Puzzle Tree Ornament Tutorial

I finally sent these ornaments out yesterday for our ornament exchange through the Crafty Crow (sorry that they were a little late!). But Robbie had fun making them... and then letting me finish them once he lost interest. He was good for the first few - then got tired of doing it over and over.
Anyhow, I thought I'd share a tutorial on these as they came out really cute. I also made a few for our tree in the shape of a wreath - using the same method, just a circle instead of a triangle.

Materials needed:

• Puzzle (I went to the local thrift store and found a 1000 piece puzzle that had lots of green in it -.99! The 1000 piece puzzles have nice small puzzle pieces)
• Glue (we used a glitter glue)
• Waxed paper
• Permanent marker
• Sequins (optional)
• Twine (string or yarn - something to hang it with)
• Green paint
• Sponges

1. Pull out all the green puzzle pieces. You don't have to use green - you are welcome to make your tree any color you want.

2. Draw the shape of the tree (or whatever shape you want) onto the waxed paper with the permanent marker as a guide.

3. Lay your first layer of puzzle pieces out using your drawing as the guide. Try to get the pieces as close together as you can.

4. Run a line of glue from one pieces to the other in the places you plan to put the second layer. Keep in mind, the second layer pieces will be covering the gaps of the first layer so you will want to keep your glue toward the inside part of your tree and the edge of the pieces. Excess glue is okay if you plan on decorating your tree later with sequins.

5. Place your second layer of puzzle pieces on top of the glue. Be sure to overlap your pieces and cover as many gaps as you can (rather than placing on puzzle piece right on top of the other). Overlapping the pieces will give you a fuller tree - and will keep the tree together.

6. Repeat step 4&5 for a third row.

7. Decorate with sequins if desired. I put sequins on the glue that was left after placing the puzzle pieces - then added a few dots of glue on the to layer. If your tree is a bit "off", you can adjust it now, while the glue is wet, by pushing the pieces together.

8. Allow to dry (I waited about 5 hours) and peel from the waxed paper.

9. Turn it over and paint the back. We used two different color paints and sponged them on to give a more textured look.

** I recommend spraying the finished ornament with a sealant of some sort. I didn't have time before I had to put them in the mail. **