Inside Out's Joy! Perler Bead Tsum Tsum

In honor of Pixar's most recent movie, Inside Out, today we will be making a Perler bead version of the emotion, Joy!  We are using her Tsum Tsum design as reference.


Supplies Needed

40 Yellow Beads

35 Light Blue beads

5 Dark Blue Beads

1 Orange Bead

Square Peg Board
Tweezers

Parchment paper

Craft Iron (No steam!)

Let's get started! You're going to set your iron to its highest temperature setting.  If you only have a steam iron available, be sure that there is no water in it. 

The basic shape of the Tsum Tsum is an oval, but because Perler beads are popular for their pixelated "8-bit" look, we will be using a square peg board to take full advantage of that feature.

The top and bottom will consist of 7 beads, the sides 4 beads, and the "slopes" in each corner will have 3.  These slopes will make the final product more rounded.

First, peg the eyes and part of her eyebrow using the dark blue beads.  Then, peg the orange bead for the nose.  You can now start the outline of your Tsum Tsum. Once the basic shape is done, start filling it in and shaping her hair.

Because I did not use a pattern, I had to make a few tweaks.  This is where the tweezers really helped me pick out beads in the middle of the design.
IMPORTANT: Once you are finished pegging the design, you want to make sure all beads are connected.  This is to ensure that they all fuse properly when heated.  For example I had to add a center bead to the "plus sign" shape on her head.



Lay a piece of parchment paper over the design.  Carefully place the widest part of the iron over the covered pattern and apply and apply some pressure.  Move the iron over the pattern slowly, being sure to use an even amount of pressure.  Once the beads are fused together, carefully peel off the paper, allow to cool and repeat the ironing process on the opposite side.

 Happy Happy Joy Joy!
All done!

Speaking of happy, be sure to check out our Happy Hour!  You receive an additional 50% off on all red, green, yellow and orange tag items.  Monday-Saturday 3-6 pm
 and Sunday 3-5pm.  

Erika @ Pearl City Ben Franklin