Monday, March 26, 2012

Ironing Board Surprises

Since Christmas, I find that each time I go into my sewing room I have a new little surprise waiting for me on my ironing board.  Our kids received some Perler Beads and they love them.  Do you remember these??  Did you have them growing up??  I know I did.  Hours of entertainment placing those little beads on the pegs.  


So, I iron them and fuse together their little patterns and then return their surprise.  Each time being told about the wonderful inspiration they had for their pattern and how this new one is their absolute favorite so far.   They can get pretty creative and I just love how happy they are when making them.  (Except when the 3 year old comes along and wants to join in, then not so happy :)


But I think my favorite part about these is how I get inspiration for designing.  I mean, how cool is that color combo on that multi-colored hexagon.  And I have quite a few patterns buzzing around in my head from designs they come up with in beads :)  You really do find inspiration everywhere :)
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17 comments:

  1. These Pearler Beads are too cute, I'm ironing tons of them, too. :-)

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  2. Hi Melissa! LOL I have ironed so many of these because my grandkids love them! I had not thought of them as quilt patterns, but they sure are!!! I have a huge supplies of them and will have to see what the grandkids come up with if I tell them I need a new quilt pattern! ♥♥♥

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  3. I've just passed on boxes and boxes with the templates as DD has now out grown them. It took me ages to persuade her to part with them, but now another little girl will be able to play!

    I've kept the heart template for appliqué.

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  4. Your kids make beautiful creations Melissa. I have many stuck on my wall made by my GD at Christmas.
    Yeh they do make great patterns.

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  5. Your children are so creative! You've taught them well! :)

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  6. Being a scrap quilter, I was thinking the same thing when I saw that Hexie!

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  7. Oh my gosh, this is my house! My oldest two are constantly creating Perler bead creations. My daughter leaves them for me at night on the ironing board. I've found I'd better iron them quickly or inevitably the ironing board will get bumped and they will fly everywhere!
    Love the inspiration though - super fun!

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  8. I so agree about inspiration coming from everywhere. Our kids had these and we went through so many beads I lost count. I finally came up with ideas they could use these for gifts. How fun it was to sit with them and watch them come up with colors and combinations and to see the end projects. This has definitly helped both of them with color. They are so good at it. Richard sews and Heather is an animator

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  9. I had a big container and made so many of these. :) they are fun; I can't wait to share them with Scarlet and Steiger!

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  10. I have a huge collection of perler beads for my nephews. The 6 year old s great, the 2 year old not so much. They are great time consuming fun though. I love that green hexagon!

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  11. That's a really cute way to receive quilting inspiration. My kids used to make things with their beads when they were little. Fun!

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  12. I've seen those! Never used them, but a great idea for colour and block inspiration =D

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  13. I have one sitting on my board right now. I need to iron it before I start working on my quilt blocks tonight :)

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  14. If your three year old is struggling with picking up the beads get a chopstick and trim the end to fit just inside the bead. Show them how to push the stick gently into the bead and then place on the spot they want and then gently push it off. We also used needle nosed tweezers as children.
    I love these beads and the many ways they can be used. I still have a huge supply from my childhood and Ikea has cheap pots of them too.

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  15. I have two waiting for me right now. Question: what do you place between he beads and your iron? I can't remember!

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    Replies
    1. It normally comes with a vellumish paper. If you didn't have that you could probably use freezer paper :)

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa