Handmade Puzzle Cards

In the past I have written about sending handmade cards to my Dad, since he loves to get mail. Another thing he enjoys is making jigsaw puzzles. My sister and I try to keep him well stocked with puzzles. At 91 years old, they are a good activity to keep his brain active. Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about creating a card for him that is a simple puzzle. I finally figured out how to execute it!

I started by creating a simple drawing with permanent marker on a 4" x 6" sheet of photo paper. I have a lot of this paper that came with color ink for my old printer. I rarely print photos. I can get better quality ordering prints online, which are also relatively inexpensive. I thought this was a good use for it.

I also have a whole bunch of foam sheets that were donated to our local potters group, from a cosmetics company. We use them as packing materials but I thought they would make a good backing for my puzzle, since they are flat and lightweight. I glued the drawing to the foam and when it was dry I trimmed around it.

Next was cutting it into puzzle shapes. Scissor did not work well. A box knife was much easier. 

The next one I make will have more "locking" pieces. I have a few that just slide into place. I still consider it a success and the next one will be better. I am already planning out some Valentine puzzle cards to create. I think my great-niece would love one.