Summer is always a good time to enjoy the sunshine, and what better way to do that, than make some really pretty sun catchers?

The great thing about this project is that it is very inexpensive and it can be done so easily with kids of almost all ages!

All you need are pony beads, a drill, some fishing line or similar string and either a muffin tin, or cake pan! That’s it! This project is super simple!

Step one:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Have the kids place the pony beads into the muffin cups in whatever patterns they’d like. The girls tried everything from an ‘A’ or ‘V’ to smiley faces. It was really cute, but I warned them that because of the shape of the beads, it may not melt into exactly what they wanted. They were ok with that. 

 

Step two:

Once the kids have filled the muffin cups, place the tin into the oven and let them melt! You’ll be baking them for about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the oven and watch the beads as they melt! You will probably smell the melting plastic as well, so make sure your kitchen is well ventilated!

Step three:

Once the beads have melted together, take the pan out and let them cool completely. Once everything has cooled, you can flip over the pan and they should come right out. If they don’t just fall out, You should be able to gently push on the bottom of the cups and they should pop right out.

Here are what some of ours looked like right out of the pan.

We learned about the types of beads to use, and not to use. Don’t use any metallic ones. They will not melt well, and could possibly burn in the oven.

Step four:

Carefully drill a hole through the sun catchers with a drill bit just large enough to fit the string/fishing line. Tie a knot in the string and hang up in a bright, sunny location!

You can use any shape of baking pan to make them, we just liked that we could make more with the muffin cups.

This is a great activity for any weather! Make them if it’s raining outside and put them up to enjoy when the sun comes out!

Have you ever made a craft like this? Want to try it out? Let me know how you do!