Puzzling...

This is a gift for the Kasey and Beau's family, and has been in the planning stage for several months.  I made the box by hand after the gift was completed so it would be a perfect fit for the contents.  For the top, I used a sheet of pasteboard that comes in literature shipments at work.  For the bottom I just used a sheet of regular white card stock.  I liked the way the pasteboard looked, so I didn't even wrap it, just added the tulle bow and a string of vintage buttons.

Now on to the actual gift.  I bought one-and-a-quarter-inch wooden blocks at the craft store.  I chose favorite photos of the family and had them printed at Office Max on a laser printer...just on regular copy paper.  It might have worked to just print them on my ink jet printer, but I didn't want to take a chance on the ink running once I started Mod Podging.  Also, it is my personal opinion that you need a paper cutter to cut the photo into pieces for the blocks, so the cuts are nice and straight...and you have to measure VERY carefully for the cuts.

Cut one photo into squares that are just a hair under the dimension of the blocks.  Apply the Mod Podge to one side of a cube, and carefully place the photo piece on.  Repeat till all pieces of that photo are adhered to the cubes.  Then you can move on to the next photo, cutting it and adhering to the blocks.  Once all photos are on the cubes, go back and brush a layer of Mod Podge over the photos.  I Mod Podged two sides of the cube, let them dry about twenty minutes, then did another two sides and let them dry.  I kept doing this until I had several layers of Mod Podge over the photos.  I wanted the photo blocks to hold up well to lots of use.  I think the kiddoes will have fun arranging the photos of themselves and their siblings.

Here are all sides of the finished puzzle in decending age order of the photo subject.  Luckily a cube has six sides...a side for mom and dad, and a side for each of the five kiddoes.

I think it's quite funny that I can see in these photos that I have solved some of these puzzles incorrectly...I have a piece either out of place or twisted the wrong way around in three of the photos!  :)

I loved Kasey's response when she opened this.  She thought I had special ordered it somewhere, and was gratifyingly impressed when I told her I made it myself.  :)