How to Take Some Puzzle Pieces and Share Your Faith (and Keep the Kids From Being Bored!)

So National Crafting Month is ending today, and while we were on Easter break,

Miss Grace and her friends got together and did a fun craft that not only recycles,

it teaches!

from the Twitchers blog

The original idea for the craft came from a post I saw on the Twitchetts blog! 

As you can see, they did a great job in taking old jigsaw pieces and making a lovely cross with them!

It just so happened we were trying to figure out a way to use up some small canvases, and I had a bag of old mini puzzles Miss Grace was giving up, so it was perfect for 9 kids to work on!

Part of the fun, and momentary lull for the adult helper/parent is the kids putting the puzzles together, so that they can be flipped OVER, for the cross to be determined, and then painted.

As you can see, the brilliant idea was to use paper underneath the puzzle, that way the paper could be folded in half and the completed cross, flipped over with ease! Trust me, you do not want a kids screaming "I have to put it together again?" This also allowed us to write NAMES on each page, so there was no argument about whose was whose!

Now we did not get the saturation of color as Kate did due to 2 reasons-1. we were using tempura based paints, as we had kids in age from 3 to 14, and 2. they did not have time to do multiple coats, 

As you can see, the chalkboard paint did give the most saturation. 

We loved how all the puzzles came out differently- large pieces and small, they gave each cross its own uniqueness! We did use peel and stick foam hearts for the middle (again for ease with having kids), and some of the kids chose to paint their's too.

We did secure them to the flat and regular canvases with Modge Podge, and then coasted them again, making sure to sink it well into the cracks to keep it in place. As these were going in kids' rooms, we decided to use it versus spray adhesive or glue, for quicker set and drying time.

And as it dries clear, there would be no loss of color.

Miss Grace loved her cross, but decided after we got it home, that it needed something.

After listening to some of her Rock and Worship Roadshow songs, she decided she had the solution- music lyrics from her favorite song, Audo Andrenaline's Song of the Saints!

Naturally she decided that Mom needed to to the writing for her! 

We went with the chorus, as it fit perfectly!

She also decided that it needed glitter.

Well duh, she's an Irish Dance, EVERYTHING needs BLING in our house (just wear shades when you visit and you'll be fine, LOL).

What we all really loved about the craft was how it worked in stages, so we could alternate activities, like when paint was drying, or glue was setting, so that kids weren't stuck on just one project for the day. It taught patience and creativity at the same time. And it was so interesting to see how each child owned their piece of art, deciding exactly where to place it in their rooms, and how they wanted it to express their faith! 

This was a SUPER easy craft and perfect for anytime you need a project to keep the kids occupied. It's a great way to recyle (Earth Day is coming up soon!) and it would also be great for VBS or Sunday School classes!

If you end up making your own, share a link below!