Hama beads are always a favourite in our house and we are always looking for new Hama beads ideas.
What are Hama Beads
For anyone not familiar with them, Hama Beads are small hollow round beads that you place on a pegboard in a pattern. Once you have finished you place the ironing paper over the top and use the iron to fuse the beads together leaving you with your finished masterpiece.
Easy to use
Hama Beads are easy to use; I have even had a 3-year-old who has put the Hama beads onto the pegboards when I was childminding. Obviously, the ironing part is an adult-only job.
Great Activity
They are great for kids as they help develop fine motor skills for younger children and in older children, they help develop knowledge of patterns and allow them to be creative.
Getting started
We started off with an individual pack each, which contained a few coloured beads, ironing paper, a small pegboard and pictured instructions of that one thing to make. The girls loved them so much that I invested in more and more Hama beads and we went from following the patterns to freestyling.
We have used the shaped pegboards, which gives you the outline then you use the different colour beads to make your design. We have also used the big square pegboard to make our own designs.
How to Use Hama Beads and What you Will Need
What you need
Hama Beads
Peg Board
Ironing Paper
Iron
Method
Place the Hama beads on to the peg board in any design you like.
Once finished cover the design with the ironing paper and using the iron go over it until the design is fused together (this should only be done by an adult or with adult supervision).
Leave for 5 – 10 Minutes until cooled then remove from the peg board.
Different types of Hama Beads
I have bought so many packs of Hama beads from the huge mixed tubes to the individual packs which come in a huge variety of colours, they even have neon, glittery and even stripped beads.
Hama Beads Ideas
We ended up with so many Hama Beads creations that we started to look into what to do with them all. Here are some of our favourite Hama Beads Ideas that are easy to make and look great.
Hama Bead Fridge Magnets
Turning your designs into fridge magnets is a great way to display them and they can also be of use. To do this I bought some little round craft magnets and a small pot of superglue and set about glueing the magnets on the back of the finished creations.
Hama Bead Keyrings
Another great idea is to turn them into keyrings which can also be used to add to school bags to customise them. I bought a set of keyring chains and fed these onto the top of our finished creations. This can be a little fiddly to get through the fused beads but once you have the knack it gets easier.
Hama Bead Bookmarks
These are a great and practical Hama Beads Idea turning them into a wonderful bookmark that can be used again and again. To make this we used the large square pegboard and put the pegs diagonally across it.
Hama Bead Bowls
Hama bead bowls are brilliant they are easy to make and look great. First grease round the out side of a small heat proof bowl the pour in the Hama beads and flatten them out and push them up the sides.
Next, put the bowl into the oven until melted then take out and leave to cool. Once cooled remove from the bowl and you will have your very own Hama bead bowl. For more in-depth instructions read more post How to make Hama Bead Bowls

Hanging Decorations
You could add string through your designs and make them into hanging decorations. At Christmas, you could even go a step further and make Christmas tree decorations out of Hama beads.
Gift Ideas
All of these Hama Beads Ideas will make lovely handmade gifts for family and friends. We have given a lot away as gifts, over the years.
Last year my girls even made all their teachers Hama bead bookmarks with a ribbon tied through the bottom.
Why Choose Hama Beads
I know there are a lot of cheaper options for beads instead of the Hama beads but I would be wary of these. We have used the cheaper beads in the past and to make your design on the pegboard they are fine but they are a lot harder to iron and fuse together.
There is nothing worse than being handed a creation that a child has spent so long on for it to then get ruined in the ironing stage. I find the cheaper beads don’t melt as well and when you think they are melted and go to remove the paper some of the beads are stuck to it which pulls them away from the design. Sometimes you can get them back in but other times they have been completely ruined which has caused a lot of tears.
I always make sure our creations are completely melted and fused together and once cooled down I then remove them from the pegboard.
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Our Tips
Then to ensure all our designs are super strong I always like to iron them on both sides. So once I have done the first iron and it has cooled down I remove it from the board and flip it over and iron again.
I have also on some of our designs used Mod Podge to coat over the finished product just to give it a bit extra strength.
When Hama Beads Can Be Used
Hama beads are can be used as seasonal crafts we have made Halloween and Christmas creations and even made baubles for the Christmas tree out of Hama Beads. Read more in my post – Christmas Decoration Crafts for Kids and Children’s Halloween Crafts
Hama beads are a great activity for all the family and can keep the children amused for ages.
Word of advice though ensure your children don’t bring them over to you once they have finished putting them on the pegboard as if they drop them or tip them up there will be a lot of tears not to mention beads everywhere. Again I learned this the hard way.
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