Personalized Puzzles

For many occasions and parties, it’s fun to give out little gifts or prizes to the guests (or just the children).

This is simply an other little extra detail to your party planning that shows you appreciate your guests or just want to give them a keepsake.

Gifts and keepsakes don’t have to be expensive, they can simply be fun. For example, a favorite of mine is puzzles.

There are places that sell blank puzzle sets, where you can use almost anything to create you own personal puzzle. If you don’t want to purchase a blank puzzle set, just make your own with cardboard. This allows you to choose the size and shape of your puzzle (ie. Cut out a heart shape…), and how many pieces to cut out.

When it comes to decorating them, I generally use marker because it has a bright and bold look, it’s waterproof, and also writes more precisely between the pieces.

I have used many puzzles for different occasions as special handcrafted addition to gifts.
For example:

Mother’s Day:

a puzzle with a large variety of flowers (her favorites) with a personalized written poem. I then broke up the pieces and attached them to her gift.

Birthday “guestbook” :

I drew in a big sign saying “Happy
Birthday!” along with stick figures in different poses or actions throughout the puzzle. I then had all the guests choose one stick figure representing them (or they could draw their own) and leave a little message.

Card substitute:

I drew a representation of me and my best friend in a funny situation from when we were kids. I then broke up the pieces and mailed them in an envelope attached to her gift.

Games for children:

Many children love puzzles. Naturally, they shouldn’t be too complicated for the young ones, but challenging enough.

If you personalize the puzzles (draw the child or their favorite family member/friend/animal into the puzzle, or write their name) it will excite them about a game while they train their cognitive abilities and fine motor skills.

A set of letters for the older children will help them with their alphabet and spell out different words.

When I taught children (aged 3-5), I made large puzzles (60cm x 60cm or larger) and placed them in groups of four, or get bigger groups where everyone gets one puzzle piece.

They learn to work together where everyone pitches in for one complete puzzle.

If you would like to be even more creative, create a puzzle that has an image or words on both sides, then have the puzzle pieces hung in the appropriate order, but slightly spaced.

How to Make an Origami Heart

Decorative Frames

As I mentioned yesterday, there are many uses for cardboard boxes from dry foods and toiletries.

Another interesting project is to make decorative frames from a small cardboard box and flyers or brochures.  If you have any random materials that you can use, try the same method or e-mail me (via contact page) if you would like some ideas.

For this project, I have the following items:

• One small cardboard box (from dry soup mixes)
• One flyer for spas and two autumn train travel brochures
• One elastic cord measuring 75cm long (a string or ribbon will also work)

To complete the project, I also have scissors, exacto knife, double sided-tape (other adhesives like homemade glue can also be used), clear tape, a hole punch, ruler, and a pencil.

Steps to make decorative frames:

First, take the box apart by cutting out all the sides.

Take any of the sides to make the frames out of (I used the two larger sides). Trim the edges so that they’re straight and  measure a border on it, you are also free to cut out any shape you like (this will mark the area to cut out for the inner frame portion that will display any photos).

With the remaining pieces of cardboard, cut out any shapes you like.  They will be used later to add extra decorative details to the frame.

Once you have all of your pieces cut out, it’s time to cover them with your available paper.

The easiest way is to cover one side of each piece with adhesive and place the paper over it, then trim so they match perfectly with the shape edges.The second way takes a little more time, but it gives a more creative look.  Take your paper and cut it into strips.  Arrange the strips anyway you like (alternating patterns, mixed patterns and colours etc…) then place them over the shapes that you have cut out.*I used both methods by arranging strips over the frames and covering the other smaller shapes with one piece.

Now, punch small holes by each corner to thread the cord/string/ribbon.

You can tie the two frames together with one cord, or separate them.

Thread the cord/string/ribbon from the top holes, making sure to leave some slack to be able to hang the frames later.

When you thread the cord, make sure to begin from the front to the back. Once you pull the cord through the bottom holes, secure them with tape to the back of any of the prepared extra shapes

The frames are done!

Now you can place any picture or small art piece to be displayed.  The cord running down the sides of the frame can secure your photos simply by sliding the ends between them and the frame.*I’ve added a simple origami crane with a little leftover brochure paper and placed it on a white backing made from scrap washi.  The simple, solid colours subdue the busy colourful frames, but match the colours perfectly.

Creative Gift Boxes and Holders

Many people purchase dry foods or toiletry products to store at home, and most of these products are packed in cardboard boxes of different shapes and sizes. Generally, after the product is removed, the box is discarded or placed in a recycling box.

Putting things into recycling facilities is a good step for the environment, but one can also use their creativity to revamp or reuse these items. A simple way to reuse these boxes is to use it as a storage box, a holder for small items, or even decorate as a unique gift box.

To begin, check around your home for any items that could be used as decoration. Remeber to use your imagination and creative eye, because many things that we throw away or recycle can actually be used for something new.

I will show you how to reuse two different boxes (one from dry foods and one from a facial product) and combine them with other materials from home.  I will also use some of my leftover chiyogami or washi from previous projects.  Most of the decorative paper I use are very small pieces, since I’m what most would call a “pack rat”, and have boxes filled with decorative paper from past gifts, calendars, posters, magazines and even flyers with nice colours or designs.

First step is find a piece of decorative paper large enough to wrap the entire box.  If you only have small scraps, it’s simple to collage or create a mosaic design over a box.  I’ll show both methods with two different boxes.

