PUZZLE PIECES

I've been really looking forward to sharing this with you, but wanted to wait until after the photos were taken so I didn't spoil the surprise!

This was a complete fluke..........but I ran with it!    I was in Hobby Lobby (my home away from home) and saw these natural wood puzzle pieces hanging there and immediately thought of my daughter's photography business and how cute these would be for an engagement shoot.  I took a picture of them with my phone and sent it to her (she totally loved the idea -- in fact, if I'm not mistaken she called me a genius! WOW!)

As I wandered around the store for the crafts that I really went to find....I couldn't help but think about how I could finish the puzzle pieces to make them really special.   My mind was racing......

They come two to a package; I don't remember the exact price, but they were less than $10...and of course, I used my 40% off coupon from the Sunday paper!

I had so many ideas, but settled on just two.  This was the second project I made with my Silhouette Cameo and the first one I attempted using vinyl.  I learned a lot about the blade, the speed and the thickness.  I am so grateful for the many crafters who have blogs and other forums that I can read and learn from!

The first step on the "You/Me" side was to paint the pieces.  I just used standard crafting paint and varied the shading by adding either white or black to my base color....I wanted it to resemble a jigsaw puzzle that needs to fit together based upon the varying colors.   After I chose the fonts and played with the sizes, I used the Silhouette to cut them.  Once I secured them to the puzzle piece, I gave it a good coat of Mod Podge to finish and protect it and also help secure the vinyl.

For the side that says "LOVE", I knew I wanted to design something that needed to be joined to complete the message.  So, I chose to separate the word itself and then created the heart tying the two sides together.  On this side, I chose to paint the pieces an eggshell color.  The letters are vinyl; the heart I used a crafting paper and secured it to the puzzle with a glue stick. Once again, I coated the entire project with Mod Podge.

There are lots of possibilities for sure, not just for photos, but for decor...in fact, I could see these in a child's bedroom or playroom--bright, bold colors with alphabet letters, numbers, cartoon characters, or even a letter on each puzzle piece to spell out their name.... have fun!

For more pictures from the engagement shoot head over to:  KB Digital Designs Facebook page.