The latest craze at day care: Perler Beads. They’re just the right size to fit up Nate’s nose, but aside from that, they’re actually pretty cool. They are little plastic beads that come in all different colors. You arrange them on a pegboard in pretty patterns (or completely at random, if you’re Nate). Then you cover them with wax paper and heat them with an iron. They melt a bit, fuse together, and presto, you’ve got a nice little suncatcher or what-have-you. Just hit the link above if you’re having trouble visualizing it. The kids love them, and they are super good for honing fine motor control.
Anyway, the day care center’s petty cash has been a bit low lately, so I’ve been subsidizing vast quantities of Perler Beads for Nate’s classroom. On our most recent trip to the crafts store, Nate asked if we could get some for our house. Why not? They’re cheap. We got the basic bucket starter kit, complete with simple geometric shape pegboards.
As soon as we got home from the store, he was frantic to try them out. I set him up with a cup of beads and a heart-shaped pegboard. He quickly put beads around the perimeter and asked me to iron them. Down to the basement I went, pleased that I knew exactly where the iron was, even though I had never used it. And that brings me to the title of this post, because I have a question for Sarah:
What in hell is this gunk on the iron?
Please don’t tell me you actually tried to use it to make a grilled cheese sandwich. I was totally kidding when I suggested that.
LOL…yeah, Gabriel went through the fuse bead thing. There’s a whole bunch of fused things in his desk drawer now. They are still doing it at his summer camp, but he’s too manly now…he did start something, but it never came home.
I’m still a fan of shaving crayons, sprinkling the shavings between two sheets of waxed paper, and ironing that. Kind of makes a stained glass window. Downside: you gotta shave the stupid crayons.
I keep forgetting there is a little glitter glue residue on my iron, which I use approximately 1.3 times a year, and whenever I use it I get the gunk on whatever I was trying to iron. Which is usually something pretty decent, if I’m actually attempting to iron it.
Warning to parents – don’t get the bug to work on a perler bead project. I opened up a case with our son Peter and my wife, and we each chose a shape. One hour later (yes, one hour), I completed my camouflage jet and yellow ATV with glow-in-the-dark windows, and looked up to find myself alone at the table. Darnit, they’re fun.
🙂
Confession: my sister & I destroyed our iron after watching Benny & Joon. Despite this knowledge, the temptation is there whenever I see an iron, which of course is rare. How is it that ironing clothes is so un-fun, and yet ironing buttered bread can really be a party? Life is so full of mysteries.