I Am Puzzled !

Who knew? This is my latest puzzle which is going to be disassembled and put back it the box for future use. I started puzzling when I was a teen. I wanted something unique for my then young nephew for his 6th birthday. I found a wonderful Muppet puzzle and I wanted him to be able to keep it so I took every piece and glued them together so he could hang it in his room. I did that many more times. They became birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day and every other day gifts. I would imagine I put together at least 100 puzzles. As I grew more addicted to puzzles, I discovered that I liked one particular brand and I think I have kept that company is business for many years. They continue to be my favorites and I still buy puzzles from them. I now, sometimes, have to wait for new releases to add to my collection because I have so many of them. As my puzzle skills grew, I played with different ways to keep them as art and created different shortcuts to gluing them.

My current process is to buy a piece of fabric that compliments the puzzle or a solid color to accentuate it. You need a scissors, thread, ruler, a marking pencil, sewing machine and, of course, a puzzle. If you don't have a sewing machine, you can use a hand stitch which also makes it more distinctive. Your fabric should be larger than the finished puzzle. With a very sharp scissors, cut a straight one inch (or so) border around the puzzle. Use your ruler to create the lines. Fold the fabric over and create a narrow hem all the way around. Fold it over again to create your frame. If you choose, you can leave a little extra space to fold over the top of your puzzle when complete for a more unique look. As you do more puzzles, you will discover what works best for you. I like to use a different color thread and a fancy stitch sometimes to create an unusual gift. OK....Create your puzzle frame by using all of the outside pieces. Put your puzzle frame onto the fabric and glue all pieces in place. Be sure your frame is straight before you glue. If necessary, rip out a seam or two and resew them to be sure. Then, start working on the puzzle in sections. Pick out colors, flowers, houses, animals, background, sky or whatever you choose. When you have completed a small section, roughly a dozen pieces, flip it over, (I find it easiest to do the puzzle sections on a small piece of smooth wood.) glue that section and place into the frame, also gluing down onto the fabric at the same time. Obviously, you need to work from the outside in (or around the edges) to be sure all pieces will fit together correctly and snuggly.

Keep working in this fashion until your puzzle is complete. Let your puzzle dry for at least 24 hours before trying to flip it over. The "flip" should be fairly slow and steady so the pieces do not bend or shift. Once your puzzle is done, it is time to make your decision on what you choose to do with the fabric border. If you have left enough space to fold it over, you fold over and glue it as you go. If you discover that your seams are not straight, you may have created a problem for yourself. That's the reason a lot of my "crafters" just create a frame without the intention of folding over. I think it takes awhile to find the exact formula to do the fold-over fabric frame. Now you have a unique piece of art to hang on the wall, give as a gift, or as I have done, store in the closet for future use. Each of my puzzle creations from the same manufacturer is roughly 18" by 20".

I think I will continue puzzling for quite awhile as I find it very relaxing, enjoyable, fun and creative. It soothes me to sit and do a puzzle and then I can also have a fun gift.