Best fuse & perler beads according to redditors

Anyone interested here are some links to how I got started. The hardest part is sifting through the beads to find the colors you need.

Perler Beads 22,000 Count Bead Jar Multi-Mix Colors

Perler Beads Clear Square Pegboards 4 Pack

[1000 Extra Black Beads because most game sprites have black borders]
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I0RPTG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Compartment Bead Organizer

At Michaels I also purchased the pots for $.99 each, some potting foam and some peel and stick felt for $1.09 that I cut out and stuck to the top of the foam to make it look dirt or a dark pipe (you can see the felt on the middle on). I have seen some people paint the pots dark green like pipe but I don't personally like that look.

Oh and this video helped me figure out how to actually put them in the pots.

edit: formatting

Here's 42,000 of them for $12

I have a very cramped back entry way and went looking on Pinterest for winter ideas. What a joke. A cramped entry way on Pinterest is apparently a mini mansion with a mud room. 🙄


These beads are fun, of course they require supervision! But it can be done year round and it’s great sensory play: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018HSB7GW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CYA5BbG1XZ894

I know what marbles are. The spheres in the gif aren't glass; they're colorless water marbles.

I don't know for sure. but I know perler sells this. https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-11125-Nintendos-Pattern-Multicolor/dp/B07PD2LMRG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=master+shield+perler&qid=1564799972&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-1


I bought their mario one and mine was 2x2 boards.

Alright, so to make these you need

• Beads, of course.
  
  I use Hama Beads, they're from Denmark and generally harder to find in the US, but the "standard" ones are Perler Beads. They're a bit smaller than Hama's. I haven't used these but the reviews are good, so you can use them too :D Hama has a bit more colors, but that shouldn't be a problem.
  
  
• Pegboards. ^^kek
  
  These are the plates where you put your beads on to create a nice piece. A normal Pegboard is 29x29, so it can fit 841 beads on it. You can stick the plates together for making a larger piece (i.E. for the Ephixa one I used 3x3 plates, so I had a field of 87x87). These are for Perler and these for Hama.
  
  
• Parchment paper
  
  
• a clothing iron
  
  
  If you have all of that, you
  
  

1. Look for something you wanna create/remake, there a plenty of pictures if you search for "xxx perler bead" on google, or you can look at /r/beadsprites for ideas. If there aren't any available you can convert a photo into a pixelated pattern with some websites or programs, I use this one.
   
   
   
2. Create the image by placing the beads on the boards by hand.
   
   
3. The usual method is to now put the parchment paper on the board and iron it, but this has many disadvantages with larger pieces, so I use this method. It's a lot more convenient and it protects your pegboards.
   
   
4. When you either have it on the pegboard or now on your tape you put parchment paper over it and start to iron it, simply go in circles and take a look after a few seconds, the duration depends on the size of the piece you made.
   
   
5. When you ironed it you put some heavy stuff, like books, on the piece to prevent it from wrapping when it cools down.
   
   Thats basically the progress, looks veeeery heavy but it's easy after you've made your first 1-2 pieces, so if you want to try it out the bitbird logo would be the perfect start, you only need 2 colors and 1 plate. I hope I didn't explain it bad, here are some useful links to help you :)
   
   

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  E: If there are any language mistakes I apologize, as I stated I'm from Germany and explaining stuff is kinda hard sometimes lmao

Hey! I'm by no means an expert in this, but I figured I could at least try to answer.

First off- Welcome! It's super awesome that you're so interested in bead spriting. Now, onto the answers!

• Fuse, hama, and perler beads are all technically different things!
  
  • Fuse beads - Refers to any/all types of beads used for bead spriting. Sort of like how Crayola and Roseart both make crayons, "fuse" is the type of product all bead-based companies produced. They're beads that are FUSED together through, generally, ironing.
    
  • Perler beads, as far as I can tell, are sort of the U.S standard for fuse beads. They're also the only kind I'm familiar with! "Perler" refers to the brand. Their website is here!
    
