Continuing with summer activities and crafts for kids, today's idea is strictly a cut-and-paste project but the results are so fun. Lillian and I did this this week and even Spencer thought it turned out rather cool.First, you'll need a set of square wooden blocks such as you'd find in a craft store for a dollar or two. I used a dozen of 1-inch square blocks.
Next, choose six pictures either from magazines, coloring books, hand-colored pictures or photographs. Grouping the blocks tightly together trace the outline of the set onto each picture then cut out the outline like you see in the picture to the left.Use a cotton swab to rub some Elmer's glue on one face of each block then group them back together and lay the whole picture onto the tops of the blocks, pressing firmly to adhere the picture.
Once the glue is set (it doesn't have to be completely dry but it shouldn't slip around or allow the picture to rip) run a razor blade down along the edges where the blocks meet to separate the blocks, turn each block to a new face and repeat the whole process with another picture until you've got all six sides of the blocks covered.You'll have a fun little puzzle that even small kids can enjoy. You can put it in a little baggie and stick it in the car to keep them quiet on the road--with six sides it's not too easy but not too hard.
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And finally this may be a day late but Raquel from Amherst, New Hampshire and Janice from an unnamed location were the final winners for last Saturday's giveaway. Thanks for entering, I hope you love your stuff!
Technorati tags: puzzles, motherhood, parenting, crafts
30 comments:
I love, love, love this!! I remember having a puzzle like this when I was younger with different fairy tales on each side. I can't wait to do this with my kids.
Thanks!
What a delightful idea; I even think my teens would enjoy doing this :).
I know I would, anyway!
Another fabulous idea!
What a cool idea - awesome!
I love this! We live away from our family, so I made it with family photos on each side for my 3year old! She loves it! It was easy to make too.
I always love crafts that won't end up being thrown away in a few days! This idea is a keeper!
Wow! This is gonna keep me busy during the weekend!
I'll find some cool pictures that I can cut and paste on the block. I'm curious how Adley will receive these blocks.
This is a great idea!
This is a fabulous idea. I can't wait to get the creative juices flowing with my kids this summer!
I've done this before. Lots of work but fun. I did it with old calendar pictures and older 8x10 pics of my kids when they were one year old that I will never use. They love doing puzzles of themselves!
This is a wonderful idea. I'm going to make one for my daughter using pictures of our far-flung relatives, and when she gets older we'll make another one together - so crafty! I'm also going to send the instructions to my sisters so they can make these with their kids on their side of the pond!
Cool idea!
This is cool - we get tons of gardening catalogs that would have good pictures to use.
Great ideas!
This is a great idea! We have sets of 2 blocks like this, but I love the idea of using more and making it into a puzzle. This is a craft that I think I could even manage too - thanks! :)
That's a cute idea. It would be fun to do this with pictures of my kids.
Thanks for calling, you made my week!
You can also use your wood burner to make these. My kids love these block style puzzles.
Love this idea, Michelle.
Not only do my children enjoy playing with puzzels, so do I.
You are absolutely brilliant! My two year old loves puzzles, but I don't like to continually buy new toys. Now we can have a crafting project and a toy in one. Plus, with family living so far away, we can make one with family pictures so that she can stay familiar with them, too.
Thanks so much for this!
I wonder how this would look with photos of kids on it? Hmmm. My nephews and nieces might like such a gift for Christmas! Thanks for a great idea!
Girl, you are giving me so many ideas for summer. My BFF & I are going to do kid craft projects together - Thanks for giving us so much variety.
Nifty tip! I eXpect one could find numerous applications for this fun, siX-sided puzzle craft. ThanX.
Being raised by a German mom, these type of wooden blocks were part of our toys and I just loved to play with them as a kid.
Thank you so much for this idea! I'll definitely be making a couple of these sets for my kids.
This is really neat. I like it for myself. It would make a nice conversation piece for the coffee table.
This is just a fantastic idea. I can not wait to do this with my children. I think I might even have to do a few, and use some of their drawings for the pictures. Thanks so much for sharing.
I did this last year for my father and grandfather for Father's Day with pictures of my kids from our last trip to see them. It was a big hit. For my grandfather I just used two 2x2 blocks and six different photographs because his eyesight isn't what it used to be.
I made some simple drawstring cloth bags that doubled as the gift bag to put them in, too. It's a really fun project.
Oh, and we also did this for our bishop last year. We took a picture of the jr. primary children and another of the sr. primary children in our congregation and had just a two-sided puzzle and painted the other sides of the blocks. He still has it displayed on his desk.
What a great project! I love your blog, I just found it and have enjoyed reading some of your stories. :)
How fun! We are in the middle of the project now. We printed a few pics off the internet, used a few of the kids and used some magazine pages. The hardest part was Michaels (I"m in Anchorage too) was almost out of blocks!
I just found your blog and have been enjoying. Today this entry caught my eye. I had seen one in a store and thought that would be fun to make one, searched the internet and couldn't find a how to, so I started experimenting on my own, I made one for each of my granddaughters for valentines day this past year. with photos of me and grampa with them, I liked it. My granddaughters are there
in Anchorage and we are in WA, so I try to think of things to keep us fresh in their minds. this was great one.
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