Raise your hand if you remember playing with Perler beads while jamming out to the Spice Girls on your walkman. While the Perler beading days of your youth were probably spent making hearts and the first letter of your name, we’ve hacked the old-school kid’s craft so it can be used in a totally grown-up kind of way. Coasters! They’re cheap to make, the design possibilities are endless and most importantly, you get to reunite with a classic ’90s activity. Now if only we could figure out a way to bring Lite-Brites into the 21st century…

Materials:

– Perler beads

– peg board

– parchment paper

Tools:

– tweezers (optional)

– iron

Instructions:

1. Using the tweezers, grab the Perler beads and begin placing them on the peg board.

2. Arrange the beads in your choice of design.

3. Once your coaster is complete, lay a piece of parchment paper over it. Make sure all the beads are covered.

4. Using low heat and no steam, place the iron on top of the parchment paper. Move the iron around the entire design in a circular motion until the entire top is melted. This should take anywhere from 3-5 minutes.

5. Allow the coaster to cool.

6. Once it has cooled, peel the parchment paper off and remove your coaster from the peg board.

7. Make a million more!

Tweezers aren’t totally necessary, but they’ll make your life a whole lot easier, especially if your beads aren’t already sorted by color. Another thing to remember while creating your design is to make sure it will fit evenly within the coaster’s dimensions. Our coasters are 20 beads x 20 beads.

After your design is complete, then comes the fun part: melting! Before the iron gets involved, make sure your parchment is totally covering all the beads (otherwise they’re going to melt to the iron, and nobody wants that). Then place the iron on top of the parchment and begin moving it slowly around the coaster. Be sure to get the corners. You’ll know it’s done when you see that the top layer is totally melted.

And that’s pretty much it! To keep things cohesive, we chose to use two different color schemes and two different designs. That pixelated chevron makes our eyes hurt, but we can’t look away.

Need a homemade housewarming present? If the new homeowners (or renters – let’s be real), are ’90s kids, we’re betting they’ll be more than stoked to get these as a gift.

Or forget that, and keep these cuties all to yourself for your next party ;)

Do you use a kids’ craft in an adult way? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

Cortney Clift
Cortney is the senior writer and special projects editor at Brit + Co. She typically covers topics related to women's issues, politics, and lifestyle. When she's not buried behind her computer you'll find her exploring New York City or planning her next big adventure.