Puzzle cards

Saturday, Anne and I took a class at ACAC in Japanese stab binding. Cool class, great teacher, good times. We drove home from downtown via Cantrell Road so we could stop by Dollar Tree to check for inexpensive gallery canvases. No luck. But as we were leaving, Anne spotted some packs of pill puzzles. You know those little puzzles with a few tiny beads inside--you shake them around and try to get all of the beads to settle into holes at the same time?

Not too long ago, Anne had come across a tip: Take these puzzles apart and rebuild them with your own sentiment or image inside. I think she got the idea from a blog. I, of course, got the idea from her, the Idea Goddess. Anyway, we both started jumping up and down a little at this find. Anne decided she wasn't ready for a full-scale experiment yet, so I grabbed all three packs of four that Dollar Tree had on hand. Back in the car, Anne had the package open and one of the puzzles popped apart in about ten seconds.

Sunday, I ran over to Michaels and grabbed some Krylon Fusion in a gunmetal metallic color. And a 2-inch circle punch. I took all of the puzzles apart, painted the bottom halves (which originally were neon colors), and put together some cards. The results were so exciting. These may be the cutest cards I've ever made.

The concept works for all kinds of themes. Birthday, get well soon, Father's Day, missing you. Codie was my test case. I said, "Look what I made." And she immediately grabbed one and started playing with the puzzle. And she said the words I long for and so seldom hear: "These are so cool!"

Anne checked out the Dollar Tree near her house for additional stock; I ran by the store in North Little Rock yesterday. We netted only a few more puzzles. But then I ran by Party City and found packs of 48 pill puzzles--an assortment of sizes and styles. These will keep me happy all summer.