Kid Friendly

Perler beads were designed for harmless children’s entertainment. However, what’s NOT harmless is the fact that a burning hot utensil must be used to fuse their creations together for later play. Parents don’t always have time to iron at the moment, and the last thing we want is for kids to wind up hurt trying to do it themselves. How do we counteract this? Perler has a few no-iron solutions that I decided to test for myself.

Stixels

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Probably the obvious solution. Stixels function in much the same way that perler bead crafting is supposed to, i.e. placing beads on a pegboard. The only difference is that the “pegboard” is made of silicone with pegs that allow you to slide the beads firmly into place, and trust me when I say that the beads aren’t going anywhere. After making the butterfly you see in the picture, I decided to experiment its durability by chucking it across the room. It landed multiple times on both carpet and tile floors, yet in all those trials it never once lost a single bead. Kind of impressive, actually. That being said, if you so desired to change the pattern, you can still remove the beads using tweezers. All Stixels kits come with a ball chain, which is perfect for turning your creations into key-chains and hanging them on, let’s say, a backpack.

Sliders

Contrary to their name, Sliders do not refer to delicious tiny sandwiches. I found Sliders to be a somewhat different experience from typical perler beading. Rather than spreading beads across a board, you’re instead stacking them across multiple rods. It’s almost akin to weaving a tapestry. This activity is easily more delicate than the Stixels because it doesn’t take much to snap the rods out of place from the top holding them together. Definitely more of a show-off piece, and the kits even give you a stand to place it on.

H20

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Perler beading….with water! Except not exactly. Instead of placing plastic beads on spiky pegs, you’re putting solid, smooth balls into concave holes. When you’re done making the pattern, you then spray your creation with water. The balls will absorb the water and expand, releasing a glue-like substance that will cause them to stick together. It’s kinda cool. The only downside to this is the wait time. It’s generally recommended that you wait 30-60 min before handling the creation. I’m here to tell ya, I ain’t got the patience for that and I certainly flubbed a couple projects because of it. Not to mention the wait time can be much longer if you completely drowned the balls, and anything involving glue is gonna get messy!

Final Thoughts

I think it’s smart of Perler to branch out with no-iron activities like this. While I enjoyed making these projects, I can safely say they’re better suited for kids. They’re a bit lacking for the older consumers, but they make for great mindless fun on those days when you just want to create without thinking about it. In my opinion, Stixels are the best no-iron alternative. Stay crafty!