  • Hama beads, as far as I can tell, are the U.K standard for fuse beads. They're more or less the same (with slight variation in color, and though I've never used Hama, i'd imagine there's a different melting rate) as perler beads. "Hama", like "Perler", refers to the brand. You can view their website here!
    
    • I'm unfamiliar with the quality of Perler vs Hama. I'd order more based on what's convenient for your location- as a beginner, I can't imagine you're dead-set on figuring out the hyperspecifics of qualities!
      
• If I were you, I'd buy supplies separately. I purchase a lot of my stuff from Joanne in-person, but I'd imagine similar products are available online. My purchasing habits sort of go as follows...
  
  • If I know I need a specific color, I buy a bag of that specific color. For instance, I use black beads a lot for outlining, so I always try to have lots of them on-hand.
    
  • You can't do beading without a pegboard! Because I tend to only do sprite patterns, I don't need any specific shape of board. Perler makes a lot of boards in certain shapes- things like horses or dolls- for kids. These are awesome options to look into, but personally, I use a big, clear, rectangular board.
    
  • You also can't iron your designs (or, at least, shouldn't) without some sort of protection. You can get a roll of ironing paper, though I know there's some alternative ironing methods on this sub.
    
  • This might not be the best tip, but it's how I do/did it. If you're looking for a variety of colors and don't mind sorting, you can buy bulk buckets of various colors of beads. Buckets like this have a wide variety of colors, but you won't get quite as many of any one color, and you have to sort. It's a trade-off; you can get a few of a wide variety, or a lot of one color in bags.
    
  • You might want to consider a case if you're planning on organizing your beads.
    
• There's DEFINITELY better advice than this, but if you want it to have a more melty look, more heat is gonna get that. I'd go for lower heat for longer, rather than ramping up the heat for the same amount of time. Too much heat in any case can be damaging; it can warp the board or you can end up with wrinkles in your design.
  
  ​
  
  hope this helps!

I have these black perler beads on my "Perler" WL!

Have you tried water beads? OMG. They are AMAZING. I absolutely would only use them with kids that have stopped putting stuff in their mouths all the time, though.

But I bought some and they are awesome. The kids LOVED them, and they are cheap AF. I got a bag I linked to. I took a rubbermaid container and measured them out and left them sit overnight. I used 1/4 of the bag, and it made enough to cover the bottom of the container and fill it up a couple of inches. Plus, you can dry them back out and use them again. These will definitely be on my go-to list with 2's and up from now on.

I also got a big bag of dried pinto beans at costco. 20 pounds or so. I put them in a couple of containers, and let the boys go to town. They bury their hands and feet in them, they hide toys in them, they pour them into other containers, they put it in the back of their dump trucks and dump them into stuff, etc. I think we paid about $20 total for the beans and the buckets we keep them in, and it has provided HOURS of entertainment. It's also a lot easier to clean up than other sensory stuff I've used before, and it doesn't stick to them like rice does.

A free and easy one to do is ice! Freeze some small toys in ice cubes, freeze some colored cubes and use them to paint canvases outside. Freeze ice in different shapes and sizes.

(Posted this on your r/christmas post, but sometimes they remove things with links, so I'm posting here too!)

I really like the Grimm's toys. They are kind of expensive, but super cool for kids to stack and build, organize by size/shape/color, and they are made out of wood which is a nice different texture than all the plastic toys kids have. My 4 year old son loves playing with all his Grimm's stuff. We have the large rainbow, some of the little peg people, the trees, fairy houses, and some blocks. I would also suggest kinetic sand, play silks and costumes, a rocker board, and water beads. All the above are great sensory toys and are big hits with kids with or without autism!

Perler beads can occupy a lot of time if u have the patience!

I need this to start a project. Found all my old stuff from when I was younger, only problem this colour was lacking and after making a stormtrooper helmet disappeared. What I'm wanting to do with them? Make all the pokemon! (this is going to be long term, like really long term.)

And crafty turtle -forgot.

Sure! Looks like it's backordered right now but it was a fun kit.

