For my latest melted beads project I decided to remain old school, this time with Link from The Legend of Zelda (NES).

I found a lot of sprite designs online for this one but none were lage enough to maximize the 29×29 pixel grid. Again I used PCStitch to convert images I had found and edit it to make the desired design using the Pyssla beads 10-color pallet…

For my second perler beads project I chose one of my all-time favorite arcade game icons, Peter Pepper from BurgerTime (1982).

Click through for the pattern…

Inspired by the cross stitch projects (and by our very own Jenni Lada), I picked up a pack of Ikea’s plastic beads and decided to give a go at some 8-bit art.

Since I live pretty close to an Ikea, I picked up Ikea’s bucket o’ beads (aka Pyssla, US$5.99) which contains ten colors, most of which are appropriate for old-school avatars. For my first project I opted for a Racoon Mario from the classic NES game, Super Mario Bros. 3. For the working base I used Ikea’s Pyssla bead shape set (US$2.00) which includes four colored shapes. The largest is the white square with 29 x 29 pegs.

I remember working with perler beads as a child. Nothing elaborate – just flat designs from kits that my mom would later iron to make permanent. Never did I even imagine that works of video game art, like the ones by Doctor Octoroc were even possible. Just look at the Gamecube (pictured above) that he created!

Doctor Octoroc creates perler and hama bead sprite creations in his spare time. Incredibly elaborate creations. He not only creates large bead sprites or scenes from games, but also creates 3D replicas of consoles and custom sprite creations. (I didn’t even know they had that many different bead colors!)

Being a sucker for video game related crafts, I was delighted when I came across Lost Mitten’s Etsy store, which is populated with various nifty items with video game icons on them. Its a nice place to stop and browse, or pick up a trinket for a video game loving friend. Plus, since Lost Mitten has sold 949 items and received 100% positive feedback, you know you’re buying from someone you can trust.

My personal favorites are the perler bead items. Lost Mitten has created coasters with Super Mario, Pac Man, Earth Bound Sonic, Bomberman and Zelda characters depicted on them. They’re reasonable as well, with notepads starting at $7, coasters at $12 and boxes at $14.