Recently I gathered some fun things for a birthday package that I was putting together to send off to my friend's little girl. While doing my weekly browsing at Target's dollar bin, I came across a puzzle for $1 and suddenly had the idea to paint over it to make a brand new colorful kids puzzle to include in the package. This puzzle was super easy and would actually make a great project create with kids!
I started with the puzzle- how boring was it before?!?!?
I painted over everything with acrylic paint.
Tip- mix a little white paint with your color to get better coverage when painting over something with dark images.
I painted over the base and the frame of the puzzle
and let it all dry.
Once everything was dry, I took apart the puzzle just to make sure that nothing was sticking to each other.
Another tip- when painting a cheaper chipboard or cardboard puzzle- keep your brush dry (don't dip in water) and keep the paint thin. Too much moisture will cause the puzzle pieces to expand and contract.
I put the puzzle back together...ummm...this took me forever...I am NOT a puzzle person!
I then started to cover the surface with drawings ( I decided on a surface full of my favorite flower designs)
Next I filled the flowers with color.
Once the entire surface was filled and the paint was dry I used a thin coat of gel matte medium (Claudine Hellmuth's FABULOUS gel medium to be exact!) to seal everything.
VIOLA! A super cute, one of a kind kids puzzle! A perfect gift!
Of course I couldn't resist taking it apart and putting it back together.
It took me forever and my husband had to step in and finish it for me :)
66 comments:
this is so awesome Alisa, and what a fantastic idea, will definitely keep this idea in mind ;)
Ilt"s really nice and a excellent idea... So great !
oh yes, love this great idea. YOU ROCK Alisa!!!
I just love this idea! And I simply adore your painting, all your paintings Ive seen are just gorgeous!
awesome idea! you are so talented and clever. thanks so much for sharing! it is always such a treat to read your blog.
i am sure she will treasure it. one of a kind.
adorable! I love it, and what a meaningful gift. your design is perfect!
What a lucky kid!!! I'm sure we all want one!
That is one of the coolest projects I have seen in a long time. How great would it be to get a present like that!!! Wowza...your creativity just never stops!
your flower design is crazy as your colors... I love it!!
Daria
This is such a cool idea! You have such an awesome, unique style. I love it!
This is so clever!! Love the colorful flowers, your signature :D
OMG!! That's gorgeous! Your painting is something incredible, so colorful and stylish! :-)
Is this amazing or what! Thanks for sharing again a great idea.
Очень , очень , очень красиво !!!!!!!
Катя из Сибири )))
Another great project you've shared with us. Love this idea. You're total awesomeness, Alisa. thanks for sharing!
VERY extremely cool! Can't wait to try it!
what a fab idea! thank you for sharing!
Fabulous! What a great idea!
What a fabulous idea....everyone knows a kid (or adult) who would love this. Thank you.....off to Target!
you have such clever ideas !
Simply wonderful! As always...inspiring!
¡¡qué bonito!!
¡muchas gracias por compartir tus ideas!
adoro tu blog, es muy inspirador!
Oh my gosh, it's fabulous!
Thanks for keeping me happy and inspired with your brillant ideas. You are like the energizer bunny.
Wow! you never cease to amaze me! absolutely gorgeous. I love your work
Tals
I love this tutorial! Thanks for sharing! I'm such a huge fan of your art! :)
this is a BRILL idea :)
What a great Idea for a personal gift. Thanks so much
This is *such* a great idea. I was just trying to think of something fun to make my friend's daughter (she's turning 5) for her birthday. I will definitely have to hit up Target to see if I can find a little puzzle to paint myself. I'm not that artistic but I don't think a 5-year-old will be too harsh a judge. And in my experience, people are too surprised that you took the time to hand-make a gift to worry about how talented you are (or aren't in my case). Thanks for another fabulous project. I love your work.
Puzzling idea! Love it. Did the child like it?
What an awesome idea. I actually have some small puzzle that are meant to have a letter written on them but I think this seems like more fun. Now only to remember where I put the puzzle.
I think thrifts stores would be great sources to find old puzzles that you can re-purpose as art.
This is so lovely! Did you take the puzzle apart before sealing it and do it piece by piece, or did you just put a clear coat down while it was still put together?
this is so much fun! So creative, thanks for sharing!
I love this idea Alisa. Another one I have to add to my list! I'll be linking as well.
I love this, once she has done it, it would make a wonderful picture for the little girls room wall. In fact I wouldn't mind it on my wall!
Sooo cool! The great thing is that if you get tired of using it as a puzzle you can turn each puzzle piece into a pendant!
i know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. You rock Alisa! Fabulous idea, what a beautiful puzzle and gift!
nice!!
greatb idea!!
hugs from Chile
c@
Great idea- awesome print!
What a great idea!
cool!!
fantastic idea!!
Love this idea! Thanks for sharing! I like the idea of using some really unique imagery on it too for my two girls to see. :)
Once again- thanks for the inspiration!
Your puzzle is BEAUTIFULI LOVE this idea! Thanks for being so fun and creative! Keep it coming!
what a great idea and sooo much cooler than the original!
I'm thinking that this would make a great gift for an adult. The big problem with doing one with a 500 piece puzzle is putting it together in the first place, but I think I'll try. Thanks for the inspiration.... AGAIN!
What a great puzzle and activity.
Wonderful project, I just love it. You blew me away with the art AND the cool idea. Thanks for inspiring us!
What a fantastic piece of art you've created from a humble puzzle !
such a great idea!!!!
thank you, I think I might make one or two for xmas gifts.
I would DIE if I received this as a present. I hope this little girl is old enough to realize what a wonderful gift you've sent!
Very cool idea! Love the design. :)
What an amazing idea! Love the painting! Greetings from Belgium.
What a fabulous puzzle!!!! This would be such a fun gift for loved ones! Especially if you had a special message to give them!!!
My two youngest gals 3 & 4 are puzzle nuts! This is so cute!
This is *such* a great idea. I was just trying to think of something fun to make my friend's daughter (she's turning 5) for her birthday. I will definitely have to hit up Target to see if I can find a little puzzle to paint myself. I'm not that artistic but I don't think a 5-year-old will be too harsh a judge. And in my experience, people are too surprised that you took the time to hand-make a gift to worry about how talented you are (or aren't in my case). Thanks for another fabulous project. I love your work.
Beautiful as usual and fun too! I linked tho this in my Friday Favorites...
http://www.laniejandco.com/2010/09/friday-favorites-91610.html
Oh my goodness! This is one of the greatest projects I've seen. I have a 4 yr old granddaughter who lives 9 hours away and I'm always looking for fun things to send to her in the mail. I think I will paint on a puzzle for her and personalize it with her name fancied up. Just LOVE this creative idea.
Thank you!
Lee Ann
Hi
Love your blog! Can you do a tutorial on taking pictures of products. You always have such fantastic product photography in all the DIYs.
Thanks!
So so nice!
This is fabulous! What a wonderful idea for a fun canvas! Love it!
I teach craft classes in the Philippines and will use this idea for one of my classes some time this year. I'll link back to you once I post pictures of what the children did! Have to find cheap puzzles first! Thanks for all the good ideas, I do love your blog!
This is way too cool. I am so in love with your hand drawn images and the colours.
Loved the idea , it came out extremely pretty!!
Frickin' GENIUS! Love this idea....
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