Perler Beads Marvel Avengers Pattern and Fuse Bead Kit, 4503Pc, 10 Patterns

The light gray was kind of a "limited edition" release. I believe they are actually going to release it for sale sometime in 2016, with a few other colors.
It's a very sought after color, but it seems like they are listening to us.

Yes that color is Neon Blue, I love it as well. You can buy a 1k pack here: Amazon
but it is definitely more expensive than usual; since it is pretty rare. You can also get the color in other kits, like a sea-life kit as well; if you don't mind sorting.


I haven't used any of the pearlescent colors since I usually don't have a use for them, but since they are Perler brand, they should melt the same way. I would probably only use it to represent metal or something shiney.

You put these tiny beads in a container, they absorb the water, and grow to the size of a marble. And they're all squishy. The benefit is that spillage wouldn't cause a flood, and you don't get soaking wet if you drop anything or go in it. Damp at most, unless they're like floating in water. They should absorb it all.

Trouble is just getting all the water there, because I've done the math, and a kiddy pool can be 40-60 gallons, minimum. And you'd need about 60-80,000 beads I think to fill it really high but could probably get away with less.

AND they are biodegradable. You can literally just dump them out when you're done and it won't cause a mud pile. People actually use them for plants, and they shrink back to the normal size, especially really quickly in that sun. (So keep it under an EZ-up and tarp!)

*edit: details

Have you tried putting different stuff in it? Water beads are my favorite thing for the water table. At that age you have to supervise to make sure they aren't eating them, but they aren't toxic if it happens. I've nannied and worked at a daycare. So, I've worked with a lot of crazy kids around that age. Water beads are always a hit. Just put some spoons, measuring cups, different sized containers and they'll play for hours. I suggest you do it outside because they do end up on the ground.

MarvelBeads Water Beads Rainbow Mix, 8 oz (20,000 beads) for Orbeez Spa Refill, Sensory Toys and Décor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018HSB7GW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_my6Ozb8AW9J5W

I also have done different sensory bins. You can freeze ice in different colors, or freeze a bowl of ice with toys in it. Instant snow was also a big hit.

Be Amazing Insta-Snow Jar, Makes 2 Gallons https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FA6APE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_BC6OzbRCNGNGE

Finding activities where he will entertain himself will be a life saver. Getting out of the house to kid safe places also can really help. Parks, children's museums, water pads, etc. Places where he can be a crazy high energy kid and it's ok. It can be so hard and stressful some days, but it sounds like you're doing a great job!

This probably won't help those that have been doing this a while, so this is more for somebody with no experience to stumble upon. Drawers and the flat organizers were out at this point (see other comment replies), so jars looked attractive. But how large?

I set out to try to figure out how much space a 1000 bag takes up. Reported measurements of what holds 1000 pcs were a bit different across the board here, so I decided to calculate it myself. Since there's no way I'm counting out 1000 of these things, and probably the bags don't even have exactly 1000 pcs, I had her buy a bag of black. The idea was to make a little paper box and measure how much space they take volumetrically.

These are some cheapie spice jars we picked up from Winco, each under a buck. 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz. They didn't say if that's fl oz or oz weight of some specific spice, so I threw water in one and weighed it. It's fl oz.

Weights:

• 1000 pack, bag removed - 60.20g
  
  
• 4 fl oz, full (tared) - 47.33g
  
  
• 8 fl oz, full (tared) - 87.40g
  
  
• 16 fl oz, full (tared) - 182g
  
  Results:
  
  
• 4 fl oz holds about 786 beads
  
  
• 8 fl oz holds about 1452 beads
  
  
• 16 fl oz holds about 3023 beads
  
  These are all rough numbers. Containers probably vary slightly within a batch. The 4 oz was probably slightly overfilled and the 8 oz slightly underfilled, but it's close enough. Roughly 8 oz seems to be the winner for refilling before empty.
  
