Trevor is 17, so it's been a long time since I stuffed my purse full of things to keep him entertained when we left the house. But I remember those days well. The biggest challenges were at meetings where he needed to stay quiet and entertain himself independently while I was busy. If you're still at that stage, today's craft is for you. Affiliate links below.
Popsicle Stick Puzzle
Materials:
- photographs, images from magazines, finished coloring pages, etc.
- standard size (4.5") craft sticks
- mini (2.5") craft sticks
- paper trimmer
- Mod Podge
- microtip scissors
- resealable treat bags
Steps:
Select the images you want to use for your puzzle. What you choose will determine the difficulty, so keep that in mind based on the age of the child. The size of the puzzle will also impact the difficulty level. When you've selected an image, lay out craft sticks onto it to determine how many will fit. Here you can see that I've put 7 mini craft sticks onto the beach image.
When you've figured out how many craft sticks you puzzle will have, cut the image into strips using the paper trimmer. The strips should be as close to the width of the craft sticks as possible and slightly longer, as you'll be trimming away the excess to round the corners later. Here you can see nine strips of Disneyland's World of Color ready for nine standard-sized popsicle sticks.
Coat each stick with a thin layer of Mod Podge and smooth the strips in place. Let them dry completely. When they are dry, round off the excess paper from the ends. The microtip scissors make this much easier than with regular scissors.
Add a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the image to seal it in place. When it's dry, your puzzle is ready.
Store each puzzle in a zip-top treat bag.
I used magazine images, but family photos would be great. This is also a fun way to use completed coloring pages. Just make sure whatever image you use gives you enough clues to solve it. Enjoy!
How fun!
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