How to Make a Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Wreath

Jigsaw puzzles are great for long winter evenings when the weather is cold, the fire is warm and the family is all together. However, once you have completed a jigsaw puzzle, a lot of the fun goes out of it. While you may have a few favorites that you enjoy putting together over and over again, most jigsaw puzzles tend to gather dust on the shelf once they have been assembled, admired and then put away. You can recycle these tired old jigsaw puzzles by using them to make clever, crafty wreaths that can be used at Christmas time or all year round. This quick project is a great way to spend time with your kids while making a household ornament that you can all enjoy.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A jigsaw puzzle that you no longer want to play with
• Glitter
• Kids' craft glue
• Paintbrush
• Ribbon bow
• Piece of cardboard
• Scissors
• Small craft pompoms

1. Cut a large circle out of the cardboard. This will be the backing for your wreath, so be sure that it is as big as you want your wreath to be.

2. Cut a smaller circle out of the middle of the larger cardboard circle. Make sure that you leave enough cardboard to glue the puzzle pieces on. If you want a wide wreath, then cut a very small circle out of the center, but if you want a narrow one, cut a larger circle.

3. Use the craft glue to attach puzzle pieces to the cardboard circle. You can lay them side by side or overlap them. A wreath of overlapping pieces will have more dimension than a completely flat one. Keep gluing on the pieces until the entire cardboard circle is covered.

4. 
   This wreath is made of puzzle pieces painted green to give it a more festive appearance.

   Paint designs on top of the puzzle pieces using the glue and the paintbrush. You may wish to cover the entire wreath with a thin layer of glue or you can make swirls, geometric shapes or even spell out "Happy Holidays."

5. Sprinkle the glitter over the entire wreath. It will stick to the areas that have glue designs on them but can be shaken off the rest of the wreath.

6. Glue the big ribbon bow onto the wreath. You can place it anywhere you want. Many people prefer the top so that it appears that the bow is holding the wreath on the wall.

7. Decorate the wreath with the small craft pompoms. This will add more depth to your creation and mimic the effect that berries have in festive fir wreathes. Once your wreath is dry, you can hang it on the wall, on the door or give it to a friend or relative as a special homemade gift.

Tips & Warnings

• If you think that the picture on the puzzle makes the wreath too busy, you can spray paint the puzzle pieces different colors before gluing them onto the cardboard.

Resources

• Click here to do online puzzles and print out the results.