  Picture with scale
  
  Also found these Perler brand 80-22816 storage jars and pre-filled 80-22826 neutrals/80-22825 pastels/80-22824 tropicals sets. They look pretty close to 100% full at 1000 beads, so I'm guessing they're roughly 6 fl oz. If I can find some square-ish plastic 8 oz jars at a similar price (for closer packing), I'll probably go with those. Otherwise, I'll just call it a day and go with the branded ones.

[IF I FITS I SITS] (http://imgur.com/8bBlszc) Spoons loves Amazon boxes!

[Item one: $4.00] (http://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-19018-Bead-Bag-Black/dp/B009XPQ00C/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1398615583&sr=1-7)
[Item two: $4.46] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B9I1RS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1GRPFU49N3AAX&coliid=I3MHD9V08PY5S5)

Thanks for the contest!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I0RPTG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=27EX4ITPU4BBO&coliid=I35OVXXB6P82OJ

$3.19 (sorry I don't know how to make the links like everyone else)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Doing anything special today?

Zoids. I loved the shows as a kid, and I loved the toys-problem was, almost all the toys were extremely expensive and you had to build them. Making tons of small tiny parts into a large, moterized ferocious animal was -and honestly still is-impossible for me. I've broken every one I've ever attempted, and since they're now even more expensive (they're very collectable) I just can't risk it. What's worse is that their popularity never decreased in Japan, so Japan still makes stuff. And they've recently come out with a "high end" model selection-that are absolutely gorgeous and even more difficult to make. I broke down and bought one. My boyfriend at the time promised to build it, promplty made a bunch of excuses not to (though I never pushed because it was a favor) and when we split I completely forgot about it so he now has my model.

At least I have one saving grace-I found a guy a while back on craiglist who was selling a bunch of them for money for college. Snatched up ALL of them, already built. I was never so happy as I was that day. I'm still super attached to that series, and it got me into video editing AND writing, which are now both my hobbies and my future jobs, so I'm rather happy/nostalgic about them. Hell I'm even planning on getting a Zoids tattoo (combined with some video editing symbols) simply because it started my whole passion for editing.

Still there are so many pretty models. And I want them all. (But I want IT!) I'd love this so I could finish my Majoras Mask beadsprite!

https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-17537-Mini-Large-Multi/dp/B0798V9KS6/ref=pd_sim_201_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0798V9KS6&pd_rd_r=58023a82-dc9c-11e8-bee5-11f85c3f70ca&pd_rd_w=OCRCc&pd_rd_wg=9KDKM&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=SS6ZAEABAW1MEW8YSHXR&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=SS6ZAEABAW1MEW8YSHXR


This has a light gray, light blue, and dark read I really needed.

The "normal" boards (29x29) link together, so you can go pretty much as big as you have space for. All of these particular items fit on one board each, except for one column on Pop. Otherwise there is this giant board:

https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-30105-Beads-Classic-Superpegboard/dp/B005IP77G2

This is about the size of 2x3 normal boards. An issue here is the size allows it to warp pretty easily while you are ironing. This can be nice for bigger pieces, but plan on using masking tape to lift it off the board before ironing. Another downside is these don't link together, so you if you need bigger, you are stuck using that many more smaller boards.

Just to throw it in, I found the board that comes on the iPad app kit is something like 27x33, so in some cases (like Pop), I could use that and not have to use two boards or the giant one. Downside is that it has handles that get in the way of ironing. I may just cut/snap them off.

https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-22671-Beads-i-Pegboard/dp/B009MRLVQE

Here you go

I think [49x69 is the biggest one] (https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-30105-Beads-Classic-Superpegboard/dp/B005IP77G2/). (standard is 29x29). Make sure you use the masking tape method, because reading the reviews it looks like the big board is more sensitive to heat and warps easier.

