Hey guys…things are still crazy around here. We are finally starting to get things put back together in our home. Yeah! But we still have a LOT of work ahead of us. I hope to share an update later in the week if you are interested. But, in the meantime, I wanted to share with you a fun idea for making a fun Photo Block Puzzle.
These have been around for a while but I was reminded of them when my mom made one of these with a group of her church friends. Hers was much larger and the blocks are about 3 inches (I think) each. I thought it would be fun to make one on a much smaller scale and make one of them for my kids or to give as a gift to someone.
So I found some 1 inch craft blocks at my local craft store. They came in a large package of several of them for just a couple of dollars.
Then I found a box that measured 2 inches x 3 inches. So that six 1 inch blocks fit almost perfectly into the box.
Then I found 6 pictures that I wanted to include on my block puzzle. One photo for each side of the block. So you have essentially 6 different photo puzzles. I loaded the photos into my photo program and cropped them so that they measured 2 x 3 inches each.
I tried to make sure that the lines I would be cutting on would not cut through any important details of the picture. This will help it so that the final picture will not be distorted. Then I glued the pieces on the puzzle with Matte finish Mod Podge.
Then I simply rotated the blocks all in the same direction and then added another photo. I continued that process and tried to make it so that the photos were on the same plane…if that makes sense. Either way it will work out.
When you are finished, every block will have one piece of each puzzle on it. And you literally have six fun photo puzzles to play with in a nice little box.
These would be a great activity for your little ones in church with faces of the people they love. Or a fun way to ask someone to a dance…do they still do that in high school? Or to give to someone as a small gift idea. There are so many fun ways these could be used.
What would you make one for and for who?
*And I would like to thank Kristen Duke for our fun family photo. It is from 2010 but is still one of my favorites!
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Tesei says
Wow Amy, you are so creative! They are lovely!!!
Amy says
Thanks Tesei! It was not my original idea…but I do love to recreate things.
Wow – what a great idea! I think this would be great for my kids – with family photos on them… one side for Gran, one for Nan etc etc
Thanks Catherine. A fun way for the kids to see and play with photos of their loved ones…especially if they are far away.
What a great idea. This is a perfect craft to do with my grandkids. I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Kay. I hope your grandchildren love them.
I’m so making this for my mom!!
Did you have to print on picture/photo paper or can you print on regular paper?
Great question Jennifer! I should have stated that in the tutorial. I printed mine on photo paper. I wanted the pictures to be as crisp and bright as possible.
Oh my goodness this is such a fun project! I am for sure going to make one…at least one, I should say :). Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Jeannie. I really appreciate it. Hope you are able to make some and enjoy it too!
It turned out great! I love the idea for a child’s gift.
Thanks so much Kim. A fun and unique gift for a child is always fun for them.
We had something similar when I was growing up. Ours had fairy tale pictures on each side, though. (There were 12 one-inch blocks in a 3×4 set-up.) My parents would get them out for stake or general conference. It would be great to use pics of temples or other church pics as a quiet church activity.
What store did you get your blocks at
I LOOOOVE this Amy!!
What a CUTE idea! I love it!
Oh my gosh. I love this. I could totally do this. My craft skills only go so far but this is a craft for me. I just love this idea. Thank you. I just discovered you through a friend’s blog. Can’t wait to see more!
This is fantastic! I can’t wait to try it and I will share it with everyone I know :)
These are adorable. I am so excited to try it. Thank you for sharing your ideas!
I am going to make this for Grandparents Day!!! My mom will just love it! Thanks!
Love it Amy! Featured this on Craft Gossip today :)
Thanks so much Amanda ;)
These look like so much fun to make -thanks for sharing!
This is a genius idea. I love it! Would be great with magazine photos or kid’s drawings, too! One of my readers just shared it with me, and I would really love it if you would share with the rest of my readers at my Made for You Monday link up http://www.clipwithpurpose.com/?p=8933
I have had this same project on my list of Christmas gifts to make every year–and every year it never gets made, because in between all of the sewing I haven’t had time to cut and sand blocks. I’ve seen them for sale online, but they weren’t cheap. I would love to know where you got them for just a couple of dollars.
How perfect for children to give to friends when one moves away too! Really cute!
That is a great idea Heather. A puzzle of them and their friend so they can always remember them.
Oh my gosh! Those are great! We are just starting the process of adopting, and while we haven’t been matched with our kids (yes, kidS… we’re hoping for 2-3), it would be great to get pictures from the first few times we meet them and spend time with them, then give this as a gift when they “come home.” I love it!
Thank so much for sharing that with me Natasha. I think that is so great. Good Luck with the multiple adoptions. What a blessing for you and those kids whomever they will be :) What a fun idea to make for them too.
Hey thank you so much for the idea! i love it but i have a question. did you also mod podge on top of the pictures once it was done too? or no. i know some craft using mod podge as glue they have you do that. Thank you so much for the idea!
Yes Trista! I did put a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the pictures at the end so that it would protect them to.
I would love to make these, but can’t find the blocks anywhere. Where did you find them?
I love these. I’m going to make one for my daughter for Christmas and one for my 5yr old sister. I think they’ll love them esp since they both have family who lives really long distance that they only see once in a while.
Thanks so much for the idea!!! I am using for a Christmas gift for my dad with pictures of me and my sister! :D
So glad you are able to use this idea! I hope they love it!
I have a question I dont have a photo program on my computer. How can I still do this project I would use bigger blocks than the 1″ that use in this tutorial. I’m just wondering how I would get parts of the pictures onto each block. Thanks for any tips