Tuesday 21 June 2016

Striped Hama Beads Review and Bundle Giveaway!

I've been a parent for the last 22 years and yet have only just had my first personal experience of using Hama. Small beads which you can form into pictures using pegboards, and then iron to keep your creation forever.


We've had Hama creations in our house for years, but my youngest 2 boys hadn't used them until we were sent a bundle of Hama Beads to review...including lots of the new Striped Hama Beads.


In the bundle we have 5 different items, all with the Midi size Hama Beads, which are suitable for children aged around 5+.

Hama Beads Car Set (currently around £10.50). 3000 beads, 4 pegboards, design sheet and ironing paper.


 Hama 1000 Multi-Colour Striped Beads (currently around £3.50).


Hama Small Striped Bead Kits (currently around £2.99 each). We were sent the Seahorse and Butterfly packs, but there are absolutely loads of different choices available. Each contains 450 beads, a pegboard and ironing sheet.


Hama Striped Beads Activity Box (currently around £14.99). 2400 beads, including new striped beads, 2 peg boards, a long length of elastic, ironing paper and design sheet.


This is a neat box with a thick plastic lid and moulded base which can be used for storage of your beads and accessories. This set encourages you to use the beads for more than just 2D images - jewellery, key fobs and all kinds of ideas are included in the design booklet.


If didn't take long for my family to become interested in the Hama Beads. They were opened as soon as on the table, and actually it was 6 year old who made the first creation. He was obviously experimenting, didn't follow any designs and was very happy with what he made.


We ironed his patterned tile, and I made sure the beads were well fused. It only took a minute or so with a medium iron, being careful to use the ironing paper - if you catch the beads directly then they immediately stick to the iron, plus burn a sooty dark mark onto the beads.


Obviously when you remove the fused Hama it comes away as one, and I am pleased to say it has done every time. It's actually more rubbery in texture than I remember (or the recipe has possibly altered), and the finished designs are very tactile.


What shape design you make does depend on the pegboard, but there are masses available, and the larger shapes allow for you to create your own designs within them.


The Seahorse really caught my eye. I am quite fond of seahorses, and I loved the colours in the Small Striped Bead Kit. Obviously my children were also impressed because I was immediately followed by both of my young boys in turn. It's great to see the differences colours make, and a couple of personal adaptations...


The new striped Hama beads are very striking, and really add a lot to your finished designs. I love that the variations between colours and types of beads can be used subtly to blend, or boldly to contrast.

Turning the striped beads also creates interesting effects, something for the more advanced Hama crafters to have a go at....


We've all really enjoyed using the Hama Beads, and no doubt if you follow me on Instagram then I'll be showing some more of our creations using Hama, but a quick Google search brings up millions of designs to copy for the less daring.

Hama Beads are available in all good craft stores, and online on Amazon, and via the Hama Bead website, where you can find out more about Hama.

I'm delighted to say I have a bundle of Hama to give away to one of my readers. One person will win EVERYTHING shown in this post: 

Hama Beads Car Set
Hama 1000 Multi-Colour Striped Beads
2 Hama Small Striped Bead Kits
Hama Striped Beads Activity Box

For your chance to win, enter using the Gleam form below. No entry is mandatory, but each extra task completed will earn entries into the random draw. The giveaway is open to UK entrants only, and will end at midnight Sunday 17th July. Full terms and conditions are at the bottom of the Gleam form.

To see my other giveaways, visit my giveaways page...

Striped Hama Beads Review and Bundle Giveaway!

84 comments:

  1. I'd do the seahorse in the purple stripy beads and white.

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  2. The pink/purple ones. We've just had our first Hama experience at home too. I bought Monkey a vehicles set for his birthday and we finally got round to opening it on Monday and trying it out. He loves it so fingers crossed on this one!

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  3. I'd love to do a red and yellow striped star :)

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  4. i would use the blue/green stripe beads :)

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  5. Karen Scammell21 June 2016 at 22:24

    The green and blue

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  6. Light green and blue are my go-to colors for almost everything. They look so good together. I also really like blue and yellow. :)

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  7. The blue and green.

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  8. Red, white and green for a Welsh seahorse ;-)

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  9. Rainbow coloured to make it extra colourful!

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  10. I'd style it like a weedy seadragon - bright green, royal blue, and a bit of black. Hopefully the detail would come through. There are some really interesting sea horses out there, have a look: http://www.lovethesepics.com/2013/04/60-spectacular-seahorses-and-seadragons-pics/

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  11. I would use green and blue

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  12. I think I would mix it up abit with some pink and some blue

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  13. I think I would do pink, purple and blue all together!

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  14. I suspect the youngest would choose the first thing she lays her hands on despite my suggestions for simple colours such as green and white.

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  15. Blue and green as the colours remind me of the sea

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  16. Red and white, lovely and bright

    Kirsty Fox

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  17. Purple is my fab colour so pink and purple

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  18. orange and reds @msedollyp

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  19. Blue and green

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  20. Elizabeth Hinds24 June 2016 at 06:30

    Pink and purple :)

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  21. I would love to make my sea horse with purple and white beads.

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  22. Blue, orange and red :)

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  23. I love purple and my daughter loves blue so purple and blue

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  24. The greens and blues with the white as looks more lifelike

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  25. Aqua blue and yellow is pretty :)

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  26. the pink and purple ones ( fave colours)

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  27. blue and green -aqua sea colours really

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  28. would be purples,reds and pinks

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  29. Purple's my favourite colour, but also maybe black and pink, make it a bit of a goth seahorse!

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  30. green and blue with a pink fin

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  31. I would use stripy purple!

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  32. This looks so much fun me and my 5 girls would be entertained for hours ��

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  33. We would choose Green and blue so it could hide easier

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  34. Royal Blue and white

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  35. The purple stripey ones are awesome 😀

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  36. would definitely be pink and purple beads for me

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  37. I'd use the purple ones, so pretty and it's my favourite colour .x

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  38. Id use pink blue and purple

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  39. Karen hutchinson5 July 2016 at 23:49

    Love the green one

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  40. joanna kasznicki6 July 2016 at 01:18

    Black and yellow

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  41. I would make a blue and green one. These are fab!

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  42. I would make mine with the pink/purple ones and the light blue hama beads

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  43. Samantha walker13 July 2016 at 11:48

    Pink and purple for my seahorse

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  44. Blue and purple seahorse for me! Another tip for using Hama beads is that if the ironing paper provided becomes torn etc and can no longer be used, use baking paper- it does the same job.

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  45. Jodie Holyoake15 July 2016 at 23:31

    Pink and White!

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  46. Pink, and some white.

    Rachel Craig

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  47. Pink, Purple and white!!!!

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  48. i'd love to do red blue and white

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  49. Mostly yellow stripy hama beads with some black and white

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  50. I would make a seahorse in pink and purple 💜

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  51. id use pink n purples had a nosey at a clown on line looks fab

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  52. I would make my seashorse from a variety of colours, including the lilac striped beads, the green striped beads, and the blue striped beads, with a little bit of white in for contrast.

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  53. pink and purple CHERYL HADFIELD

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I read every one and try my best to reply!