10 Puzzle Piece Crafts

People love to hang artwork of their initials. It can run the gamut of something fanciful in a shadowbox with trinkets to something simple with just the letter in a cool font and/or color. Using puzzle pieces to create a monogrammed picture is different and can be easily personalized to the individual receiving it.

You could opt to paint your pieces in one color, in different hues of a color, or try finding a puzzle that has a cool pattern or design so you can just use the pieces without painting them. That will create a piece that is more unique and one of a kind. You could also try to find a puzzle that reflects something personal about the individual you are making it for and finding pieces within the puzzle that will show that once arranged.

Materials

Along with the puzzle pieces you will also need a canvas and glue. I would stick with a craft or tacky glue that dries clear just in case you use a little too much in certain spots. As for the size of the canvas, an 8x10-inch would be ideal. If you wanted to, you could also paint the canvas a complementary color before gluing your puzzle pieces on.

To begin, you could either lay your pieces freehand to create the letter, or, lightly draw the letter on the canvas. Just be aware that it’s not that easy to completely erase pencil from canvas so if you make a mistake the pencil mark may still show depending on where you end up placing your puzzle pieces.

Play around with the pieces so they are a bit juxtaposed on the canvas and mix and match the pieces. You don’t want to have 4 border pieces in a row.

To cover up any gaps between the pieces lay additional pieces on top. This will give your artwork definition.

Once you are happy with how the pieces look on your canvas…

Remove the puzzle pieces you laid on top to cover any gaps. Carefully place them next to your canvas in the same order you wish to glue them on to your piece.

Now, begin to glue your puzzle pieces to your canvas. Pick each piece up, dab a few drops of glue on the back and place it back down. You should stick with working with one piece at a time this way you can get your pieces glued on as close as possible to where you positioned them.

Let the pieces dry for a few minutes before gluing the removed pieces on top.

After gluing the remaining pieces on let your piece dry for about an hour to ensure that the glue is completely dry.

Another fun project you can make with puzzle pieces is ornaments. This is a great craft to do with kids. 

Materials

For this project, along with the puzzle pieces you will need craft paint, self-adhesive embellishments, ribbon and a hot glue gun. I would also suggest using wax paper to protect your work surface to paint and assemble your puzzle pieces.

Start by making a circle on your wax paper. To get a perfect circle use the cap of a jar, or something else round to trace.

Next, place your puzzle pieces around the circle to know how many pieces will need. You want to overlap the pieces a bit. 

Now that you know how many pieces you will need you can paint them green.

Once they are dry, position them around your traced circle and, using a hot glue gun, glue the pieces together.

Decorate with adhesive pearls… 

And a decorative bow and attach a ribbon to hang and you have yourself a new ornament for your tree. 

To make a candy cane the steps are the same. You could do this freehand or draw the shape on the wax paper to follow. Getting the curve on the top may be tricky with the puzzle pieces so you will have to play around with it to get it just right.

And finally, a snowflake. This ornament will require a few more puzzle pieces. After painting them white you could add some glitter to give it a nice shimmer and top it off with a decorative adhesive rhinestone in the center.

To create this ornament, you will lay one puzzle piece as the base and attach the “legs” of the snowflake to it and then cover it with another puzzle piece glued to the center.

These are just a sampling of crafts you can make with puzzle pieces. You could also make an ornament that can be used as a picture frame. Pick your picture and then arrange puzzle pieces in a square or rectangle around the picture.

You could also make a fun Valentine’s Day gift by attaching puzzle pieces painted in red & pink to a heart form.

If you are really artistic you could draw or paint a picture and use the pieces as part of the artwork. Maybe a bunch of blue puzzle pieces as the ocean in your picture. The possibilities are endless.

Other Puzzle Piece Crafts Featured on FaveCrafts

• Snowflake Puzzle DIY Wreath
• Repurposed Jigsaw Puzzle Statement Necklaces
• Puzzle Piece DIY Christmas Wreath