Beautiful Card Designs Made Easy

September 24, 2015

What's Cooking ?

Hi Everybody,

The other day I had a trip to Ikea  and while I was there I spotted these big tubs in the childrens department and they are filled with lots of bright plastic beads

It cot me £5 and there are literally hundreds of these beads in this tub.

So what am I going to do with them?
 I'm going to bake them !!

Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees (It needs to be hot) and while you wait you can space out the beads onto a non stick baking tray.



 They need to be separate with enough space between them because they are going to melt and you don't want them to run together.

Put them in the oven for ten minutes and then take a look at them. As they melt they sink into a doughnut shape.
 If yours are like that then they need to be left for a little longer until all the centre has run together and formed a dome.

Once they are ready take them out of your oven and allow them to cool down for a few minutes
I eased mine from the non stick baking tray with a wooden spatula
And there you have a whole bunch of flat backed dots ready to add to your cards.

There are ten different colours of beads in the tub and I think it is a bargain

If you like to add enamel dots to your cards then these are so cheap you can add loads of them

And when you eventually use up all the beads ... in the year dot ... keep the container for storage

Happy cooking !!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx


41 comments:

  1. super crazy idea one to try that's for sure!

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  2. Wow, what a wonderful idea. I will have to try it. Sounds like fun. Have a great day Christina and thanks for sharing this great idea.

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  3. looks like fun, must look for them
    thanks for the idea
    cheers Kaye

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  4. wow what a great idea Christina ....and a lot of dots. have fun. xx

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  5. Dear Christina, what a stunning idea, I have lots of these beads and I think I'm going to bake them as you so kindly showed us how to do, thank you also for sharing. God Bless, love from Jeanette Land South Africa

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  6. Fantastic idea Christina! These look great fun to make, I'll have to watch out for some. Debra x

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  7. I have a big tub of those in my craft room now I know what I will be doing today thanks

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  8. Morning Christina,
    I think I remember Christine Emberson doing something like this a while back, So clever. It's going to take you a while to use all of the beads.
    Lydia
    X

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  9. Hi Christina, the beads look like hammer beads. They were a bit of a craze when my daughter and son were younger. You put them on to a peg board to make your design. Once happy with it you covered them with greaseproof paper. Then using an iron on a dry setting you ironed over the design until they had fused together. Endless fun!

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  10. What a great idea - something I certainly would not have thought of. Thanks Chiristina

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  11. Think I saw this on web before but if I'm ever near an IKEA will make sure I buy a tub and experiment. Good fun for children with supervision of course. X

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  12. Sounds a great idea Christine thanks,Ann

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  13. Good Morning Christina :) This is a brilliant idea! What I want to know is how you came up with it? What was your thought process? I don't have the enamel dots, but have noticed when you put them on cards and I liked them. This is a much less expensive way to get the same look. Thank you sooooooo much for sharing. I will be trying this! Enjoy a lovely day. Big Hugs.

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  14. Hi Christina
    What a brilliant idea. I know I keep saying it but I wish I had your inventiveness. Thanks for sharing the idea
    Love & best wishes
    Jenny C xxx

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  15. Looks like a fun idea! Here in the US, 200 degrees is a very low oven, so I'm thinking you are not using F but C instead? Is that correct? I will have to look up a conversion on the internet for F. Thanks for the great idea.

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  16. I've never tried this but I plan to. It's a terrific idea and there are so many colors! Was there any odor as they melted?

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  17. How cool, Christina. What a shame there isn't a single Ikea in the whole of Cornwall! I think it would defeat the object of making nice, cheap dots were I to travel all the way to Plymouth for a jar lol.
    Bx

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  18. I think I found the same kind of beads, are they hama beads? In Hobbycraft they are £10 for 10,000 beads...that would last a lifetime wouldn't it lol.
    Bx

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  19. Great idea-there's going to be a sudden rush to IKEA for tubs of beads now!!

    Michele

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  20. Fummy that your showing how to make those dots...I just bought a tub of beads to make some of them....tfs

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  21. What a great idea! I don't have an Ikea near me but know that my dollar store has these also!! Guess where I am headed! LOL Thanks for the inspiration!

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  22. what a good idea and so so cheap, thanks for telling. Diana

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  23. What a clever idea Christina! I'm definitely going to do this. Have a nice day.

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  24. What a neat idea. I bet this will work with other plastic beads too. Thanks for the tip. Gonna have to try this.

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  25. Hi Christina. Wowee. What a great tip. Off to Ikea in the morning. Thank you for sharing. Hugs. Jan. x

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  26. I'm kicking myself- had a load of beads and couldn't find a use for them so gave them away AGH!!

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  27. I have looked at this idea for some time and toyed with whether I should buy them or not, you have made up my mind, I will and try your trick....thanks Christina...luv Ursula xx

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  28. What a great idea Christina.
    I have some of these beads somewhere-I've just got to find them.
    Love Val in Spain x

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  29. Pity my nearest Ikea is a four hour drive away, wouldn't be a very "cheap" idea, but, I am sure I could find beads similar to this in the "cheap" shops in my nearest town which is only 15 minutes away. Thank you for sharing the idea Christina.
    Love and Crafty Hugs from North East Scotland x

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  30. Thanks for the neat idea, I must have some from when the kids were little. Dianne Crowe

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  31. Such a neat idea! I wonder if they would work on parchment paper without sticking. Hmm, may have to give it a try.

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  32. Hi Christina, great idea, such an economic way to decorate your cards.
    Regards Liz.

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  33. What an idea! Maybe I can find some at a big box store because I don't live anywhere near an Ikea.

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  34. Thanks for sharing this "a-ha" idea! These beads are available in several stores and I never would have thought to use them this way- but I am so grateful you shared this! Buying flat-back plastic embellishments can be pricey (sometimes $4 for a small single half sheet)! So, thanks again. :-)

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  35. What a great idea Christina thank you for sharing.
    Kind regards
    Anne owens

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  36. Hi Christine
    What a nifty idea, always on the look out for these. I should think Ikea will be inundated with people who make cards etc.
    I have found something that you may already know about, but if not I thought I would pass it on. I put some Poppy seed heads in the greenhouse last year, intending to plant the seeds which fall out when the pods are dry. The other day I came across the dried seed pods,and thought that the tiny shape on the top would make excellant flowers for adding to cards. They have dried so that they look and feel like wood, and the were very easy to cut off using a craft knife. I think they could be coloured using promarkers aor re-inkers. I shall give it a try and let you know the result.
    Margaret xxx

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