Making Your Own Enameand l Dots

Before

After

Here is the tutorial I promised you on how to make your own enamel dots. This process can be a bit time consuming, but it's totally worth it in the end. The dots that I made were done using Ikea's pyssla beads you get over 1lb of beads for $5.99, that's a price you can't beat considering you can pay $5.99 for a sheet of  only 60 enamel dots all of the same color.   Pyssla beads are very much like perler beads.  Perler beads are the ones that you place on peg boards to create a design and then melt with a hot iron, they are great for entertaining tweens. In addition to perler beads I have seen crafters make enamel dots using pony beads. 

You will need a cookie sheet, parchment paper and the beads you've selected to use. As you pre-heat your oven line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay out your beads. Laying out your beads can be time consuming especially if you are using small perler beads. The beads must be layed out so that they are standing up, leaving enough space for them to double in diameter as they melt. 

For pony beads set your oven at 425 and allow 8-15 minutes for the beads to melt evenly. 

For perler beads set your oven at 275 and allow 30-40 minutes for the beads to melt evenly. 

In the process of doing this I found that some colors took longer to melt. In the pictures (sorry they are not great pictures) you see the second pan that I did and it contains all the colors that seemed to take longer. You do have to watch the beads as they can burn, so don't walk away from your oven during this time be sure that you are checking them ever 5 minutes or so. There are many tutorials available on YouTube