Perler Fuse Bead Drink Covers

     Warmer weather is here (unless you live in Maine like I do, in which case it could still transition back to winter at any moment), which for many of us means we'll be eating some meals outdoors.  Tired of finding drowned insects in a beverage you've had outside?  Try making one of these drink covers.

Materials:
*Fuse bead kit (e.g. Perler beads kit)
*Iron

Directions:
*Arrange beads on either a circular or hexagonal pegboard, using the patterns shown above for guidance.  There are two different styles of drink cover, one to allow for a hole through which to put a straw and one that you would have to remove to take a sip of your drink.  Either pattern can easily be altered to become the other by adding or removing a few beads.
*Cover your pattern with a sheet of waxed paper and iron the first side, then remove from the peg board, flip over, put waxed paper on top and iron the second side.  You can find more detailed directions here.
*Perhaps it's because I tend to use a hotter setting on my iron, but I've noticed that my fuse bead creations have a tendency to curl slightly.  To prevent this, while the drink cover is still hot, press it underneath a heavy book for several minutes.
*Note: These designs will only work on small drinking glasses.  You can make larger versions by using large fuse bead pegboards and adding additional beads.

Glittery Clay Shoe Earrings

Materials:
*Clay
*Small metal shoe shaped cutter
*Glitter glue
*2 ear wires
*Needle
*Chain (optional)

Directions:
*Roll clay out until it is about 1/4" in thickness.
*Punch out two shoe shapes.  Using the needle, poke a small hole in each shoe, which is where the jump ring will go through.
*Bake the clay in the oven according to the directions on the package.  Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
*Once the clay is cool, add a thin layer of glitter glue to give the shoes some sparkle.
*Once dry, either attach the shoes to some length of chain and attach the chain to the ear wires, if desired, or fasten directly to the ear wires.

Pom Pom Chick

     Here's a quick, easy, and inexpensive Easter craft.  I found this idea here.  I'm including below my own, slightly modified version of the instructions below.
Materials:
*Large yellow pom pom
*Medium yellow pom pom
*Black felt
*Orange felt
*Scissors
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:
*Glue together the large and medium pom poms.  The large pom pom forms the chick's body and the medium one serves as its head.
*Cut off a tiny piece of black felt.  Roll it between your fingers until it forms a ball and then glue it onto the medium pom pom to make one of the chick's eye.  Make the second eye in the same fashion.
*Cut out a diamond shaped piece of felt and fold it in half.  Press it between your fingers for several minutes, until it retains its crease down the middle.
*Glue the crease of the orange felt to the medium yellow pom pom to make the chick's beak.

Glittery Easter Egg Garland

Materials:
*12 plastic Easter eggs
*Glitter
*Mod Podge
*Fuzzy yarn
*Paintbrush

Directions
*Mix some glitter into Mod Podge.
*Using the paintbrush, coat the eggs in the glitter glue mixture.  Set aside to dry.
*Once the eggs are dry, string onto the yarn.  I found that I had an easier time getting the yarn through the eggs when I put a little glue on the ends of the yarn and let it dry.