Make Your Own Amazing Perler Bead Bowl
These bright and cheerful melted Perler bead bowls are so easy a three-year-old can make them! Actually, our three-year-old DID make these. Tomorrow our six and eight-year-olds want to make some too because they felt like they missed out on ALL the fun!
These bowls are surprisingly durable and make awesome Christmas, birthday, or Mother’s Day presents and teacher appreciation gifts. In short: the perfect handmade gift! We use these bowls throughout the house, one is the home of my car keys when I walk in the door. Another is where I put my jewelry at the end of the day. My husband leaves loose change in one, so ours are put to good use.
(This post was originally published in May 2015. It was updated and republished in November 2020.)
I like to keep things simple when I do crafts, and this Perler bead bowl is no exception. Actually, it’s the poster child for easy and quick!
Perler Bead Bowl Supplies:
- Oven-safe bowl. The bottom of the bowl must be the perfect mix between not too flat and not too round.
- Olive oil or cooking spray. I used olive oil.
- Oven. Do NOT use the microwave oven.
- Perler Beads
.
- I prefer the brand “Perler
” to “Hama” beads. I find that the Perler beads melt into a smoother and shinier finish.
- I loved the way our Biggie beads
bowl turned out and it is incredibly sturdy.
- The regular size Perler beads
are easy and fun too and there is a bigger color selection.
- I prefer the brand “Perler
If your kids love getting crafty with Perler beads, don’t miss these other posts full of inspiration:
- Toddler-Approved Perler Bead Ornaments,
- 500 Minecraft & Pokemon Perler Bead Instructions
- The Best 17 Perler Bead Ideas for Creative Kids
How-to Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Wipe olive oil (or cooking spray) along the inside of the bowl.
- Place beads in the bowl.
- Be sure to cover the bottom and then go up along the sides as far as you wish.
- I love the look of a very shallow bowl, but you can easily make it a deeper bowl by adding more beads.
- When we used the Biggie beads (the larger size) I made sure they all stood up. But with the regular Perler beads, I just let them lay however they fell, which is also a cool look.
- Spread the beads out so they are in a single layer, not on top of each other, but close enough that there aren’t any big holes. The beads should be touching each other as much as possible.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-15 minutes. The regular size beads melt quicker than the larger ones – no surprise there.
- Watch the beads closely. The bowl is done once all the beads in the bowl have started to melt and attach to each other.
- Remove from the oven. Let it cool for a few minutes and then place the entire bowl into a larger bowl full of water.
- Gently pop the bead bowl out. It should come out with light prying and poking.
- Allow the bowl to cool completely.
- Wash the finished bowl in warm water and soap to remove the oil.
- Voila! You are done!
I love that the kids so easily can create something useful for around the house. Jansen (3) is THRILLED when he sees that we are using the bowls he designed and made.
Where would you use a colorful melted bead bowl?
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
This is great and fun!
How cute is this? My girls would LOVE this – where do you purchase these? Amazon?
Yes – the links in the article are for Amazon. I got them all there. Michael’s craft store also sells them and their selection is getting better. But Amazon has the most of them! I think your girls would LOVE them – super easy and so durable!
Thank you! They are a perfect “childhood craft!”
That’s so cool! I used to make those all the time when I was little but mine were always flat. This is so creative!
So cool! I would use it on the dinner table for our salt and pepper shaker and napkins.
This is a neat idea! I used to make all kinds of things with Perler beads a few years ago, and I’d sell them locally to get extra money. it was also good to ease my anxiety. I think my kids would love this!
This would be such a fun craft for my son and me to do together.
why can’t you use a microwave?
HI, just tried this fun project using the beads on had, large jar from Ikea, Pyssla. They worked fine. Ones on top edge melted and look like lacey loops. 🙂