Beady Bowls

If you have kids and live in Europe, I'm sure you're familiar with the Hama beads. After having the house filled up with these, I thought it would be nice to try something new - and use up some of the thousands of beads we have stashed:

Truth be told, I haven't come up with the idea all by myself. I found DIYs a couple of places (in Danish): Here and here. You need an ovenproof bowl with sloping sides and some cooking oil. Smear a thin layer of oil in the bowl, fill it with one layer of beads and put in the oven at 200 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes. I used a spoon to press the beads flat, and then put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. You can repeat the process until the result is as you wish. Allow to cool before taking the bead bowl out. Great fun for kids of all ages! (Well, at least from 3 years upwards.)