Plastic Bead Bowl Tutorial

I saw a great tutorial a while back on how to make a plastic bead bowl (shown below) over at Chameleon Girls, this is a great mother and daughter run blog, here is their link: chameleongirls.blogspot.com

I have tried to demonstrate using pictures how I made this bowl, here are the steps:

Step 1: Find all those unwanted small craft beads that children have (the ones that are meant for ironing!)

Step 2:  Find an ovenproof bowl and cover the inside with cooking oil, then add the beads.

Step 3: Spread the beads out so that you have the whole bowl covered. They should stick to the sides easily with the oil.

Step 4: Make sure there are no big gaps, use your fingers or a knife to smooth out as much as possible to make it even looking.
Step 5: Once the bowl is completely covered in beads, place into a pre-heated oven (about 200 degrees). Depending on the size of the bowl/beads the time in the oven can vary, keep checking frequently.
Step 6: Once the plastic has melted, remove the bowl from the oven. Allow to cool down. Once cool, submerge bowl into some water, this makes it easier to remove the plastic bowl from the ovenproof bowl.
Step 7: Use the finished bowl for whatever your needs, decoration, storage or as a gift!

Please note:  I am not an expert regarding melting plastic so I can not say if there are any toxic fumes warnings to actually give. I would suggest that if you are concerned then you should do your own research on the matter. I have since seen these tutorials on a few sites and nobody is really mentioning any warnings. I would however recommend you have the windows open because it did give off a strong smell!

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