Recycling Pony Beads for Your Altered Books, ATCs, or Cards

How many of us got sucked into buying pony beads way back when they were popular.  I'm thinking the 90s, but the craze may have started even earlier.  You don't have to raise your hand, because I bet you got at least ONE bag of them at one time or another, especially if you had kids begging for them.

I got sucked in when they were on clearance one year at Hobby Lobby, a big box craft store in the US.   I thought they would look cute attached to fibers I hang between pages in my altered books.  Unfortunately, they ended up looking like cheap beads.  So, I put them away and put out feelers.  I got a couple of people who told me I could paint them, but I wasn't about to do that.  Someone else told me I could use them as armatures for polymer clay.  But that didn't seem to interest me, at least not at the time, and I let them sit until now.  Of course, I also have a full container of those tiny beads I got at a rummage sale one year.

I remembered someone else told me I could melt them, but I didn't remember much else.  So, with the help of the internet, a few days ago I found a few places that confirmed it.  However, no one site agreed to the temperature or amount of time needed to cook them.

One site had 8 minutes at 450 F (230 C, Gas Mark 8).  Another had 10-12 minutes at 400 F (200 C, Gas Mark 6).  I cooked these for 15 minutes at 400 F in my dedicated bake oven I keep in my basement studio.  I kept watching them, hoping they would melt properly.  I finally got discouraged and removed them.

Some turned out lousy and needed to be recooked,

while some were really lovely.

Even after I recooked the ones that were not "done" before, I still threw a bunch away.

I definitely decided to give up on the small beads and went for the pony beads.  Easier to place on the tray,

they also cooked faster and easier.  These were in the bake oven for 9 minutes at 400 F.

Next, I cooked a few yellow beads, then

blue beads.  I've seen people use something similar in their scrapbook pages and on cards, although I can't remember what they call them.  It was a great way to find an alternative to the cheap looking pony bead, and now I'll use them in all sorts of my AB or journal projects.  I might even use them as centers for flowers, or attach them to paper clips.

Today is Day 8 of 22, and I recycled some ugly plastic beads into embellishments for my altered art.  I also saved the parchment I "cooked" the beads on, because I think the parchment will look great dipped in beeswax or baby oil.  Nothing gets wasted in my studio.