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Welcome to the March Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop. The purpose of this Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants of this hop (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen! This month, I will share how to easily glue, frame and preserve a jigsaw puzzle! I chose to Mod Podge and frame a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle that my daughters completed together. The puzzle sat on our big farmhouse kitchen table for a while. I had to figure out how to glue and DIY frame the puzzle, and I also fought off an awful cold virus! 

Once I was healthy again, it was time to tackle that puzzle! My inspiration for how to tackle this project was the how to preserve a jigsaw puzzle tutorial from Forever in the Making.

How to Mod Podge and Frame a Jigsaw Puzzle

Celia from Forever in the Making had the luck that she decided to make her puzzle on a piece of poster board. That way, she could protect her table from the Mod Podge when it came time to glue the puzzle together to preserve it. But, my daughters put their puzzle together directly on the kitchen table, so I needed a different way of protecting the table. So, I carefully slipped wax paper underneath the puzzle before gluing it together. Since the puzzle, I have learned that it’s helpful to tape flattened cardboard boxes together and lay them out on the table. That way, the puzzle can be easily moved. I’ve found these jigsaw puzzle supplies are best for gluing, preserving and hanging a jigsaw puzzle. I’ve also discovered that you can even hang a jigsaw puzzle without a frame!

Materials

Jigsaw Puzzle

Foam Craft Brush

Mod Podge

Poster Frame

Wax Paper

Command 3M Picture Frame Hangers (for hanging)

Instructions

The puzzle my daughters used is the beautiful Buffalo Games – Charles Wysocki – Labor Day in Bungalowville.

I give a glowing review of the Charles Wysocki Buffalo Games jigsaw puzzle! It is so beautiful and all the pieces interlock securely together, which makes permanently gluing it together so much easier. We really wanted to preserve this beautiful piece of artwork.

Buffalo Puzzles has several gorgeous Charles Wysocki puzzles for sale. I would love to get more Charles Wysocki jigsaw puzzles.

My daughters and I are very impressed by the Buffalo Puzzles brand. When my daughters completed their 1,000-piece puzzle, they discovered that one puzzle piece was missing. I emailed Buffalo Puzzles, and they quickly sent me another copy of the entire puzzle so my daughters could insert the missing piece in their completed puzzle.

Gluing a Jigsaw Puzzle

To get started, I slipped wax paper under the completed puzzle before gluing it together to protect the table underneath. To start the gluing process, I swept a layer of Mod Podge across the top of the puzzle with a foam brush.

I then left the puzzle to dry for about 2-3 hours. Don’t panic when you apply the Mod Podge — it leaves a white film when wet, but dries clear.

Once the Mod Podge was dry, I flipped the puzzle over and applied a layer of Mod Podge to the back of the puzzle. I’ve found that flipping a jigsaw puzzle is easier if you sandwich it in between flattened cardboard boxes first. (I usually tape a few of them together so they are at least as large as the puzzle.)

I found a poster frame at a nearby store that was just a little bit larger than my puzzle. I’ve discovered that poster frames work very well for framing jigsaw puzzles.

To insert the puzzle, I carefully removed the back of the poster frame. I then placed the puzzle in the frame with the top of the puzzle against the clear surface of the front of the frame.

I flipped over the image of the skyscrapers that was in the frame and put the clean white side of the paper against the back of the puzzle. I did this so the insert would act like a matte of sorts for the puzzle. 

Then, all that was left to do was add the back of the frame and secure it with the metal tabs on the frame.

It only took me about 10 minutes to frame the puzzle. I used two pairs of Command Strips (one on either side of the back of the puzzle) to hang the puzzle. I’m glad to finally have the puzzle off my kitchen table and up on the wall! My daughters are pleased, too.

My kids love to complete jigsaw puzzles together, and glueing them and framing them preserves memories of the wonderful time they’ve spent together and creates beautiful artwork for our home! I’ve discovered another fun and inexpensive way to create artwork for the home is completing paint by number paintings. I finished a beautiful daisy paint by number painting and hung it in my living room and I love it! 

To join next month’s #pinterestchallenge, click here to sign-up: April Pinterest Challenge

Let’s meet this month’s Pinterest Challenge hosts!

Erlene – My Pinterventures  •  Jenny – Cookies Coffee and Crafts Debbee – Debbee’s Buzz  •  Lynne – My Family Thyme  •  Pili – My Sweet Things Bri – Halfpint Design  •  Julie – Sum of their Stories Erin – The DIY Nuts  •  T’onna – Sew Crafty Crochet Beverly – Across the Boulevard •  Kristie – Love My Little Cottage Roseann – This Autoimmune Life  •  Terri – Our Good Life Ali – Home Crafts by Ali  •  Cherryl – Farm Girl Reformed Leslie – Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After •  Kelli – K’s Olympic Nest Lauren – Mom Home Guide  •  Joanne – Our Unschooling Journey Shirley – Intelligent Domestications  •  Gail – Purple Hues and Me Audra –  Renewed Projects  •  Habiba – Craftify My Love Kristie – Teadoddles •  Marie – The Inspiration Vault  •  Susan – Suzerspace Lydia – Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen •  Maria – Simple Nature Decor Sam – Raggedy Bits  •  Emily – Domestic Deadline •  Marci – Stone Cottage Adeventures Alexandra – Eye Love Knots  •  Alayna – Alayna’s Creations Terrie – Decorate and More with Tip

Find the hosts’ Pinterest Challenge Inspired Projects below.