How to make a melted Hama bead bracelet

As an avid crafter with Hama beads, I've blogged before about my frustration with the cheap, imitation beads that you can buy. They can be super cheap, but they are pretty rubbish when it comes to using them for making Hama bead patterns in the usual way. However I have found a few ways that you can use the beads slightly differently to produce some fun crafts, and one of these is making beads for a melted Hama bead bracelet.

You can use Hama beads to make bracelets with as they are of course, and there are some lovely, creative ways that people thread the beads to make different designs. But I recently tried melting the Hama beads individually first, and I was really pleased with the result.

Firstly it’s a good idea to decide on a colour scheme for your bracelet. Hama beads come in all different shades, and if you have a mixed box of beads it can be a bit overwhelming to have all the colours included. For my bracelet I used a mixture of pinks and purples, along with a few white beads.

Take an ovenproof tray and grease lightly or line with baking paper. Place the beads upright on the tray, making sure that they are not too close together or touching. Place the tray in the oven at 200C for approximately 2-3 minutes. Keep a close eye on the beads while they are in the oven. You will see them start to melt, and you need to remove them before the holes in the centre of the beads are too small. You don’t need to worry about melting the plastic as long as you are watching the beads closely, it’s quite safe!

The beads will go all shiny and smooth as they melt, and the finished beads have a really nice shape to them. Wait until they have cooled before removing them from the tray, as when they are hot they will be a bit sticky and might lose their shape. You'll probably want to give the beads a quick wash when they have cooled if you used oil to grease the tray.

Then thread the beads onto some elastic or similar to make the bracelet. You can either make a design or place randomly. I was really pleased with how mine turned out and I think it looks pretty cool!