Friday, October 7, 2011

Popsicle Stick Puzzles Tutorial

My friend pinned this on Pinterest the other day:
And I thought, hey that would make a super cute toddler activity! And, how fun would it be to make some seasonal themed puzzles! I decided to make a set to send to my little niece since my kids are a little too old for these. Although, my eight year old had a blast helping me with these today! Here's what we did:

First we printed off some cute Fall pictures--just regular 4x6 prints from Walmart. I like to put my pictures on photo paper whenever I am going to glue them to something. Photo paper won't wrinkle or tear when you're working with it, and the quality of the finished product is just better!

Then, we cut the pictures into sections just a tiny bit smaller than the width of a big craft popsicle stick. 


Next, we Mod Podged the strips to the craft sticks.
And that's pretty much it! Here's a look at a few of the puzzles we made...


We just put each puzzle in it's own ziplock sandwich bag, and put them in a box. I think this weekend I will sew her a cute little Halloween purse to carry these around in. Such a cute and easy little project!
All of these adorable pictures come from Just So Scrappy which you can find HERE!
Have a great weekend!

Linking up here:
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

52 comments:

  1. AngelaOctober 8, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Those are adorable! What a great idea! :)


    Enter my giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 8, 2011 at 11:54 PM

    and I shall be pinning this on pinterest!!! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melissa@TheHappierHomemakerOctober 9, 2011 at 4:55 AM

    I love this, I'm definitely pinning this idea to make for my boys. Thank you for sharing!! I'm stopping over from IheartNaptime!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JennOctober 9, 2011 at 9:17 AM

    Oh for cute! I love quick and easy projects like this-- especially when the end result of the quick and easy project will entertain my three year old!

    Visiting from iheartnaptime's Sunday Scoop
    Jenn Schires
    www.theschiresfive.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lauren @ My Wonderfully MadeOctober 10, 2011 at 4:43 AM

    Now my "kids" are all young adults now but I am pinning this idea because I teach Sunday School and I'm sure it will come in handy at some point! These are just adorable and I love the idea of using the photo paper to give a better and more durable quality to them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. JamieOctober 10, 2011 at 11:21 AM

    These are so cute! This is exactly the kind of thing I would have loved to have in my preschool classroom back when I was a teacher. :o)

    I'm a new follower from the Sundae Scoop.


    Please feel free to link up to my Make Yourself Monday blog hop!

    Jamie
    For Love of Cupcakes

    ReplyDelete
  7. sstoneOctober 10, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    I love this! So flexible! I bet if you were awesome at drawing, you could draw a design as well.:)
    Thanks so much for sharing!
    everydaygameplan.net

    ReplyDelete
  8. Artsy VaVaOctober 11, 2011 at 5:56 AM

    This is so cute! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. OlsonOctober 11, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Hi, What a fun idea! I love having an activity for the grandies after Thanksgiving dinner. It would be so fun to do a Pilgrim, Turkey, or Indian. Your Halloween ones are super fun. Thanks for sharing. Now a new follower.

    ReplyDelete
  10. mindy starr coneOctober 11, 2011 at 11:26 PM

    shared this to our facebook followers!
    love this idea!
    new fan of yours! following your blog now!
    mindy from CREATIVE JUICE
    http://getcreativejuice.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. ArtbyasmOctober 12, 2011 at 4:08 AM

    So adorable! Just joined your blog, please check out mine and join if you'd like! Thanks for sharing such a kid friendly craft and game!

    Warmest Regards & Happy Fall,
    Annamaria
    www.ArtByASM.BlogSpot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kirsten @ Mushki LovesOctober 12, 2011 at 8:21 AM

    You are just too cute! I so wish I had a toddler! I love these! I have to pin it! Too cute not to!

    Thanks for linking these up at Mushki Loves!
    Have a great day!
    Kirsten

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownOctober 12, 2011 at 8:57 AM

    This is such a fantastic idea! My son is crazy about puzzles and this is a great way to get him a bunch more without paying store prices for them! You could even use a personal photo too...how fun is that? I love these; thanks for linking them at One Artsy Mama!

