Perler Bead Safety Pin Bracelet

And so the Perler bead craze continues!

(You know how they have "Shark Week" on tv?   Maybe I should have called this "Perler Week..."  Hmm...)

Last night while watching tv, I strung a whole bunch of black and white Perler beads onto some safety pins.  Why?  Well, because I wanted to make this bracelet...

The black and white design makes it quite graphic, the Perler beads make it fun, and the silver safety pin bits make it a bit edgy.  When I wear it, I imagine that I'm a hip preschool teacher going out to a club.  (Wow.  I really need to get out more....)

Perler Bead Statement Necklace

Yes.  I'm still on a Perler Bead kick.  I'm sorry.  I can't help it.  I'm the kind of person that likes to finish things off... and so far I've been thwarted from doing just that.  Boo.  Even after all this crafting, I still have like a billion beads left.

A billion!  Ack!  What do people do with all these beads anyway?

So today I'm going to share how I made this statement necklace using Perler beads.  But, full disclaimer here... honestly, I'm on the fence over the results.  Cute?  Or kind of crappy?  I'll let you decide....

Materials:
- 1/8" wide ribbon, cut at 72 inches
- Scissors
- Masking Tape
- Perler beads
- Ruler

What's up, Chuck?

How was your weekend?  Ours flew by way too quickly. A college friend came up from Maryland to visit us.  We hung out at home on Friday and Sunday, but on Saturday I put on my non-mommy clothes and explored Manhattan with her.

Ooh la la.  I felt like I was in college again.  It was so nice having her around....
 and I miss her a whole bunch already. 

Here are some photos from our weekend:

Chuck and I attended a friend's birthday party.  As you can see, he kept the party going as we walked home.

My friend's a pretty good storyteller....

and artistic to boot.  (Can you believe that she doodled this shirt freehand with fabric markers? Whoa.)

We tried Xi'an Famous Foods' hand-pulled noodles... Yummy oxtail...

and watched a Broadway show...

 and toured Soho (which, by the way, is really just way too glamorous for me....)

I also found out that Topshop teamed up with Project CANVAS to raise funds for art programs in the city.  If you're interested in supporting art programs (and getting a pair of one-of-a-kind kicks), visit Topshop's Soho store.  Local artists will personally decorate your purchased shoes until 8/8.

Happy Monday!