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Magnet Face Puzzles: A great hand made gift for kids

We are the youngest of all the cousins in the family and so gift giving can sometimes be tough since they are all getting older.  If it isn’t a gift card or a new video game it doesn’t seem too exciting these days.  I am always trying to think of things I can make (on a budget) that will be personal and fun to receive.

So I came up with this face puzzle idea.  It is inexpensive, and you can make it as easy or hard as you like.  Use just one picture or do variations on a picture like I did.  Whatever you want, it is up to you!

 

Here’s how:

  1. Choose a picture: I made four variations of the same picture using Photoshop.  (For those who have Photoshop and want to do this step I used filter and then pixelate for the dots.  I altered the colors and then used a blur setting for the other)
  2. Once you have your picture just print it out in the size you want onto plain white card stock.
  3. Then you need to laminate it.  I laminated mine with magnet laminate using my own home laminator.  If you have one of these than laminate it and move on to the next step. If you don’t have a laminator: take it to any office store and have it laminated. Once it is laminated cut it up into puzzle pieces.  You can make whatever shapes you want: strips, triangles, rectangles, squares, etc. Once you have your pieces cut out then use those magnets that come in a strips and hot glue a piece of magnet to each piece of your puzzle.  Now skip the next step and go to step 5.
  4. Once you laminate it cut it into puzzle pieces in any way you want.  For an easier puzzle make strips or large rectangles.  For more difficult ones cut it into small squares.  Since I had four smaller puzzles all in one bag I made each puzzle have different shape pieces.  That way he could tell which pieces went to which puzzle.
  5. I printed an extra picture in a smaller size as the puzzle guide.  I put it in front and all the puzzle pieces behind it in a clear baggy and then tied it with ribbon.  I also included a little happy birthday note with some instructions in the bag.

And that’s it.  I cute little gift that is personal and fun!  This gift was sent up to South Carolina so I don’t have a picture of the puzzles all finished.  But I was told that he did them on the refrigerator and really liked them!

* Another option for this puzzle gift (if you didn’t want to fool with the magnets) is to put velcro (the rough part of the velcro) on each piece of the puzzle and then roll up a piece of felt in the bag for them to do the puzzle on.  For younger ones that need an easier puzzle you can cut it into strips the same size as large popsicle sticks and glue them onto the sticks.  This creates a wooden strip puzzle that they can do anywhere!

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