Melted Pony Bead Bunny Jewelry

As you might guess, I do like bunnies. And not just at Easter. When I picked up a silicone bunny pan I wanted to see how well it would work for melting pony beads. Spoiler alert: it worked great!

The only supplies you need for this craft are pony beads , a silicone pan and whatever jewelry findings you’d like to use. There are plenty of other shapes like hearts and flowers if you’re not a bunny fan. Just make sure the pan is rated for at least 400 degrees. Any pony beads will work, but translucent beads look best, in my humble opinion.

Just load up your Wilton Bunny Tray with handfuls of pony beads. Add just enough to make a single layer.

You can throw them in randomly or sort a bit by color. I did a little of both and liked the results each time. 

Bake at 400 degrees until the beads are completely melted and smooth. Don’t be afraid to leave them in the oven for too long. Although they could burn it would be difficult without completely forgetting they’re in there. And trust me, the smell of melting plastic means you’re not going to forget they’re in there.

And about that smell… If you search online about melting pony beads you’re bound to hear tons of stories from people saying the smell was horrible. Blah, blah, blah… I’m pretty sure the smell of melting plastic isn’t exactly healthy, but it’s not bad and it goes away quickly. Just make sure you open the windows and turn on the fans when you’re making these. And if you ever did those little suncatcher kits with the tiny plastic pellets and the metal frames when you were a kid? It smells just like that.Depending on how long you allow them to stay in the oven, you might get some cool bubbles in your plastic. Those are from the holes in the beads. Just bake a little longer if you want them completely smooth. Once you’ve reached sufficient meltyness, just remove from the oven and allow to cool. They’ll pop right out and your pan is ready for baking food after a quick trip through the dishwasher.

To turn your plastic bunnies into jewelry just decide what you’d like to make. To create a necklace just drill with a small bit and add a chain. To make rings or pins just use heavy duty adhesive to attach the rings or pin backs. I used E6000 which worked well, although I will warn you that the rings won’t hold up to a ton of abuse and I’d only recommend using thick ring blanks like those pictured. The pieces will remain in tact, though, and a quick gluing will make them good as new.

I’m officially obsessed with melting pony beads, so expect more crafty ideas on the blog soon!