puzzle, play, piecing together

How To Turn Puzzles Into Art

Puzzles are so much fun!! They also are relaxing, and great for your brain. My daughter loves to put them together, take them apart, put them together, take them apart… Personally, I get frustrated when I put time and effort into something and then see it get destroyed, especially if I spent hours on it. So instead I started gluing my puzzles and putting them into frames. Of course, I only buy the most gorgeous puzzles for this.

My husband and I went on a date last year to the Minnesota Arboretum. In the gift shop, I saw these beautiful vintage puzzles. I was tempted to buy one but didn’t want to spend the $30 dollars. Instead, I took a picture hoping I might find them later online. I couldn’t stop thinking about the vintage puzzles. I started regretting my decision to not buy one at the gift shop. I search online and found them on Amazon. I put a couple of them on my wish list.

For my birthday my mother-in-law bought me the House Plants Edition and for Christmas, she bought me the Wildflowers. Cavallini and Co. puzzles are popular and they come in and out of stock on Amazon. Cavallini and Co. have a website but unfortunately, you can’t buy directly from their site. I counted 8 different puzzles that are currently sold, all stunning. If you want to shop in person they also sell at Barnes and Noble. Cavallini and Co. have a couple of puzzles I think would look perfect in a homeschool room. They have one puzzle of the human skeletal system, a world map, and another of mineralogy.

http://www.cavallini.com/

 

Their puzzles are all 1,000 pieces and fit into a large 22 x 28-inch frame. I start my puzzles by first sorting them by colors and putting them into zip lock bags. I use one bag for just edge pieces. I always reuse my zip lock bags once finished.

Next, I take a large cardboard box to place the puzzle. This is helpful if you need to move it and also prevents glue from sticking to your table.

I always start with the edge pieces. You don’t have to do this but I think it makes it easier to visualize.

Then I start to piece the puzzle together by color.

Here is the final product.

Mod Podge has a puzzle glue product. It works great. I use a paintbrush and do two layers. Let the first layer dry overnight before doing the second coat.

Here you can see it dries clear. I bought a frame online that fits the puzzle dimensions. Michaels also has great deals on frames.

Here are two puzzles I completed and hung up in our family living room.

My next project will be this chicken puzzle. It’s not sold by Cavallini and Co. but it caught my eye because I have a new love for chickens 🙂 You can find this puzzle at Hobby Lobby. What do you think? Where do you buy puzzles?