Last week Maddy had a go making candle holders in Hama Beads, using jars and colours to reflect the changing seasons. You can see her efforts here; they’ve already been getting a good showing on Pinterest and I think they were very innovative.

Naturally I wanted in on the act as she inspired me to try using some of the special effect Hama Beads that have come out in the last couple of years.

These are made from red, silver or gold hama beads in the bottom of the jar. Then I added pearl hama beads mixed with clear ones and topped them with the same colour as the bottom. I had preheated the oven to 180c and popped them in for about 10 minutes. I kept an eye on them and pulled them out once they had melted just enough. The pearly beads really glisten and the clear ones add a sparkle too; they look a little like snow and are very effective.

One important thing to do is take them out of the oven carefully while still hot and press a tealight holder into the top to flatten it. However I’ve since found that pouring water and a little bit of white glitter into these adds even more sparkle and of course the water keeps the candle base cool and allows it to float on the surfaces lightly.

Full making details are over on BeadMerrily, where the original version was featured.