Perler Bead Party Favors: Ideas and Designs
Save money and make your own little DIY goody bag and birthday party favors and small gifts from fused Perler and Hama beads. Perler bead party favors can also make great stocking stuffers and mini gifts too.
If you're an adult who enjoys fun and easy crafts, learn how to make your own set of DIY Perler bead party favors for birthdays and parties with fused beads. Let me give you ideas on how to make your own favors with ideas and small designs.
After spending a small fortune buying favors for my daughter's birthday party last year, this time round I looked to cut costs and make my own instead. My daughter and her friends who received them were delighted.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links for which I can be compensated.
Making your own items for goody bags to give to kids at the end of a celebration does take time but it can be incredibly cost-effective, particularly if you already have most of the items you need on hand.
Even if you don't already own fused beads such as Hama or Perler beads, big buckets of beads and pegboards can be inexpensive buys. They will last for many crafting sessions too.
If you've never attempted Perler or fused bead crafting before, it involves placing tiny colored beads over a pegboard in order to make a pattern. Patterns can be found online, sometimes with the kits you buy, and made by yourself.
It does not take long to get the hang of using these beads. The beads are small and are slightly harder for adults to pick up and place than kids which is why I prefer to use a good pair of curved craft tweezers. There are also some Perler bead tweezers which are plastic.
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
Because the fused beads are small for adult hands, I work so much faster with a pair of curved, craft tweezers. The precision curved tip can pick up small items like beads very easily and put them in the correct place on the pegboard. If I make a mistake then the tweezers can pick out the wrongly laid bead without disrupting the other beads on the board.
When a pattern is complete then you place some special Perler bead ironing paper over the top - this comes included with many kits and bead buckets that you buy.
An adult must then iron the pattern according to the manufacturer's instructions to melt the beads and fuse them together. Allow the pattern to cool, flip it off the board, lie the special ironing paper on top and iron the other side.
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
Several small designs and patterns can be made on a large pegboard which all get ironed at the same time. This is called batching. Batch mode is perfect for making your own DIY party favors.
I'll be recommending some birthday projects that I created specifically for my daughter's birthday party favors which can be made in bulk.
For making bulk batches of Perler bead items, you will want to stick to designs which allow you to create several on the same large square pegboard. The reason why is that, when it comes to ironing, you will save a lot of time ironing several pieces in one go rather than just one piece at a time.
So I have purposefully created designs which can be worked in multiple over a large square board. I advise you to get several large Perler bead boards for making patterns in batch so you don't need to get the iron out after using up a single board.
You need plenty of Perler beads and a good mix of colors. Having a large selection of colors means that you're less likely to run out of the specific shades that you want anytime soon. Look to get plenty of different shades of color as well as blacks and whites.
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
When deciding that you're going to make your own DIY gifts or party favors, do plan well in advance. You need to allow time to buy any items you need and decide what you're going to make. A list is handy and I recommend leaving plenty of time to make the items, allowing for any failures too.
Don't do what I did and leave a couple of days before the actual party or event to start making the Perler favors because this becomes quite stressful although I managed to get everything done luckily.
For Batching Small Patterns, Look for the Following:
Perler bead fruit slices
Perler bead little gift pattern
Perler bead flip flops pattern
Perler bead popsicle pattern
Perler bead cupcakes
Cherry Perler bead design
Above are tutorials for some of the patterns I used for my own daughter's birthday party. Many of them are on the birthday theme.
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
Once your Perler designs have been ironed you can do a number of things with them. Of course you can leave them as they are and they are merely decorative items.
You can embellish the completed designs further with:
In addition to embellishing the finished pieces, you can make them a little more functional too. For my daughter's party I turned mine into refrigerator magnets and keychains. Magnets are super easy to make and keychains only a little harder and ideal if you're already into making jewelry.
You can make jewelry items easily too and I show you how to with my Fused Bead Jewelry Making Page. How about making some earrings.
The easiest way to turn a fused bead design into a functional party favor is to make it into a refrigerator magnet. This is incredibly easy to do using magnetic sheets that you can cut to the size you need and adhere to the back of your finished pieces.
A bit harder to make are keychains but they look fab. You need some blank key ring or keychain findings which you can buy in bulk and a corresponding number of jump rings which are roughly 8-12mm in size.
➡️ Get Full Instructions on How to Make Keychains from Perler Bead Projects HERE
You need a pair of pliers to fix the keychain between the jump ring and the Perler project. Have fun making some great little party favors.
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If you're an adult who enjoys fun and easy crafts, learn how to make your own set of DIY Perler bead party favors for birthdays and parties with fused beads. Let me give you ideas on how to make your own favors with ideas and small designs.
After spending a small fortune buying favors for my daughter's birthday party last year, this time round I looked to cut costs and make my own instead. My daughter and her friends who received them were delighted.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links for which I can be compensated.
Perler Bead Party Favors: Ideas and Designs for Making Batches of Fused Bead Patterns
Making your own items for goody bags to give to kids at the end of a celebration does take time but it can be incredibly cost-effective, particularly if you already have most of the items you need on hand.
