Melty beads, fuse beads, whatever you call them – I had totally forgotten about this craft until I saw packs of them in the dollar bin at Michael’s just before Christmas. I grabbed a cute penguin kit for my sister to put in her stocking. I guess great minds think alike – or melty beads are staging a comeback – because my brother and his girlfriend showed up to Christmas with huge bags of these beads.
One of the pattern booklets they brought showed a 3D alligator that my brother promptly made. I liked the idea, so I made a 3D robot that now graces our mantle. The 3D-ness is pretty simple to make. The arms and legs of my robot are each separate pieces, with 1 or 2 beads left out from the end of the appendage where it meets the body. I also left out one bead at each spot on the body where the arms and legs attach, and then once the pieces were all fused together, you can slide the pieces together, interlocking them.
Can you think of any other “kids crafts” that would be fun to try again?