First time using fuse beads - it was fun! Coming up with a cool idea for the fuse bead project was fun too!

Sometimes we make impulse purchases because they are cute or cool and we think we will use them and then we do not; however, one day you use said purchase and wonder why you waited so long. That is what happened with this fuse bead kit I got from Five Below (that store is dangerous for my wallet, but it is a good place, I am never disappointed with what I get there).

 

I had never tried fuse beads before and only picked this kit up because it was My Melody and Kuromi. For those who are not familiar, you use a base where you place different colored beads to create an image and then you fuse the separate beads into a single shape by melting the beads together when you iron them.

My Melody and Kuromi were very easy to make with the kit since it included the base, a sheet of paper with the images demonstrating where each bead went, more than enough beads for the designs, and even two sheets of parchment paper to use over the beads when you iron them to fuse together. Doing both images took me about 30 minutes and it was relaxing to put the beads on and fun to see how the image came together.

Making the images:

You place the illustration of the image below your clear base and put on the beads in the matching color to make the shape. The beads are small so here is a tip I mastered after a few knocked over beads, try working on a single line at a time, from left to right, and there is less chance to accidentally knock another bead out of place.

Once you have put in all the beads and created your shape, then iron the beads to have them fuse together. Directions recommend for the ironing to be done on a heat safe surface by a grown-up, fortunately I am a grown-up (sometimes). I placed the base with beads on an ironing board and covered the beads with the parchment paper. Using my Cricut mini easy press to iron, it took about two minutes at the lowest to do the whole image. I kept the press on the same section for about 10-15 seconds and then moved on to another section. You can tell when the fusing is happening because you can see a bit through the parchment paper, but I double checked by lifting the corner of the paper a bit. Be careful that the parchment paper and design will be hot at first. Once it has cooled a little, you can lift the parchment paper and take out your fused design from the base.

 

Using the designs:

After I had made my designs, I started to think that these were cute shapes but what could I do with them – and then I saw this plain pencil case and thought the hot pink would work with Kuromi and then found a plain black makeup which would be a great contrast with the pink in My Melody. Using E6000 glue, I had the black glue at home, I ran the glue across the fused side of the image since it was more solid, only letting out a little glue at a time and making sure to spread with the tip of the glue container. E6000 can be a little goopy and sometimes spill out so just watch out to spread it as much as you can. Then place the image and apply a little even pressure over the whole piece. I held it down for like 15 seconds with my hands and then added a little extra pressure to the corners, for a few seconds, to be sure that it adhered well. To be safe, I let the bags/glue dry for a while before putting anything in the bag. It has been a few days since I glued them on and they are strongly adhered and super adorable.

Aren’t these so cute? Would you try and fuse bead project?