Companion Cube Centerpiece

Ben suddenly started asking what centerpiece we would have at our sweetheart table. I planned on just sticking my bouquet there but he kept insisting on something there. Then he suggested Companion Cube and kept googling. I didn't want to spend $40 on some cheap looking box so I decided to copy a perler version we saw online. For those of you that aren't aware of Companion Cube, it's a prop that is used in the game Portal 2.

Image from http://eat3d.com/

I decided to make a 4-sided piece to place over a vase. My florist said that a 8-12" vase would work for my bouquet. I purchased an 8" vase but I didn't want to make a huge Companion Cube so I opted for a 5.5" Companion Cube. Well, let's be honest... I didn't want to spend the extra time and money (for beads) to make an 8" Companion Cube. =[

Anyway... Companion Cube has 4 colors (black, grey, white, magenta) so I bought them online. They are about $5 each color for about 1,000 beads on Amazon but that will depend on how big your companion cube will be. I ended up needing more white and grey perler beads so plan ahead of time so that you have time to buy more. If you don't have a perler pegboard, you'll want to get one. (I did spend an extra $5 on an assortment because I wanted some clear beads. I'll explain why later.)

It takes a bit of time and patience but it's pretty easy. Just carefully plan out your design. And remember to up look and stretch often. Once you get into it, you don't even realize how long you've been leaning over this piece!

Once you have it all set, you place the paper (included with the pegboard or I heard that parchment paper works) on top of it and slowly iron your piece. Be careful not to stay too long in one spot because the beads will start to melt and if it's not even, it'll look like this...

Slowly feel off the paper and make sure that all the pieces are melted together. If they are, then take the piece off the board and flip it around and repeat.

Once both sides are pretty blended, take the piece and place it on a hard surface and place a heavy book on top to keep it flat. If it's really hot, make sure to put it on something that is resistant to heat. Wait until it cools completely.


If you're connecting them, make sure to plan out the "puzzle" pieces. I left the black off one side and added these extra clear beads so that they "connect". (I got an assortment of perler bead colors so that I could use these clear ones and have other colors for any future projects)

If you flattened them well, they should connect nicely together. Due to my Coordinator handling Companion Cube for me, I decided to just hot glue the inside so that it would stay put.