Introduction: Turn Any Photo Frame Into a Jigsaw Puzzle

By www.cairdycrafts.co.uk
About: I'm an engineer and a dad who has a love for designing and making toys, STEM projects and anything electronicy.

Photos are a lovely thing to have up around your house. But, do your kids ever look at them with more than a passing glance?

Well, hopefully after you turn them into a framed jigsaw puzzle, they just might do that!

Read on to find out how to turn any photo in a frame into a jigsaw puzzle your kids can just pick up, take to pieces and put back together!

Step 1: Gather Your Tools and Materials

For this project, you'll need these materials:

  • A photograph or picture of your choice
  • A photo frame which fits your photo snugly
  • A piece of foamboard twice the size of your photo frame's back board

You'll also need these tools:

  • A tacky glue stick
  • A metal ruler
  • A sharp Xacto/Stanley/Craft knife
  • A Self healing cutting matRe

Step 2: Prepare Your Photo Frame

As you'll be reaching into the picture, you'll need to remove that glass first!

Undo the catches on the back of the photo frame and lift the back off.

Carefully prise out the glass and lay it aside.

You'd be amazed what arty projects you can do with a piece of glass!

Step 3: Cut Your Foamboard to Size

Next, you'll want to cut a piece of foamboard the same size as the backboard of your photo frame.

Lay the backboard on the foamboard and draw around it using a pen/pencil.

Place the healing cutting board underneath the foamboard.

Lay your metal ruler along each line and score and cut through the foamboard gently at first and then fimly until you cut through into the healing cutting mat.

Finally, pop the foamboard into the back of the photo frame and make sure it fits inside snugly!

Step 4: Glue the Photo to the Foamboard

Take your tacky glue stick and glue one side of the foam board all over.

Line up the photo and press it onto the foamboard.

Pop it into the photo frame to admire what your finished jigsaw will look like!

Step 5: Cut a Border Around the Photo

Carefully cut a border the same width as the overlap of the frame over the foamboard.

If you leave around an inch off each of the 4 corners, it'll make it easier for you to fit your pieces in the right way round when you do the jigsaw.

Make a note of which corners are the top and bottom!

Pop out the photo and put your new border into the frame to make sure it look right.

Place the wooden backing back in place in the photo frame, making sure it's the right way up if it has a back stand.

Step 6: Cut Your Jigsaw Pieces

Using the ruler and knife, cut your photo into as many pieces as you like.

I'd suggest cutting interesting angles and shapes to make the jigsaw fun to make.

Don't make the pieces too thin though as the risk of tearing increases the thinner you make the pieces!

Step 7: Make Your Jigsaw!

Now comes the fun part! Take your photo pieces and make your jigsaw.

As the foam board edges provides lots of friction, when you've finished the jigsaw the picture should hold together both flat and on the wall!

That's it! Congratulations on your completed photo frame jigsaw.

Thanks for taking time to read this instructable and why not give it a go!