 Photo by Melissa Griffiths/Bless This Mess |
Winter in is full swing and that means a lot of time spent indoors for most of us. As a busy mom of four little ones, I am always trying to think of new ideas to keep my kids busy during these long and dark months when there’s no garden dirt to play in or minnows to catch.
Games and puzzles are a lot of fun and a perfect activity to keep little hands and minds busy. If you’re like me though you dread buying things like this because you know that most of the pieces end up missing or destroyed; kids sure can be rough on things unintentionally.
So instead of buying things I know won’t last long, I make them! This is a simple tutorial on how to make your own puzzles from magazine pictures.
The beauty in this puzzle project is that you have so little time and materials invested in it that you won’t mind letting the kids play their hearts out, and when things get chewed on, you won’t cringe. When pieces go missing, simply make a new puzzle. Making the puzzle is almost as much fun as putting it together.
 Photo by Melissa Griffiths/Bless This Mess |
Materials You Need:
old magazines (Calendars and printed family pictures work great, too.)
cardstock
glue
scissors
Make Your Puzzles
Let your kids rummage through your old magazine and pick out a few favorite pictures. Decadent desserts, animals and tractor pictures are always a big hit at our house.
 Photo by Melissa Griffiths/Bless This Mess |
Cut the pictures from the magazine and then trim around the edges. Glue the magazine picture to some cardstock.
 Photo by Melissa Griffiths/Bless This Mess |
On the back of the cardstock, draw how the pieces will be cut out. Big and chunky pieces work better for very young kids and more complex designs will challenge older ones. You can let the kids cut out the puzzles pieces if they are able.
 Photo by Melissa Griffiths/Bless This Mess |
Flip the pieces back over so that the picture is showing and enjoy putting your puzzle back together.
 Photo by Melissa Griffiths/Bless This Mess |
| About Melissa Griffiths Melissa is a photographer, recipe developer, hobby farmer, food blogger, momma and general lover of all things delicious. She joins at The Craft Hub each month with a new kid-inspired craft that’s fun for the whole family. In the meantime, keep in touch on her blog Bless this Mess. |
