Friday, September 23, 2016

Making your own enamel dots for scrapbooking and card making

If you guys have been living under a rock, like me, and somehow missed out on this incredible tip then today is your lucky day because you've stumbled onto the right blog. I am going to amaze you with just how simple and cost effective it is to create your own enamel dots to use on whatever project you're working on.
Come on, we all love our enamel dots for embellishing our scrapbook pages and homemade cards but they can get pricey quick fast and in a hurry. I've found myself more than once reaching for other embellishments so I could save my enamel dots for something "more important". Ha, not any longer...I'm going to be using them like crazy from now on.

I happened upon a video on youtube while I was doing a search on another product and to say my jaw dropped would be fairly apt. I was in total awe that I could get an almost endless supply of enamel dots so cost effectively.

The only supplies you'll need are:

parchment paper--NOT wax paper and NOT freezer paper
Perler beads
pony beads
an oven or toaster oven.
THESE are PERLER BEADS...I bet we've all used
these at one time or another, either ourselves or with our kids.
I got this on Amazon for $14,59 and there are 22,000 beads in this
bucket. Yes, you read that correctly....22 THOUSAND beads.

THESE are PONY BEADS. I also ordered this on
Amazon for a whopping $3,07 as an add-on item. 
Let me make clear that the pony beads are NOT meant for melting and they DO invade your kitchen with a horrendous odor while in the oven. Some people have stated that the fumes are not healthy...so you use those at your own risk...I'm not advising anyone to do so, only showing you the ones "I" did. I opened my doors, windows and used the fan on my stove and another fan as well so that I was well ventilated.
Here are my pony beads before going into the oven.
You want to place your beads on the parchment paper as I've done here
with the hole facing up and down.
You can actually play around with your baking times as most ovens vary. I set my oven at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.  And like magic, enamel dots appeared where the beads had been.
Did I tell you they were amazing?? They look exactly like
the enamel dots I've spent way too much money on.
Now, the Perler beads ARE made for melting and there was no odor from
melting them in the oven. Here are my beads before going into the oven. 
You'll place these with the circle facing up and down as well. They don't spread as much as the pony beads but you will still need to leave adequate space for the melting process. 

And now here they are after going into the oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.
 Remember if you actually click on the photos you'll get a larger image and see more detail. 
These melt beautifully! Honestly, the hardest part is the time it takes to separate the beads and then to place them on the parchment paper covered dish.
Here is another view of my "enamel dots"
These are the larger dots made from the pony beads.
You'll notice they even have the same gloss as actual
enamel dots...and the colors are incredibly vibrant.

These are the dots made using the Perler beads.
OMG...the colors are unbelievable you guys! In that one
container of Perler beads I got over 30 colors!!!
And that's it y'all...it's literally THAT EASY...just put them in the oven and wait. I don't know how I missed this hack but so glad I've found it now. Any questions, just leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I was able to inspire you to try making your own enamel dots. Happy creating!

2 comments:

  1. Oh Rhonda, you crack me up. I have known about this for a while but was skeptical on the results, but since I know you, i will give it a try. No shortage of those darn beads(or lego) around the house. Wonder what would I get with melted lego? mwhahahahaha.

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  2. Sharlene, I don't think you'll be disappointed! The perler beads melt to about an average sized flat back pearl dot...great for cards and scrapbook pages. I saw where some people said you can cut them in half and get even smaller dots but I have not yet tried that. Be sure and let me know when you give this a try!

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