It’s time to think about Valentine’s Day! I love the elementary school age version of Valentine’s Day. It’s full of hearts and crafts and cute little candies in pink and red. The adult’s version? Bleh. That’s why I’m sticking to fun and mostly kid-friendly Valentine’s Day ideas this year. Need great couples ideas? Boy have you come to the wrong blog…
I have a notebook full of fun ideas for these Pony Bead hearts. Seriously, I could show you…but that would ruin the surprise. Just stay tuned and I’ll promise to share them all before the big day. While we wait, though, we can go ahead and get your stash of plastic hearts going! Start with a silicone heart mold. I like the Easy Flex molds from Wilton, but whatever mold you use, make sure it’s oven safe. Those heart ice trays you picked up? Probably not oven safe.
Use pony beads-any pony beads-and fill up your mold. You can mix colors, but I stayed with one color per heart. You’ll want just enough beads to cover the bottom. In the Wilton mold that ended up being 18 beads, give or take. This is a great way to get the littles to help. They can count. They can sort. It’s practically educational!
Now place the mold in an oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. It’s pretty easy to see if it will need more time. If you do end up taking the mold out too early it’s easy to just pop it all back in the oven. Once the hearts look completely smooth they’re ready to cool.
You will get a melted plastic smell when doing this, so open the windows and turn on the fans. An even better idea? Use a toaster oven outside!
Different beads will have different qualities when they’re melted. You’ll have to choose which look you want when it comes to the particular craft you’re making. We’ll talk a little about what types of beads are best for each craft in the individual posts.