    ReplyDelete
  14. CarmenOctober 14, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    OMGosh! This is adorable! These would be a great gift for a little one...and the tutorial is great too. Would love it if you would link this up to our Rockin' link party going on now at RoCa and Company. Here is the link: http://rocaandcompany.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-rock-5.html. Come and show off what you got. Hope to see you there...

    Remember...YOU ROCK!!

    Carmen @ RoCa and Company
    www.rocaandcompany.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lauryn AshliOctober 14, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    i love these!! how cute. i want to use them with my preschool kiddos! i would love for you to link this or any other post up to my link party flashback fridays....a place where bloggers can link up vintage, retro, old posts, or anything that comes to mind when hearing the word "flashback".
    here is the link if you are interested:
    http://lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com/2011/10/flashback-fridays-6.html

    {love} lauryn @ lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. JennOctober 14, 2011 at 7:41 PM

    I love these! They would be great Halloween party favors too! Thanks so much for linking up to The Creative Spark. I'll be featuring this on my facebook page - feel free to grab a featured button!
    Jenn :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. JennOctober 14, 2011 at 7:43 PM

    Oh, you're so awesome you already HAVE a featured button! Well, now you were featured x 2!! lol
    Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  18. SJ @ Homemaker On A DimeOctober 14, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    Really appreciate the inspiration! Thanks for joining us at Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownOctober 16, 2011 at 10:56 AM

    Just wanted to let you know I featured this today! :)

    http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/2011/10/picture-perfect-puzzle.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nikki MonetOctober 16, 2011 at 1:58 PM

    I feature your puzzles on Everything Under the Moon! Feel free to grab a feature button :)
    http://everything-underthemoon.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-dazzled_16.html

    ReplyDelete
  21. MarieOctober 18, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    What a fun idea! Can't wait to try it for my daughter! Thanks for linking up with us at Show & Share! Can't wait to see what you link up this week!

    Marie
    mylilpinkpocket.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. MarieOctober 18, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    Just wanted to let you know I featured you today! Come grab a featured button! http://mylilpinkpocket.blogspot.com/2011/10/show-share-9-features.html

    Marie
    mylilpinkpocket.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnnieOctober 20, 2011 at 1:28 PM

    I love this idea! I am going to try this when my daughter starts showing interests in puzzles.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ginger@gingersnapcrafts.comOctober 20, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Featuring YOU over on my blog today! This looks so fun. Me kiddos would love it! Thank you so much for linking up to my {wow me} wednesday party last week! :)

    Ginger @ gingersnapcrafts.com

    http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2011/10/take-look-at-you-top-12.html

    ReplyDelete
  25. Seaweed and RaineOctober 20, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    These are really cute! I am particularly interested in the barn picture. Where did you source the image from?

    Seaweedandraine@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Miss KindergartenOctober 21, 2011 at 6:32 PM

    I seriously love this! I L.O.V.E mod podge, Just so Scrappy and Halloween!!!

    Hadar
    Miss Kindergarten

    ReplyDelete
  27. TheKVanSicklesNovember 2, 2011 at 7:13 PM

    Love these! I am going to write holiday words alphabetically on the back so they can be sorted for a literacy station.

    ReplyDelete
  28. LollyNovember 15, 2011 at 8:50 PM

    I have done a project like this in my classroom but on card stock instead of popsicle sticks. However in the blank space on the side of the picture, I numbered them. It really helps teach number recognition and numerical order. My kindergarteners love putting the numbers in order to see what the picture is!

    ReplyDelete
  29. UnknownJuly 7, 2012 at 6:29 PM

    What did you buy from that website in order to get items that you could print as 4x6?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FlipchickdesignsJuly 7, 2012 at 7:14 PM

      Hi Sheri! All of the digital kits come with tons of separate images that I just sized to 4x6 on photoshop, and then had them printed out. I believe the kit that I used was "Happy Fall Ya'll". Let me know if I can help ok!
      Shannon
      flipchickdesigns@gmail.com

      Delete
  30. CarlaAugust 18, 2012 at 2:15 AM

    Hi Sheri,
    I just found you on Pinterest! I can't wait to make these. What a great idea-thanks for sharing!
    Carla
    Playful Learning Brooklyn

