Glow-in-the-dark Melted Bead Craft

As promised I have another summer boredom buster for you today. This melted bead craft is sure to be a hit with the kids! Anything that includes the words “glow in the dark” is a winner in our house.

This craft requires only a few supplies:

glow-in-the-dark pony beads

metal cookie cutters

a baking sheet

bar-b-cue or oven

Simply place the metal cookie cutters on a baking sheet.

Have the kids fill each of the cookie cutters with pony beads.

Only one layer of beads is needed.

400 pony beads filled about a dozen cookie cutters. Melting the beads can be done in the oven or bar-b-cue. When using the oven preheat to 350 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. The smell of melting plastic can be a bit overwhelming so be sure to have a fan blowing and windows open for ventilation.

We chose to use the bar-b-cue to melt our beads. Heat the grill to high and bake for 10 minutes. Be sure to use even heat. We liked using this option as the smell of melting plastic was kept outside.

As the plastic cools remove the cookie cutters. The plastic popped off of the cookie sheet as it cooled and left no residue at all. Some of the smaller, more intricate cookie cutters stuck to the melted plastic a bit but came off with some manipulation.

The glow-in-the-dark shapes that we created are totally fun! The kids can use them while camping or during Canada Day celebrations. Drill a hole into each shape for a quick necklace or key chain. The boys hid in the bathroom for a while admiring their creations. Ahhh peace and quiet… at least for a few minutes.