A Personalized 6 Sided Puzzle

You've probably seen the Melissa and Doug Six-Sided Puzzles in different places on the web and in the stores. Well, I happened to spot on at our local thrift store for only 3 dollars and of course, snatched it up. Upon arriving home, however, I was disapointed to note that this particular one had been VERY well used--the stickers were already peeling off, and I could see that it wouldn't last long with my kids. But, I just couldn't waste such a great find, could I? Oh, no, not I. So, I decided to peel the existing stickers off and make my own personalized six-sided puzzle.

To make this, I first peeled all the existing stickers off. Then I chose six of my favorite pictures of our family, and cropped them into squares, using a photo editing program. I then brought the photos to Microsoft Word, and enlarged them to the size of the puzzle. I printed them on sticker paper, cut them to fit the blocks, and then stuck them on. My last step was to use contact paper to ensure that the stickers stayed put and didn't peel. I cut long strips of clear contact paper the width of the blocks. Then I just wrapped each block until I was sure no raw edges were available for them to pick at. Here are some pictures of the different sides:

I won't say this was an easy or quick project--I've been working on it on and off for several days. But it was definitely fun to make and I KNOW it will be super fun for the kids to enjoy. I've shown it to them already, and they love seeing their own faces on the puzzle, however, it's still quite a challenge for both of them, so it will require lots of help from me.