craft magic.

“What’s going on, guys?” Stinker asked as the tiny beads spilled all over the floor.

[A very good question indeed, especially when it comes to craft experiments]

“Craft disaster!” I exclaimed, silently cursing Pinterest for its so-called “anyone-can-do-this!” crafts… and silently being thankful that Stinker is not the type of two-year old to eat small things off the floor.

[The beginning of our craft tryout this weekend]

I found the craft “recipe” online I wanted to try – using melted Perler beads to create a bowl. So, Stacy, Stinker and I gave it a shot. First, we put a single layer of the beads down into a microwaveable bowl and tried microwaving the suckers until they would stick together. No such luck. We just ended up with a really, really hot bowl (and another "what's going on, guys?" from Stinker). So, we positioned the Perler beads in an oven-safe bowl (after watching about half of them roll off the kitchen table), then placed the bowl into the oven to let the beads begin to melt.

Then, the magic began (craft magic is so cool, in a completely nerdy way). The Perler beads melted together and took on the shape of the bowl, slowly crawling up the sides. And once they had finished “baking,” and I finally got them peeled off the container (I was a little afraid for a minute I had ruined one of Stacy's bowls), we ended up with this…

Stinker and I agreed, not only was it "so cool," the bowl could be a bowl, but it could also very well be a princess crown or even a colorful hat (see the crown below). At one point later on, it also doubled as a “hot tub” for her Little People. In any case, and even with its rocky beginning, I would say the project turned out a lot of happiness.