12 Days of Christmas - Day Eleven

Day 11 - I don't usually blog on Sunday, but I make an exception every year for the 12 Days of Christmas. You can't really skip a day and have it work out. Today's project is puzzle piece ornaments. You can get puzzles with pieces that range from very tiny to extremely large, so the size is totally up to you. I pick them up at yard sales and thrift stores, because you never know if they have all their pieces, so it doesn't matter if you  use them for something else. All I have with me are some rather small ones, but back in Oregon, I have a floor puzzle, with pieces that would make great tree size ornaments.

 

Pick a few pieces that you like the shape of and sand them lightly to take off the shiny finish. Give them 2 or 3 coats of paint, letting them dry in between coats. White for the angels and snowman and the color of your choice for presents and candy. The angels need some flesh color for their faces and feet, if your puzzle piece has "feet".

 

I used a little light blue to add some definition to the angels and snowman.

 

 

I used something called a rose stick to decorate the angels' dresses. You can see one in the photo above - it's a piece of dowel with one end pointed and the other end has sanded edges so it's kind of rounded. You put out two shades of the same color of paint, like light and dark blue, or pink and red, etc. Using the rounded end, dip one half in the dark and one half in the light and gently press the paint onto the puzzle piece like you are making a large dot. Now take the pointed end and use it to swirl the paint to mix the 2 colors. Don't swirl too much, or you will mix the colors totally and have no light and dark. Add a few little leaf shapes in green and you have a little rose.

 

 

The smaller puzzle pieces are just perfect for adding to tags! You can use purchased tags, like I did for the snowman, or make your own tags out of cute scrapbook paper. They make a plain old tag into something cute and special.

 

 

 

This is a really fun project for the whole family. You would be surprised at what kids can come up with to make out of a simple puzzle piece. Have fun and enjoy the together time. This is the best time of the year, and now that school is out, this will help take up some of that "Mom, what can we do?" time.

 

See you again soon,