As 80s kids, we grew up playing the original Nintendo Super Mario Brothers, with the 8-bit characters that will forever hold a place in our hearts. The new Super Mario Bros movie has a friend of ours inspired to throw a Super Mario Brothers themed party, and asked us to help with decorations. No problem, how about a giant pixelated Mario to serve as wall decor and the party backdrop?

VIDEO: Giant Super Mario Brothers Party Backdrop

If you can't see the video, try viewing it directly on YouTube.

Free Super Mario pixel art pattern

I used the same pattern I had created for the Super Mario wood block pixel art pieces we made to decorate Jo's 80s-themed basement. We're offering this pattern free for you to use, so just download and print the Mario and Luigi pattern to serve as reference.

Step 1: Cutting your paper squares

To create your Mario Brothers wall decor, you'll need paper, cardstock, or poster board in certain colors. If you have a big stash of colored paper already, go for it! I found that poster board was the most economical material (at roughly $1.50/sheet), but I had to use cardstock for the skin color because I couldn't find poster board to match.

You'll need to cut your paper or poster board into many many squares (exact counts are below). The size of the squares will depend on how large you want your Mario or Luigi to be. The brothers are 16 squares tall and 13 squares wide, so do the math to calculate your square size. I used 5" squares, which resulted in my Mario being about 6.5 feet tall and 5.5 feet wide, which was just right for our party space.

Here are the number of squares you'll need to make your Mario or Luigi pixel art wall decor:

• Red (Mario) or Green (Luigi): 40
• Black: 17
• Blue: 32
• Beige: 33
• Brown: 14
• White: 14
• Yellow: 2

Step 2: Adding the squares to the wall

Once you've got all your pieces cut, it's time to add them to the wall! I suggest starting at the bottom like I did, with the brown squares that formed Mario's feet. Attaching the pieces to the wall is easy — just put a rolled piece of painter's tape on the back and stick it in place.

The pattern printout is super helpful to keep you on track with the pattern and build your Mario or Luigi wall decor. And yes, that's a Luigi costume I'm wearing. I'm all set for next Halloween.

It's so fun to watch it all come together. My favorite moment was when I got the mustache up, because it suddenly looked so much like Mario.

Special note if your wall happens to be white like mine was: You might want to add a black line with marker to the outside edges of the white glove pieces, so that they show up more clearly on the wall.

Step 3: It's party time!

How much do I love how this giant Super Mario wall art came out? This much!

The best part about this Super Mario Brothers wall art is that you can make it virtually any size by just modifying the size of your squares. I especially like it oversized on the wall, which makes a great backdrop for a Super Mario Brothers themed party, or for a kid's room or game room. And wouldn't it have been so fun back when Jo's daughter had her Princess Peach themed birthday party?

And because the squares were attached with just painter's tape, they should come off the wall easily, and you can save them to use again for another party, OR give them to the kids to make new pixel art designs.