Even if you don't already own fused beads such as Hama or Perler beads, big buckets of beads and pegboards can be inexpensive buys. They will last for many crafting sessions too.
Step 1: Getting Started With Perler Beads
If you've never attempted Perler or fused bead crafting before, it involves placing tiny colored beads over a pegboard in order to make a pattern. Patterns can be found online, sometimes with the kits you buy, and made by yourself.
It does not take long to get the hang of using these beads. The beads are small and are slightly harder for adults to pick up and place than kids which is why I prefer to use a good pair of curved craft tweezers. There are also some Perler bead tweezers which are plastic.
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
Because the fused beads are small for adult hands, I work so much faster with a pair of curved, craft tweezers. The precision curved tip can pick up small items like beads very easily and put them in the correct place on the pegboard. If I make a mistake then the tweezers can pick out the wrongly laid bead without disrupting the other beads on the board.
When a pattern is complete then you place some special Perler bead ironing paper over the top - this comes included with many kits and bead buckets that you buy.
An adult must then iron the pattern according to the manufacturer's instructions to melt the beads and fuse them together. Allow the pattern to cool, flip it off the board, lie the special ironing paper on top and iron the other side.
Step 2: Batch Making Perler Bead Party Favors
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
Several small designs and patterns can be made on a large pegboard which all get ironed at the same time. This is called batching. Batch mode is perfect for making your own DIY party favors.
I'll be recommending some birthday projects that I created specifically for my daughter's birthday party favors which can be made in bulk.
For making bulk batches of Perler bead items, you will want to stick to designs which allow you to create several on the same large square pegboard. The reason why is that, when it comes to ironing, you will save a lot of time ironing several pieces in one go rather than just one piece at a time.
So I have purposefully created designs which can be worked in multiple over a large square board. I advise you to get several large Perler bead boards for making patterns in batch so you don't need to get the iron out after using up a single board.
You need plenty of Perler beads and a good mix of colors. Having a large selection of colors means that you're less likely to run out of the specific shades that you want anytime soon. Look to get plenty of different shades of color as well as blacks and whites.
Step 3: Make Small Perler Bead Projects for Party Favors
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
When deciding that you're going to make your own DIY gifts or party favors, do plan well in advance. You need to allow time to buy any items you need and decide what you're going to make. A list is handy and I recommend leaving plenty of time to make the items, allowing for any failures too.
Don't do what I did and leave a couple of days before the actual party or event to start making the Perler favors because this becomes quite stressful although I managed to get everything done luckily.
For Batching Small Patterns, Look for the Following:
- Easy and small Perler bead projects to make - so you can make plenty quickly for party favors
- Designs that can be made in a variety of colors - so you're not dependent on needing a specific bead shade
- Small patterns that can be placed onto a single large pegboard - so you can iron many in one go and save time
- Designs that will look cute when made into functional items like magnets, keychains and jewelry such as earrings
Some Small Pattern Tutorials Ideal for Party Favors
Perler bead fruit slices
Perler bead little gift pattern
Perler bead flip flops pattern
Perler bead popsicle pattern
Perler bead cupcakes
Cherry Perler bead design
Above are tutorials for some of the patterns I used for my own daughter's birthday party. Many of them are on the birthday theme.
Step 4: Turning Completed Designs into Party Favors
Image Credit: photo belongs to the author.
Once your Perler designs have been ironed you can do a number of things with them. Of course you can leave them as they are and they are merely decorative items.
You can embellish the completed designs further with:
- Flat-backed gems stuck on with a good fine tipped plastic adhesive or tiny glue dots
- Brads that have metal prongs which push through the holes and fold round at the back of the design
- Small ribbon bows stuck on with glue dots or a strong adhesive
- Charms that can be fixed to the design with jump rings or glued on
- Googly, wiggly eyes which are great when creating cute monsters!
In addition to embellishing the finished pieces, you can make them a little more functional too. For my daughter's party I turned mine into refrigerator magnets and keychains. Magnets are super easy to make and keychains only a little harder and ideal if you're already into making jewelry.
You can make jewelry items easily too and I show you how to with my Fused Bead Jewelry Making Page. How about making some earrings.
The easiest way to turn a fused bead design into a functional party favor is to make it into a refrigerator magnet. This is incredibly easy to do using magnetic sheets that you can cut to the size you need and adhere to the back of your finished pieces.
A bit harder to make are keychains but they look fab. You need some blank key ring or keychain findings which you can buy in bulk and a corresponding number of jump rings which are roughly 8-12mm in size.
➡️ Get Full Instructions on How to Make Keychains from Perler Bead Projects HERE
You need a pair of pliers to fix the keychain between the jump ring and the Perler project. Have fun making some great little party favors.
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How to Make Perler Bead Earrings
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CraftyMarie is a craft themed website by Marie Williams Johnstone. I love to craft in the winter and garden in the summer. I make handmade cards, papercrafts, crochet and seasonal crafts. I enjoy many of the more traditional crafts and hobbies including sewing, embroidery and working with felt and fabric. Thanks for leaving me a comment. Comments do not show up until I approve them. Marie