For these two projects, I’ve found the following items:

• One snack bar cardboard box
• One facial cream box
• Three scrap pieces of black paper
• Three to four pieces of scrap washi (japanese paper) in a light green colour
• Two colourful train maps
• One black twist tie from old packaging (approximately 30cm long) – string or ribbon will work as well.

To put everything together, I also have scissors, double-sided tape (but you can use regular tape, glue or homemade adhesive), hole punch, a pencil and ruler.

Making a Paper Holder:

This is one of the simplest projects for a practical item you can use at home or at work.

1. Take a cardboard box that’s long enough to hold letters, bills or any other small bits of paper in it.
2. Cut all of the flaps from the open end.  If you prefer, leave one of the longer flaps on and that will become the back of the box.
3. Here, you can either wrap the box as you would a gift, but just leave the open end free, or cover each face/panel separately.  To hide the joint areas, use colourful/decorative tape or even stickers.
4. At the top, tuck the excess paper into the open end of the box and secure with an adhesive.  If you left the top flap, simply wrap the paper over it and secure with adhesive.
5. Now, if you would like to hang the box, punch a hole through the back flap or back area – either one hole in the middle or two holes spaced apart from the middle.  Depending on the box length, separating the holes at least 5cm would be good.
6. Finally, you can use any other materials to further decorate your box

Making a Mosaic/Collage Pen Holder or Gift Box:

This project is also very easy, but will take a little more time.

1. Take any paper you would like to decorate your box with.  For a nice effect, use one solid coloured paper and one patterned one or two different solid colours.
2. Next, cut out strips or squares from the paper -roughly judge how much paper will be needed to cover the entire box and add a few more.
3. Then, arrange the pieces in a pattern that you like – either arrange them to create a picture of a  flower, tile alternating colours or randomly chosen pieces are fun too.
4. Secure the pieces with an adhesive all around the box until it’s completely covered.
5. Once that is complete, you can add any other details or decorations that you like. Origami is a simple way to add a three dimensional embellishment.
6. If you would like to seal the box, you can purchase them in craft stores. If you have white glue, add a little water and that should also work well.

Once it’s done, place anything you like inside, or, wrap a gift with tissue paper, place it inside with a bit sticking out of the opening, then tie with a ribbon.

Washi and Chiyogami for Scrapbooks and Photograph Storage

Throughout the year we celebrate special occasions with our good friends and loved ones.
We watch little ones grow, celebrate birthdays, weddings, fun holidays and capture each memorable moment with a photograph to keep forever.

Some of us may store these photographs in a simple envelope, photo album, scrapbook, or in a traditional box of keepsakes, while others may happily display them around the home or work.As the years go by, those memories become more and more valuable and safe storage is very important, so that the captured memories really can last a lifetime.

One of the best papers to use for storing, decorating, sending or displaying photographs is Japanese Washi and Chiyogami paper.

The traditionally made washi uses purified water and natural plants and fibres which makes it acid free. This not only makes it the best paper to use for storage and protection, but also offers a lovely look and texture to compliment photographs, rather than overtake them.

There are fine and delicate washi that allow light to pass through it. This creates a very lovely look when framing a photograph. All you have to do is cut the paper at least 2 centimetres wider than all the sides of the picture and secure it to the back so that the excess juts out as a frame.  Once that is complete, place it on a window or safely in front of a light source, such as a tealight or lamp.

Other types of washi are thicker and have varied textures that can add a bold compliment to images.
To protect all of your pictures, even if they are stacked in a box, simply place one sheet of washi between each photograph, then wrap one long sheet over the entire stack and tie with a string.

Chiyogami is fantastic for decorations since it’s carefully painted with an array of stunning colours and patterns. The colour selection for chiyogami paper is unbelievable and durability can’t be beat.  Even though it’s light as a feather, it can be used like fabric, even when wet.

Covering or decorating storage boxes, picture frames, envelopes and using it as scrapbooking paper truly adds a special touch and shows how important the photos are.

If Chiyogami seems like it’s too flashy to use in great amounts, try using it as a touch of colour.
One very simple way is to cut out shapes or silhouettes( animals, flowers, objects etc…) and attaching them to neutral washi paper or directly onto plain picture frames, photo albums , boxes, and even the photos themselves.

One thing to remember is to make sure to use acid free adhesives when attaching the paper directly on the photographs.  If you are still worried about adhesives, try simple origami. There are thousands of origami folding techniques that can be done simply to make lovely add-ons for decoration, without using glues or tape to attach them on.  Search online for keywords like origami page markers or simple origami decorations, this will give you endless ideas as well as step-by-step instructions.

The page markers are my personal favourite since they are simple and add a sweet touch.

How to embellish a plain box in under 5 minutes

To decorate a plain box, all you need is a few pieces of decorative paper, adhesive and scissors (pencil optional).

1. First, start off with some decorative paper that you like, or think would match your box nicely.
2. Next, Draw out (or print off) a silhouette of an image. It can be anything you like, flowers, animals, machines…
3. Then, cut out the silhouettes from your decorative paper.
4. Finally, arrange the cut outs however you like on the box and secure with adhesive. *hint* I personally like to add depth to projects, so I tend to secure a small spot on the cut out and curl or lightly fold some of the pieces up to give it a more 3D effect.