Every Father’s Day I like to have my kids make their dad a gift. I want it to be something handmade and special - something we can look back on when they’re older and remember how much fun we had making them. And, ideally, I’d like it to be something that will stand the test of time.
We’ve made mugs, painted rocks, and made things out of paper, but none of those things have lasted very long. Paint fades or chips, and paper gets crushed or ripped. That’s why I was so happy to find this craft for Father’s Day this year. It came out awesome and I want to share it with you!
The craft is called a Pony Bead Sun catcher - here’s how to make it:
SUPPLIES
Translucent pony beads (big bag)
String or fishing line to connect pieces
Muffin tins or other pans (ones you will never use for food after this)
A grill
A drill
Scrap piece of wood
Bowls to hold beads for kids to choose (I used clear glass)
DIRECTIONS
Warm up your grill. You definitely don’t want to do this project in the house because pony beads are plastic and the fumes are definitely toxic.
While the grill is warming up give your kids bowls full of beads and the tins/pans so they can start arranging them. They can either create designs with them or just throw them in and see what happens - they all come out looking great!
Be sure to cover the entire bottom of your pan or tin with beads, but keep it to one layer.
Place your filled tins/pans into the grill and close the lid. Set a timer for 8 minutes.
When the timer goes off, check to make sure all beads are melted. I took a big breath and held it before doing this so I didn’t breathe in the poison fumes.
If some beads aren’t yet totally melted, wait 2 more minutes and check again. When everything is melted turn off the grill and take the pans out, leaving them outside until they’re totally cool.
When the pans are totally cool you can simply pop the sun catchers out. They should come out easily.
Now that your sun catchers are done, it’s time to get out your drill. You want to use a drill bit just a little bit bigger than the width of your string to make sure it will be easy to thread.
Place your sun catchers one by one onto the scrap wood (you don’t want to drill through your table or countertop) and drill holes wherever you decide to in order to attach them together. If you’re connecting them together in a line, you’ll need one hole on the top and one on the bottom on all pieces except the last one (that one just needs a top hole).
String your pieces together and hang your sun catcher in a sunny spot or from a tree to decorate your garden! Dad will love it.
Did you make this craft? How did it come out? Let me know!