    ReplyDelete
  31. BrigetteJuly 30, 2013 at 9:56 AM

    I love your post on busy bags, I have made a bunch for my own kids and they are addicted! I did a roundup of bags we have made on my blog and linked to your tutorial, you can check it out here: http://babesindeutschland.com/ Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hug a tree with meAugust 4, 2013 at 2:56 PM

    Hello,
    I wanted to let you know that I featured your awesome tutorial on my DIY crafts for kids roundup and linked it back to your site. You can check it out here http://hugatreewithme.com/3/post/2013/08/10-green-craft-tutorials-to-create-with-your-kids.html

    ReplyDelete
  33. Gail @ http://biblelovenotes.comAugust 5, 2013 at 7:07 AM

    I love this idea. I don't know why crafts made with Popsicle sticks always seem fun (maybe because they make me think of Popsicles and summer days). Thanks for this idea.

    ReplyDelete
  34. UnknownAugust 27, 2013 at 5:34 AM

    I love this post! I recently made some of these and posted about them in my blog. I linked to this post so people can check out your tutorial! Check it out :) http://mamadecreations.blogspot.com

    Thanks for sharing this!
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  35. Desiree HunterSeptember 10, 2013 at 6:39 PM

    Hi there. I'm having trouble resizing my images to 4x6's. I bought my images from the same site as you (just a different kit) and they are printing too small. How can I get them to the 4x6 size in photoshop?

    Thanks!
    Desiree

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FlipchickdesignsSeptember 10, 2013 at 7:13 PM

      Hi Desiree! In Photoshop, when you create a new blank image, it will ask you what dimensions you'd like it to be so just make sure that you have it set to 6 inches wide and 4 inches high. Then once you have sized the image on the background as big as you'd like, just save it as a JPEG and you can print it at any photo kiosk. I hope that made sense! If you still have any questions or if I can help in any way, you can email me at flipchickdesigns@gmail.com. Thanks!
      Shannon

      Delete
  36. FlipchickdesignsSeptember 10, 2013 at 7:12 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  37. UnknownSeptember 23, 2013 at 2:23 PM

    Do you think printing on regular paper then laminating would also work?

    ReplyDelete
  38. UnknownSeptember 23, 2013 at 3:10 PM

    anyone have links for pictures of other themes? trains would be AWESOME! I am having trouble finding the right size images. ;(

    ReplyDelete
  39. AnonymousJuly 30, 2014 at 9:06 PM

    hi! I really want to buy these templates, but the link can't find them, help! sultanna_vip@mail.ru

    ReplyDelete
  40. UnknownAugust 11, 2014 at 4:13 AM

    pop sickles are great way to make children learn . I use craft ticks to teach my students alphabetical phonic sounds. It was amazing. I used safe and quality assured products from http://woodpaintsticks.com/wood-craft
    . I think children learn more faster in fun way.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Jake and Amy Temes CliftonDecember 1, 2014 at 2:08 PM

    Are there any other good websites to find cute kid friendly images (decent quality/resolution) that are free?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FlipchickdesignsDecember 2, 2014 at 9:20 AM

      Hi there! Yes! There are lots of places to find really cute free images! I just googled 'free clip art images' and then narrowed my search down by categories, like Christmas, school, whatever you'd like. Hope that helps! If there is something specific you are looking for please let me know and I'll see if I can help! Thanks!
      flipchickdesigns@gmail.com

      Delete
  42. UnknownSeptember 28, 2015 at 12:24 AM

    it's very impressive. I want to buy it?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Lisa BrennanMay 1, 2016 at 10:17 PM

    Would be fun to use pictures of family members or familiar places/objects for these too! My daughter would flip for puzzles of her stuffed animal buddies!

    ReplyDelete
  44. JennyBJune 16, 2016 at 1:14 PM

    Hey I love this idea...what is the name of the ruler thing you are using with the knife on it..I can not find it anywhere...lol
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FlipchickdesignsJune 16, 2016 at 1:40 PM

      Hi Jenny! Mine is a FISKARS paper cutter. They can be found at just about any craft store, like Michaels or JoAnns. Hope that helps! :)

      Delete
  45. Margo GentileOctober 31, 2016 at 9:59 AM

    These are so cool! May I suggest a black and white version of the completed puzzle for the students to color in exactly like the completed puzzle?

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)