My parents never throw away a thing.
So, when I saw these cute HAMA bead bracelets on a Danish blog, I knew I could get my hands on my own beads as well.
And there they were, in a bad seventies wardrobe in our basement, next to my Barbie supermarket and some forgotten scoubidou’s.
Examining the original (very detailed and instructive) pictorial, I quickly decided that I am just too lazy to go at it this way.
Therefore, I decided to go the nostalgic route and simply melt the suckers together into these cute necklaces.
For anyone who was 9 in the nineties, this tutorial will be obsolete. For those of you who weren’t or for those who need a reminder, this is what I did.
First, make a sketch of what you want your necklace to look like. Then, start creating your design. It will probably end up looking nothing like your sketch.
You get the best results if you make sure that both sides of the necklace are symmetrical, but feel free to wing it! Make sure that every bead touches another bead on at least two sides, as this is crucial for the melting process.
When you are happy with your design, try not to fall or knock over any of the beads as you walk towards your iron board. Take a piece of baking paper and lay it over your creation. This step is very important, otherwise your beads will stick to your iron!
Start at the lowest heat setting and iron over the baking paper. Set the heat a little higher if you notice that nothing substantially different is happening to your beads (I set it at 2 out of 4 settings). Keep ironing over the beads until you notice that the tops of the beads are melted and are forming little squares.
Buy a chain or disassemble an old necklace.
To make the necklace a little more durable I glued one of my creations onto a piece of pleather and the other necklace onto a plastic cut out. Decide which side you like best and make sure it’s facing up. Attach your piece to the chain and you are done!
All that is left for you to do is to enjoy your original, old school necklace!