I’m SO excited to share this project only because it’s taken me forever to put together. I love puzzles and my sunroom is a perfect place to put one together while looking out on the back yard. Sometime last year during quarantine, I bought 2 new puzzles to work on. I love bees, so both are bee themed. I started one and got about halfway done when life started getting busy and I burned myself out on puzzles for a while… but proceeded to let it sit in the sun room for about 2 months after that. Finally one day I took it down and moved everything out of the way.
A couple of months ago, I decided I wanted to work on a puzzle again so I pulled out a small card table and put it in the living room this time. I would go in spurts where I would sit every night for a few hours or not work on it for weeks. This past weekend I finally finished it!!! I am missing 2 pieces, but what did I expect after having it out with a cat for months on end. Luckily, they aren’t majorly important pieces that ruin the design completely.
Since it’s a design I like, I decided to hang it up like a poster. Unfortunately, I finished it and got motivation to do this at 9:30pm on a work night… so when I found out I barely had any mod podge left I decided to make my own glue mixture. I mixed plain old white glue with a tiny bit of water just so it was easily spreadable with a paintbrush but not runny. There are specific glues that people use to put together puzzles and I’m sure if anyone who is an avid puzzler sees this they will cringe a little bit, but it got the job done.
To apply this mixture, I carefully slid baking paper (waxy side up) under my puzzle so it wouldn’t stick to the table and used my paintbrush to paint an even layer on the front of the puzzle. I let it dry overnight before flipping it over and painting the back. I may go back in and put another layer on the front just for stability, but it seems fairly sturdy. Now I can mount it on plywood or a foam board or even in a picture frame and hang it on my wall! And if I ever find those 2 missing pieces, I’ll be able to fill them in 😊 As always, if you take any fun pictures or videos, tag me on Instagram @SmileMakePeopleWonder and use the hashtag #DandelionSmiles. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next exciting idea
Dandelion Smiles 