I have mentioned it in the past that I work with children (ages 9-12, 4th – 6th grade). I work in an after school program.
One of the things we do with the kids in our program is crafts. We either do group projects/crafts, as well as crafts they can do by themselves.
One craft that my “work kids” LOVE to do is Perler Beads. As for me… I am NOT a fan. I don’t really like them because the kids get them all over the place, and I have to clean them up. I also don’t like it when a half dozen kids want their designs ironed minutes from the end of the program.
Even though I am not a fan, that doesn’t mean that I don’t support their love for the craft.
I was sent to review an item that takes Perler Beads to the next level. It’s called the smART Pixelator Perler Beads Art Kit.
The smART Pixelator is a device that you plug in and work on to create really cool Perler Bead designs, including 3-D designs and even your own designs.
The smART Pixelator comes with the design box (for lack of a better description), which is pre-loaded with designs. The kit also comes with an colorful assortment of Perler Beads, a beading tool, a beading tray and other accessories to assist you with your creations.
SmART Pixelator needs to be plugged in. I didn’t realize that when I first offered to do a review. I was thinking it was battery operated. Where we are in our program, it’s not easy to plug things in. We had to make some concessions to plug this in. Hopefully the brand will consider a battery operated version in the future.
To use the smART Pixelator, you need to turn it on after you plug it in. You also need to insert the included card with the designs on it.
Once it’s on you’ll see a design pop on to the screen. Using the blue left/right buttons, you can scroll through the pre-loaded designs to find the one you would like to do.
There are a lot of designs already loaded on to the device. They range from very simple (beginner/easy) designs, to more complicated (advanced/professional) designs. The designs are also small in shape and size, to ones that fill up the entire Perler Bead plate.
*I should note that due to the nature of our program, I was not able to take photos of the kids in my care using the smART Pixeltaor.
Once you select your design, it’s time to start Perler Beading.
Attach the Perler Bead plate on to the smART Pixelator, and snap it down with the plastic frame. This will keep the plate in place.
The smART Pixelator shows you step-by-step how to put together your design. It takes you color by color to make it easier for you.
Using the included try, fill the spots with the colors that you need for your design. You are not obligated to use the same colors. You can use your own colors if you want.
The beading try attaches to the smART Pixelator, keeping the beads handy for you throughout the entire creation process.
The kit comes with a beading tool that you can use, if you like. I found that my work kids preferred to use their fingers or the tweezers that we keep on hand for Perler Beading.
Each time you are done with a step, simply press the button to move on to the next step.
When you are finished with your design, CAREFULLY unsnap the plastic frame and remove the Perler Bead plate from the smART Pixelator. This is not an easy step, as least for the kids. Sometimes beads came undone when the kids removed the plastic frame. Most of the time it was an easy fix. It’s just a matter of putting a couple of beads back into place.
We did have a few instances where kids knocked the whole plate, causing more beads to come undone. It’s not a big deal. You just need to put the plate back on the smART Pixelator, pull up the design, and make the fixes.
After you have carefully removed the plate from the smART Pixelator, simply iron your design like you normally would.
This all sounds great, but wait, it gets better.
The smART Pixelator has a FREE app that allows you to create your own designs, which will display on the smART Pixelator, so you can do them the same exact way.
First you need to download the free app and sign up.
The next step is to make sure the app connects (via Bluetooth) to your smART Pixelator. Once you are done setting it up, you are ready to begin (make sure you smART Pixelator is turned on too!).
You can either take a photo of something you want to turn into Perler Bead art, or you can upload an image already on your phone.
This didn’t work out as well with my work kids. They are not allowed to use their phones at work, so we were not able to utilize the app, except on my phone. This only worked when I was in the room with them (I wasn’t about to leave my phone with them when I was not in the room). If you use this in a home setting, this wouldn’t be an issue.
Once you choose the image you want to use, you can zoom in/out to get it exactly how you’d like it. Then it will show you how it will look as a Perler Bead design.
A great feature of the app is that you can make corrections on the design you created, just in case something seems off (like the color of a bead).
It’s pretty cool when you see it in action. It was impossible for me to video tape the process on my phone, since I needed my phone to use the app.
With smART Pixelator, the sky is the limit as far as the designs you can create. You can make a Perler Bead design of your pet, your sister, your favorite shirt… whatever comes to mind.
From what I can tell these are standard Perler Beads (we used the ones we already had at work), so you can pick refills as needed. Just be sure to have the colors you want for your designs.
Overall I think this is a really cool device. I don’t think it’s changed my personal thoughts about Perler Beads, and it’s not go great in a group setting (the kids argue who gets to use it first), but I do think it takes Perler Beading to a whole, new, exciting level.
The smART Pixelator is available at many retail locations across the country (online and off line) including Amazon, Target, Walmart and Best Buy, to name a few.
I could not find an official website for the product.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.