Make Together : Melted Beads Decor

Quality time together with Ladybug Girl after work is always a challenge, in time and energy.  So I like to share easy ways  a working mom can squeeze play in before bedtime.  This one took fifteen minutes, tops:  

After the series of heavy rains this wet season, the air-dry dough hearts we made together disintegrated in the humid air. 

They lasted eight months, not bad!  Remember the how-to here?

We were given those plastic melting beads craft kits for her birthday so I brought them out and tried to spark some interest.  Not very successful.  I had never had luck on these in the past, so Ladybug Girl probably had no idea what these were for.

Yup these were a fail last year.  I can't even cook plastic, apparently!

This time rather than leave options open-ended for her to create, I made a simple square and asked her to copy it.  Surprisingly, that was all it took.  This was one time parent-led worked better.  

This is also how I keep the beads inviting and accessible.
Sorry I threw out the original box and can't remember the brand - but it's pretty common at the toy store.

I was even luckier that night because I figured out to use baking paper rather than regular paper to apply the heat from the iron.  I'm not sure these things came with instructions - beads stuck to the plain paper from yet another failed attempt in the past.

Then I hung it up using the same string that the hearts crumbled from:

Maybe we'll keep it, maybe we won't.  

But hopefully we'll get more play out of these beads.

Obviously I'm such a fan of play.  There's the learning part, sure.  But it's more meaningful than that after-office time -- play has been the best way to re-connect with my little girl.  

And I swear that reconnection gives this corporate mom energy to keep it going.