    January 21, 2016 at 4:03 am

    Melted beads give off poisonous gas linked to cancer. Do you think this cute project is worth the health hazard you are exposing yourself and students or kids to?

    http://www.carahealth.com/health-conditions-a-to-z/reproductive-system/breast-cancer/228-the-danger-of-burning-plastic.html

    to Monica" aria-label='reply to this comment to Monica'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      January 27, 2016 at 1:12 am

      Thanks for sharing this with us, I will look into this more.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  14. Carrie says

    January 26, 2016 at 8:34 pm

    I used cooking spray and it burned. I’m going to try again without.

    to Carrie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Carrie'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      January 27, 2016 at 1:07 am

      no way – I have never heard that! I’m so sorry, I would lower our temp too. I hope your next try works.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  15. Karen Fellers says

    January 8, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    I was talking with a friend who is a girl scout leader and she asked me if I thought the mold could be reused for anything else after the hearts are made?

    to Karen Fellers" aria-label='reply to this comment to Karen Fellers'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      January 27, 2017 at 8:01 am

      Not for food – for crafts yes!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment

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