Popsicle Stick Puzzles
So apparently one of the newest trends in mom and baby get togethers is to exchange Toddler Busy Bags. I joined a gathering to do so last week and here is what I made.
I’ll start by saying the general concept of making a puzzle out of popsicle sticks was not my idea. I traced back through some blogs and references and found this link dating back to 2006: http://www.azlearningbug.com/workshops/crafts/ (Scroll down to the Halloween crafts – Jack O Lantern puzzle). More recently, I’ve seen people making these puzzles with photos. But I can’t resist a good excuse to pull out my Cricut (and Create a Critter cartridge).
These popsicle sticks are approximately 6 inches by 3/4 inches. so my Cricut cuts are about 4 inches tall to fill 6 sticks each. In hindsight, cuts with fewer thin pieces would have been easier to work with. Here was my method:
1. Cut animals.
2. Glue animal layers together using Xyron sticker machine.
3. Glue animals to sticks using an epoxy glue called Gloo by ki memories. This worked very well adhering paper to wood.
4. Flip over the set of sticks and use an exacto knife to trim sticks apart (this was the hardest part. It took some muscle cutting through multiple layers of paper and epoxy glue without trimming splinters off of the wood).
5. Since I accidentally selected creatures with skinny little parts, some little pieces came off of the sticks during the cutting process, so I had to glue these back down.
Here is a closer look at each animal, and a photo of my complete efforts – 20 sets of puzzles!
