DIY Wall Decor: Unusual(ly easy) Craft Project #17

I'm always looking for easy and useful craft projects, so when I received some odd little puzzles from a white elephant gift exchange, I hatched a plan. Each 5 x 7 puzzle displayed a cupcake decorated in a different color. Kinda cute, but what am I supposed to do with tiny puzzles that I can finish in ten minutes? Turn them into wall decoration, of course!

Step one is to complete the puzzle, which in this case took very little time. Then Jared helped me spray adhesive (very effective and easy to use!) onto the back of the puzzle. We had to keep the puzzle intact while we flipped it over, which was not difficult with a 5" x 7" puzzle, but would be challenging with a larger one. This layer of adhesive made the pieces stick together so the puzzle was in one sheet. Then we sprayed a piece of cardboard with the adhesive and laid the puzzle onto it.

Once the adhesive is dry, cut the cardboard as closely around the puzzle as possible, so it has a sturdy backing. Then use any 5" x 7" frames and place the puzzle inside. We dug through some thrift store shelves and found four nice frames for less than $4.00! You can coordinate the frames, but we thought it would be fun to use four different ones.

For apartment dwellers like ourselves, punching holes in the walls for nails isn't an option, so these Scotch mounting squares have really come in handy. We put half a square on each corner of the frames and they hold really well without leaving goo or a hole to worry about.

Then you can hang your puzzles wherever you want; for instance, hang them next to your picture of jaguars that you can't remember acquiring but display anyway because you don't have that many things to hang on walls.

Or hang them above the oven for inspiration.

This project is very versatile because anything you can find (or make) a puzzle out of can become part of your decor.