These mushroom Perler beads designs are SO CUTE! Working with Perler beads is such a fun activity. Both kids and adults will have a blast creating their own mushroom pixel art!
We used our clay mushrooms as inspiration when designing these mushroom Perler bead patterns, and we love how they turned out! These colourful mushrooms are whimsical, magical, and super easy to make using our free printable templates!
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How to Make a Perler Bead Mushroom
Materials:
- Perler beads
- Perler beads pegboard (small square)
Equipment:
- Free Printable Mushroom Perler beads template (get the 2nd template below)
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Make your Perler bead mushroom on the pegboard
- To make a Perler bead mushroom you'll need to use a small square pegboard.We also find it helpful to separate and set out the colours of Perler beads we want to use.
- Optional: Use tweezers to add the Perler beads to the pegboard. Kids may not need to do this, but it makes it a lot easier for adults!
- Start adding Perler beads to form the bottom of the mushroom stem.You can follow our template or design your own mushroom pattern.
- Continue working your way up the mushroom, adding the rest of the stem.
- Follow the template and continue adding Perler beads until you've filled in the whole mushroom.
- Compare your mushroom to the template to make sure it's exactly how you want it to look.
Step 3: Iron your mushroom
- Set the pegboard on an ironing board or a wooden cutting board. Place a piece of parchment paper over top of the Perler bead mushroom.Heat your iron to medium temperature, no steam. Place the iron on the parchment paper and move it around in circular motions for at least 15 - 20 seconds.
- Check to see if the beads are melted together. Continue to iron for another 10 to 20 seconds, if necessary.The Perler beads are melted correctly when the parchment paper sticks to the beads and needs to be peeled away from them.
- Leave your mushroom design on the pegboard until it's cool to the touch.
- Your Perler bead mushroom is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- We find it easiest to start from the bottom of the mushroom stem and work our way up, but you can add the beads in whatever order you’d like!
- Apply gentle pressure when ironing the Perler beads to make sure that none of them get knocked over.
- If you have a clear pegboard you can slide the template underneath, making it even easier to make your mushroom Perler beads creation!
Download our free mushroom Perler beads templates:
Click on the links below to download our free, printable Perler bead mushroom templates! The PDF files will open in a new window.
Then simply follow along with the pattern on your device’s screen, or print the templates in colour on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) printer paper.
>>> Mushroom Perler Beads Template #1 <<<
>>> Mushroom Perler Beads Template #2 <<<
Where’s the best place to buy beads to make mushroom Perler beads designs?
You should be able to find a good assortment of Perler beads at your local craft store, or at a chain store like Michaels or Walmart. If you’d like to buy online, Amazon often has good prices, and they offer a large selection of fuse beads.
Or go straight to the source and check out the Perler beads website for every possible colour of bead and accessories!
Should I melt both sides of my Perler bead mushroom?
It’s really up to you if you iron both sides of your mushroom or not. We prefer the classic Perler bead look of ironing only the one side. When you iron both sides it changes the look of the mushroom, but it does give it more stability.
It’s fun to experiment with different looks for your melty beads to see what you like best! You can iron only one side or iron the second side just enough so the beads are fused together. Or, keep ironing until the beads are totally closed and melted together!
To iron the second side, remove the fused mushroom from the pegboard. Then flip it over and cover it with parchment paper again before ironing the back.
What’s the best paper for melting Perler beads?
We prefer to cover our Perler beads designs with parchment paper when melting them. We always have it in the house, it’s inexpensive, and it works well.
And don’t forget that you can re-use the parchment paper to make more mushroom Perler beads!
You can buy special Perler bead ironing paper if you’d like, but we don’t find it necessary.
What can I do with my mushroom Perler beads?
Working with Perler beads is fun on its own, but it’s also cool to do something with the mushrooms you’ve created! Here are a few ideas:
- Use the mushrooms for pretend play in a fairy garden
- Tie a thin string or fishing line through one of the top holes and hang it in the window
- Add a magnet to the back and hang it on the fridge or any other magnetic surface
- Glue a pin to the back to make a brooch or badge for your backpack
- Add a chain with a split ring through one of the holes and turn the Perler bead mushroom into a keychain
- Attach your mushroom to cardstock with a glue dot for a fun picture or front of a homemade card
Mushrooms and toadstools are known as symbols of good luck, making these mushroom Perler beads perfect to give as a homemade gift.
It’s so fun to make a Perler bead mushroom, whether you’re a fan of Alice in Wonderland, Super Mario, or you just like the look of these adorable fungi!
Here’s even more Perler bead craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
Let us know what you think: