Falling Into Place by Sherri Reehil-Welser

One of the great things about creating is finding unique uses for things that might very well be thrown away! Kids love puzzles but how many times do puzzles come up  with missing  pieces and then they are hard to use again as a complete puzzle. The kids loved the idea of this project (I think some of the kids wanted an excuse to use the pieces from complete puzzles to make their jewelry!!) This is a very easy project for ages 5 on up and half the fun is finding  the” best” pieces to design with!

I have put a small list of supplies together below :

~Art Glitter: Ultrafine Glitter, Dazzlers
~Puzzle Pieces
~Designer Dries Clear Adhesive poured into a plastic container
~Earring Hooks- Silver or gold toned
~Jump rings- 3mm or larger
~Paint brushes for applying the Designer Dries Clear
~ Metal hole punch pliers ( 1.25 mm)

1) After choosing your puzzle pieces (1 or 2  puzzle pieces per side) stamp a hole with the metal hole punch at the very top (while still maintaining a solid hole) where the jump ring and earring hook will attach.

2)  Use the paint brushes to coat the backs of the pieces with the Designer Dries Clear and let dry. 1-2 coats should work well.

3) After the backs are completely dried turn over the pieces to work on the front.

4) Paint Designer Dries Clear to the fronts and immediately apply the pieces with Art Glitter, have fun and find new ways to apply the glitter to the pieces, (dipping corners, sprinkling on top, only doing half of the pieces etc...). Backs can be done too!  Another creative idea one of the girls had was to make” dangling” puzzle piece earrings by fitting 2 pieces diagonally together and gluing in place. You then would design it as the others.

5) Before the top dries another addition can be Glass Micro Beads or seed beads sprinkled on to further enhance your design!

6) When completely dry it is time to assemble to earrings: open one jump ring for each earring (open by sliding side to side not by pulling apart) and place the jump ring through the top of the hole in the puzzle piece. Next attach the earring hook to the jump ring and  slide from side to side to close the jump ring back up.

~ You now have a very fun and funky pair of earrings to wear and you will never look at puzzles the same way again ~

Enjoy and get creative!