Thursday, April 3, 2014

Artful Friday~ Original Perler Bead Designs ~ Batman Characters, Dinos, Sesame Street, Guitars & More


Welcome friends!
My kids have  been having tons of fun during "downtime" 
conjuring all things melted  ( ! ) 
with perler beads. I  never imagined that teen and preteen boys
could immerse themselves for quite so long and create
such unique and individual designs.
So, what's a blogger/mom to do with so very many bead creations
adorning her window sills,  beribboned onto lamp switches and
fun-tacked to walls?
Gather 'em all up for a blog post to share the fun, of course!

We started out with this perler bead kit, funfusion, which I  ordered
 right here on amazon, one dismal wintry day, 
as it became increasingly obvious to me 
 the supplies I have around in the craft closet were all either 
too juvenile for them at this point 
( I do have to clear it all out and streamline. And soon.)
or geared to complement or enhance unit studies.
We needed something "fun" and we needed to "do" art for art's sake.
They were happy to see the kit arrive, 
but after the kids made
one of the "suggested" designs, 
they were off and running, designing their own.
I'm happy to share them here for your artists and bead designers to 
copy, enjoy or be inspired to fashion their own~

Here's the first  group of  original designs:


Arranging the  car on the pegboard provided in the kit~~


Batman's enemy "Two-Face," and his bead arrangement~


 
...as well as the final design:



And here are close up shots of a few other little pretties so you can get an idea
how they're arranged:







And all you need are your beads,an iron and some wax paper.
We found out that you can use regular kitchen waxed paper when 
you finish off what's in the kit!

These two designs, Batman and "Blackie,"
 an electric guitar that my youngest son one day hopes to own,
but  created  first with beads ( ! ) 
are his favorite and, I think, his most unique.
Here's the arrangement and coloration of beads, as well ans the final products:








Here are some more Batman-themed creations~~
The Riddler:


Robin:

The Joker:


And here's The Batmobile, of course~~


For littles, into Sesame Street.....

Cookie Monster:

...and Elmo:

Pretty neat, huh?
I'll pop back in with new designs, once the kids create more.
Hope you enjoyed!
Love to see your kids' artistic pursuits!
I'll bet they're amazing!

For my previous "Artful Friday" posts, 
you might like to click below.....
They're all here if you'd like to dust off something from the archives:

 ( knitting, winter crafts, the theater and piano)



And, my son's popular  guest posts on crafting rocket balloons,
 both of which include instructional videos:
I hope you get a chance to click over and enjoy one of his posts!



Friends, as always,  
thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time here at my home on the web!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.

Until next time,

~Chris

17 comments:

  1. So fun! I remember making these when I was a kid!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are tons of fun, Kellie!! I know, isn't it a treat to create this type of thing again with them as a Mom??

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  2. Oooh, I loved these when I was little. Totally forgot about them. I bet my kids would love to create with these beads! Thanks for the reminder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Pam! I know, these simple activities can be so much fun, right?
      I appreciate your visit, Pam...have a great day!

      Delete
  3. Those are great!! I have fond memories of doing these as a kid. If I could trust my boys to not leave pieces around...I'd do it with my crew. -Gina

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  4. Aww these are so fun and very creative, love the Batman and the guitar :)

    Thanks for sharing at Creative Mondays...

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    Replies
    1. Thank YOU, Claire, for stopping over and the kind words!

      Have a great week, friend!!

      Delete
  5. these are great! sharing this post with my boys, who drive their sister crazy with creating not-so-pretty melty bead creations. It's one of our favorite summertime activities when we prefer playing in the air conditioning rather than playing outdoors in the high humidity and heat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, isn't it great to have some indoor-AC fun too?! Love that!
      I'm so happy you might be able to make use of an idea or two here!
      Please share,Linda, if you do make some perler bead creations! Love to see them!!

      Thank you for stopping by!


      Delete
  6. Kids did a great job on their creations. There are so many possibilities to do with them. I found a bunch of patterns on pinterest that interest my daughter but we haven't tried them yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They ARE tons of fun, aren't they Stacie? :)

      Scrolling thru pinterest is a great idea....though, my little guy prefers to design his own art, whatever "medium" we're using!

      Thank you for stopping in, Stacie!

      Delete
  7. My kids went through a HUGE perler bead phase! Have you sent in pictures to be featured on their website? We got some freebies that way a few years ago. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shecki
      Thanks for the tip on heading to your kids' site! Will do.

      I appreciate the visiT!

      Delete
  8. What a fun craft, so happy to see that smile on his face! Thanks so much for joining the Table It Link Party, and wishing you a great week.

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    Replies
    1. Thank YOU Christine for stopping by!

      xoxox God bless!

      Delete
  9. This looks like fun! My niece just made a bunch of these! Thanks for sharing at Table It!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lori!! Loving your link up----I appreicate your visit!

      Delete

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