DIY perler beads bowl with designs

I'm back with a DIY after a long break. I have been on vacation to India to celebrate my son's first birthday. Now that all the fun and celebration is over, I'm back to blogging. Even though things are not normal yet (because of jetlag), I'm trying my best to be back on the routine. Now to the DIY.

Playing with Perler beads have always been one of my favorites. When I came across, a pretty looking perler bowl with mandala designs on Pinterest, I was excited to know how. Unfortunately, there were no tutorials for those. So, I started my search on how to make those and only found a tutorial on how to make perler beads bowl by using a mixture of perler beads in a glass bowl and fusing it together in the oven. Then I thought I will give it a try with my own techniques. Want to know how? Let's get started.

Materials used:

Perler beads

Glass bowl

Oil

Oven 

Tweezers

Pegboard for perler beads (optional)

Iron (optional)

Method 1:

Step 1: Apply oil liberally to the inside of the glass bowl. I used coconut oil. 

Step 2: Arrange the beads in the desired pattern using the tweezers. I made a hexagon patterned bowl. So, I arranged the beads as shown below. I filled the gaps on the sides first and then filled the corner beads for each row of beads. 

Step 3:  Repeat the above step until a bowl shape is formed. I filled the last row of beads in transparent ones so it won't look bled when melted in the oven. 

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 350 F and place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down. Once it is completely cooled, remove your beautiful creation from the glass bowl. (The bowl slides off easily when you try to take it out). 

Here is another one using the same method. In this, I assembled a pixel rose and then surrounded it with white beads. One thing I noticed is, I left this bowl longer in the oven than the previous one, so there were almost no holes in final bowl compared to the hexagon shaped bowl. 

Another method :

Step 1: Use a circular pegboard and arrange the beads as you would normally do with perler beads in the pattern of your choice. You are going to use this as the base of the bowl. 

Step 2: Use an ironing paper and Iron on the top to fuse the beads. Do this only on one side. While the fused design is still warm carefully remove from the pegboard and place it on the bowl greased with oil so that the fused side is facing the glass bowl. Press firmly against the base of the bowl so it takes the bowl shape.

Step 3: Arrange the remaining beads around the fused pattern to form a bowl shape. Then place it in the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes. Allow it cool down and your bowl is ready. 

What do you think about these perler bowls? Even though it may seem tedious, it is worth the effort. I thought the bowl will be flimsy but it came out sturdy and also pretty looking. I like how you can customize the design of the bowl. It was a very relaxing project for me to do and I am happy with the result. Will you try this project? Share with me in the comments below. 

Other Perler beads projects you might like, 

DIY Perler beads Fruit bowl 

DIY Perler beads Key Holder 

DIY Christmas Garland using Perler beads