I dunno where HelloBatman is, but she has $5 items with free shipping! I don't really, but I know she'd appreciate these black Hama beads! They're highest priority for her newly picked up hobby c:

Pesky AddOns

Beads :)

https://www.amazon.com/Perler-Beads-000-Count-Neon-Blue/dp/B000RNQEJQ

Artkal has the best color selection, but you'll have to have it shipped to you. https://www.bakerskidscrafts.com/ is the only US reseller I know of (I'm gonna assume you're in North America). Otherwise, you'll have to order from their main site https://artkalfusebeads.com/ , and a package typically takes 2 weeks to arrive. Free shipping to the US and a few other countries. Artkal beads come in two types of beads. Hard and Soft. (The soft beads are exclusive to ARTKAL and are a special flexible kind of bead). You can get the beads in two sizes as well; Midi (regular sized, 5mm), and mini (2.6 mm). I personally use Artkal mini soft beads as my main beads, which is the A-series of beads. Though I do also have some C-series beads (the mini hard beads), and perler mini beads. And a small selection of Perler midi beads.

Artkal hard beads (both midi and mini) can be used with Perler brand beads. If you live in the states, you can find bags of perler beads for sell at most craft stores (though limited selection of colors in stock sometimes), and online websites that ship within the US. If you'd like to be able to restock quickly, you might go for the Perler beads, so you can just run to the store and restock when necessary (If you're in North America). You can also take advantage of craft store coupons and sales. And for more variety of colors after you become experienced, you can pair it up with Artkal hard Midi beads (S-series beads).

There are other brands of beads, such as Hama (comes in both midi and mini), and Melty brand beads. I've seen Melty brand beads in some craft stores and even walmarts, but I've never tried them. I just get the feeling they're not going to be as good quality as Perler or Artkal, but I dont know. Hama beads I've never used myself, but I've heard they can melt a bit odd, and while they *can* be used with Perler, they dont melt the same, so they do look off. (again, I dont have personal experience with this)

Overall, if you just want to try the beads, before deciding to commit to the hobby, I suggest you get one or two of the kits. If you're interested in midi beads, I suggest you pick up something like this:

Perler 16 Color tray - $8

if you're interested in the mini hard beads, you can pick up one or more of the Perler mini trays. There are many different trays, each with 8 colors (1000 ish beads each). And they're around $8 to $10 each. The Joanne's Craft store near me sells them.

Perler Mini Tray, Warm colors

​

If you want a bigger selection of colors, you can consider these trays:

ARTKAL Mini hard beads, c-series 48 colors kit

or

ARTKAL Mini soft beads, a-series 48 colors kit

or

ARTKAL Midi hard beads, S-series 48 color kit

Whichever kit you get, you'd be best off buying it with an extra bag of black beads, because black is the most used color in beadsprites.

​

When choosing mini versus midi, it's just personal preference. I prefer mini, for these reason, 1. they cost less, 2. they take up less space, 3. finished pieces look more detailed. Though for some people, mini beads are too small, and take more concentration to use.

​

Sorry for some much text. If you dont happen to live in North America, then possible another brand of beads other than Perler is cheaper and easier to obtain.

Funny that you mention that, last saturday, i was looking for a decent tardis pattern and couldnt find one i was satisfied with. I'm sadly limited as far as size goes because i have the big one piece peg board
The few places here in Montreal who sell that stuff only had this one and not the little squares you can connect. I wanted to do a majora's mask too but again, limited by pegboard size :(.

What "can" are you referring to? I'm wondering if I didn't overdo it and spend more than I had to.

I started with the "lot" from the Hama website here and the first batch of 48 from Artkal here

For the really simple ones with obvious colors that I can easily match, I just opened it in Paint.Net and turned on grids. For the more complex ones with shades I used BeadMaster found here to get me pretty close and I'd manually change the colors if I felt they were off (and were in some cases)

These could almost fill a bathtub, I think, but you might not wanna actually do that xD I have mine in a big kitty litter bucket (that I cleaned out). They're squishy, but they do break. They're also wet, so I like keeping a towel nearish. But it's just water. I don't like messy stuff, like slimes (though I do like looking at those! They're pretty, they just feel gross!) but I love these :)

I got the Perler Superboard on Thursday. I'm learning a lot, like not ironing on the board because it warps, and how to use the masking tape method.