by Shayne Rioux
With the last Harry Potter movie looming, make a fun keepsake for the Potter-phile in your life. These wall hangings of our three heros, Harry, Hermione, and Ron (as they appear in LEGO form), will look great in any fan's room. Made out of Perler (or fuse) beads, kids can make these too, with the help of an adult.
Materials
Perler beads (see below for exact numbers)
PDF patterns (see link below)
Large Perler peg board
Perler ironing paper
Iron
Surface to iron on (a regular ironing board is fine)
A heavy book
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Download the Pattern PDF Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Directions on downloading PDFs. |
Note: You can buy Perler beads by color in bags of 1,000 from koolstuff4kids.com That website also carries ironing paper. You can get large Perler peg boards from EK Success.
Bead Counts
Harry:
Black 223
White 84
Cheddar 217
Red 5
Cran Apple 48
Gold Metallic 48
Hermione:
Black 20
White 40
Cheddar 222
Magenta 13
Brown 183
Light Brown 51
Cran Apple 48
Gold Metallic 48
Ron:
Black 23
White 78
Cheddar 226
Orange 155
Butterscotch 47
Cran Apple 48
Gold Metallic 48
All Three:
Black 266
White 202
Cheddar 665
Cran Apple 144
Gold Metallic 144
Red 5
Magenta 13
Brown 183
Light Brown 51
Orange 155
Butterscotch 47
Directions
Step 1: Set out your beads and place a peg board on a flat surface.
Step 2: Place the beads on the peg board according to the PDF pattern. You can go row by row or do one color at a time until the design is complete.
Step 3: Set your iron to medium heat (no steam), and cover the design with the ironing paper.
Step 4: Iron in a circular motion for about 20 seconds. You'll be able to see through the ironing paper to determine if the beads are fused enough. You'll know they are when the beads begin to fuse together and the holes become smaller. Repeat ironing as necessary.
Step 5: Set a heavy book on top of the ironing paper and leave the design to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the book and ironing paper, then peel the design off the peg board. Be careful - it may still be hot!
Step 7: Place the design, fused-side down, on an ironing surface, cover with the ironing paper, and repeat Steps 4, 5, and 6 to fuse the back of the beads.
Hanging the portraits: You can simply stick a push pin through the top corners, or hammer in two small wire nails. Even after fusing, the beads will usually still have a hole in the center large enough to accommodate either method.
About the Author:
Shayne Rioux is the editor of geekcrafts.com and sells her own crafts at noveltykitten.com. Her Perler bead work can be seen on a much larger scale in Susan Beal's new book, World of Geekcraft. When she's not blogging or crafting or blogging about crafting, she's busy with her family of a husband, a boy, a dog, a frog, a fish, and three cats.
I love Harry Potter and I'm counting down the days til the movie premieres - I'll be making these for sure! Love Shayne's fuse bead projects, this one is amazing.
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