COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Perler Beads are small plastic tubes, which on their own, don't look like much. However, at the hands of Catie Hughes, they combine to create beautiful works of art.
"Honestly, I started doing it because I get bored during the day," she shared.
But with her creativity and patience, Catie, who's from Council Bluffs, showed she has a knack for the art form. Her mom likens it to cross stitch.
"That's what I compare it to cause it has the same little squares in it, but she's putting a bead in, instead of a stitch," Shelly Schmitz explained.
Catie starts with a pattern — which, for custom pieces, she makes. Then, she works her way from top to bottom, right to left. Depending on its size and complexity, it's not unusual for a piece to take 50 hours or more.
Some of Catie's most intricate works are portraits.
"Those were a learning curve for her... just because she's like — this doesn't look good," Shelley said.
"When you're up close to like a portrait like that, you don't really see it. So I had to like bring her back and show her, like, from a distance, how it blends."
"I love it. She hates to hear it from me, but I do. I love her artwork. I put it up at work and everybody comments on it," said Paul Schmitz, Catie's stepdad.
"You know, some people go off and do big projects and you're proud of them, but the smaller things I believe in life like what Catie does means more to me than anything," he added.
The day of our visit, Catie was working on a piece that — at two feet tall — would include about 10,000 beads. Once done, she'll bake it to connect the beads to each other. It's quite the process to watch and see just how it's infused with heart.
Connect with Catie via email, catiescreations2023@gmail.com, or through Instagram @caties_world_of_beads
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