Tutorials

Hi there,
Currently, I have only one tutorial to share with you, but hopefully I will be adding others in the future...Enjoy!

                       DIY ENAMEL DOTS

For this tutorial, I have used Perler Beads. To begin, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees, and use this timetable as a guideline:
Bake 20 – 25 minutes for light beads
25 – 30 for dark and bright/neon beads

Place a piece of parchment paper onto an old baking (cookie) sheet. I put the beads on with the divot (opening) facing vertically:

Here is a close-up:

The beads are ‘done’ when the divot (opening) is no longer visible and the dot is smooth and shiny, VOILA!!! ~ I had my very own homemade Enamel Dots!

 

This was my first attempt, and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see that the darker blue beads are not as smooth as the lighter ones. After this first try, I decided to bake the lighter beads separately for less time, and darker beads for a bit longer.  

I did quite a bit of research before starting this project, so here are a few more things that I learned:

- Just to be safe: Use an old baking sheet, and keep it for ‘crafty projects only’ (even though I’m using Parchment Paper, I won’t use this pan in the future for food).
– Check your oven temp, so that it’s not too hot – everyone’s oven is different, and yours may run ‘hot’. It’s a good idea to check your oven with an oven thermometer, if you have one.
– Bake ‘like’ colors together, as some colors may take a little longer (ie, dark colors).
– Pony beads are rather large, and if you leave them in for a shorter time, they will spread less.
– Space the beads on the baking sheet so they are not too close together.
– When finished, cool for 5 minutes, and the enamel dots will slide right off the parchment paper
– A few people have noted that there was a distinct smell while baking the beads. I would bake them on a day that you can open the windows in your house to avoid any lingering odor

I love having a little cup on my desk that I can dip into for my own, inexpensive embellishment for a card ~

Since I have only used Perler Beads, I want to share some of the research I did using other types of beads, in case you are interested.

Baking time and temperature for different types of beads:

Perler Beads – 375 degrees F (190 C) for 20 – 25 minutes for light beads, and 25 – 30 for dark and bright/neon beads –>>Small enamel dots

Walmart Faceted Beads – 400 degrees F (205 C) for 15 minutes –>>Medium enamel dots

Pony Beads – 425 degrees F (220 C) for 12-15 minutes –>> Large enamel dots

I hope all of my trials and tips help, if you decide to try making your own enamel dots. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at barbghig@yahoo.com, and I will get back to you asap.