PUZZLE PIECE BROOCH

Do you have a jigsaw puzzle lying around your house that is missing pieces, but you just don’t know what to do with it?  

There’s no need to throw out a perfectly good box of creations!  Keep reading to see some of the neat things that can be created from puzzle pieces, including my puzzle piece brooch.

 

The supplies are simple:

• a piece or two from a puzzle
• glue
• paper
• embellishments
• a brooch closure (if you don’t have one a safety pin and a small square of felt will work just fine)

This is how I made this puzzle piece brooch:

I wanted to make a slightly larger brooch than the puzzle pieces I had, so I glued two pieces together.  I used the inside pieces as I thought they looked better for this purpose, but choose any piece you think will work well for your design.

I brought out the envelope of small off-cuts of paper I have and found some pretty hand-made paper that was just the right size.  I glued the paper onto the reverse side of the puzzle piece as I thought it may hold the glue better.

Carefully cut the paper out around the puzzle piece as well as you can.  This is the hardest part.  In some places it may be easier to cut the paper and fold it over the edges of the puzzle piece and glue it on the back side of the brooch.

Next it’s time to get creative and decide on the design you would like to put on the front of your puzzle piece brooch.  I thought I would attempt a stylized ‘K’ out of colored wire, and then I added some flower beads as well.

Let your glue dry before the next step.

If you have a brooch closure, simply glue that onto the back of your brooch.  If you don’t have such a thing in your craft box (I didn’t), make one yourself.  I used a safety pin and a square of felt.  I threaded the felt over the non-opening side of the safety pin and then glued down the two end of the felt to the back of the puzzle piece brooch.  Once the glue dries you have a great bespoke piece of art for your jacket or shirt!

Why not try to make a few pieces to go with different outfits?  You could even use some of your child’s artwork or a photo for the face of the brooch.  This would a fun idea for a birthday party, and interesting to see each person’s creativity shine!

If you like this idea, see my pages for more inspiration for Mother’s Day  and DIY Jewelry.

This puzzle piece brooch was inspired by the weekly challenge set by Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art and her series of Google+ Tuesday hangouts.  Other great craft ideas using puzzle pieces were:

Snowflakes from Red Ted Art.  A pretty and fun idea for your Christmas tree or to use as gift tags.  Maggy also make coaster, fridge magnets and seasonal trees.

Photo key rings were designed by Me and My Shadow.  A practical idea perfect for Mother’s or Father’s Day.

Kid’s Chaos made some unique greeting cards that I’ll be making next week.

Domestic Goddesque made 2 Little Dickie Birds some bird puppets that are ‘fly’ (maybe showing my age with this slang!)

Blue Bear Wood made somekey rings, and charms using resin.

To see the hangout with all of these creative ladies, click here.

If you’d like more ideas on jewellery, we’ve made a garden stone pendant, and beaded bracelets.