At Christmas my kids love to make gifts for the people in our family. They are really into Perler Beads which are little plastic beads that you place on a peg board. You use an iron and a parchment type paper to melt the beads together. Today, I’m going to show you some of our cross designs.

These can be made into Christmas ornaments or necklaces. If you use glow in the dark beads, you can have your child write out the verse from John 8:12 on a tag to go with the gift: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” It can be put in a child’s room to remind them at night that Jesus protects them and keeps them safe.

Making these crosses is also a great gift idea for a child who likes to act out the liturgy at home. You could use yellow beads and I think they might make gold ones, too.

And of course, children love it when they can make something that adults can use. They can make a cross necklace for family members or themselves to wear.

Supplies Needed:
Perler Beads & the special paper to protect your iron (it comes with the beads)
Square peg board
Iron
Thin nylon cord
Scissors
A nail or an awl to make holes for the cord
Lighter (for nylon cord ends)

Option 1

We had glow in the dark beads. If you’ve looked at my other crafts, you’ll see that I love glow in the dark projects! 🙂 I did this one with glow in the dark pink and a black outline. I chose black around the outside because I think it goes perfectly with the darkness and light quote that I mentioned.

If you want to make the Orthodox style cross with the 3 bars, remember that you’ll want the bottom bar to point up in the opposite direction, so after it is ironed and you flip it over the bar will point up in the correct direction.

After the cross has cooled enough to handle it, but it is still warm, take the awl or nail and pierce through the plastic to make a hole for the cord. I like to pierce it from the front, then the back and then the front again to make sure the hole is smooth.

 

Whenever I use nylon cord for a craft, I use a lighter to burn the edges a little bit, let cool enough to touch it and then roll it between my fingers to make a hard, pointy end. This helps to stick the end through the hole and keeps the ends from fraying.

Option 2

This one is an example of an Orthodox cross that’s a little thicker. Don’t forget to make the bottom bar in the opposite direction.

 

Option 3

This is a little different style of cross. It reminds me of the crosses used when the priest blesses us. I did this one with glow in the dark beads, but you can use any colors.

If you made these crosses, please share your projects with me on Facebook! It is fun to see what everyone creates!