Puzzle Piece Flower Bouquet

Puzzle pieces make beautiful flowers. This is a fun craft for your guests to make during a puzzle themed party, or you can make them ahead of time as decoration. Affiliate links below. 

Puzzle Piece Flower Bouquet

Materials: 

• old puzzle pieces
• Folk Art gesso
• Folk Art acrylic paint
• colored pencil
• yellow pom poms
• craft glue
• green pipe cleaners
• wire cutters
• tissue paper (green)
• microtip scissors
• small vase

Steps: 

Paint a coat of gesso on to the puzzle pieces. When it is dry, add a coat of acrylic paint. Use a colored pencil to add lines that mimic the veins and ridges of petals. Then glue a pom pom in the center of the flower. 

Twist the pipe cleaners to form leaves. I made two leaves with stems and two without. I recommend making all the leaves with stems, as you can always cut them off later. Add a coat of glue to each leaf and lay it on top of tissue paper. 

When the glue is dry, cut around each leaf. Twist the stems of the flowers together. 

Twist the stems of the leaves around the flower stems. (I did that with the two I had, then glued a third leaf in place. I didn't use the fourth leaf.) Arrange the flowers in the vase. 

I love how my puzzle piece bouquet turned out! It's going on display next to my Lego flowers. 

Jigsaw Puzzle Trivia

One of the games we played during my puzzle-themed birthday party was Jigsaw Puzzle Trivia. We played it Four Corners style, meaning that each corner of the room was designed A, B, C, or D. After I read each question, everyone had to move to the corner they thought was the right answer. Not only is it fun seeing how everyone answers each question, but it gives the contestants a chance to second-guess their answer and join the majority, intentionally move to an answer no one else has given, or stay with their first guess (usually the correct strategy). Play along below and let me know in the comments how many you got right!

1. When was the first known jigsaw puzzle made?

A. 1766
B. 1801
C. 1860
D. 1906

2. Where were jigsaw puzzles invented?

A. England
B. France
C. United States
D. Germany

3. Jigsaw puzzles originated as educational devices to teach what subject?

A. history
B. etiquette
C. religion
D. geography

4. The name “jigsaw puzzle” was first used in 1906. What were they called before that?

A. partitions
B. enigmas
C. dissections
D. multitudes

5. What is the word for the study of puzzles?

A. Puzzology
B. Enigmatology
C. Fragmology
D. Praxology

6. Approximately how many jigsaw puzzles are sold each year?

A. 1.8 million
B. 180 million
C. 1.8 billion
D. 180 billion

7. The most expensive puzzle ever sold has 467 handcrafted wood pieces. What was its price?

A. $14,000
B. $27,000
C. $39,000
D. $52,000

8. When is International Puzzle Day?

A. January 29

B. April 4

C. July 27

D. November 17

9. The largest commercially available puzzle has 60,000 pieces and is 8x29 feet. Where is it sold?

A. at the Ravensburger factory store

B. exclusively at independent puzzle and game stores

C. online only, through Puzzle.com

D. Costco

10. How many pieces does the largest jigsaw puzzle ever made have?

A. 79,232

B. 227,232

C. 403,232

D. 551,232

1. A - The first known jigsaw puzzle was made in 1766 by a man named John Spilsbury.

2. A - Jigsaw puzzles were invented in England. 

3. D - Spilsbury, a cartographer, invented jigsaw puzzles as educational devices to teach geography. 

4. C - Spilsbury named his creations "dissections."  

5. B - Enigmatology is the study of puzzles. 

6. C - Approximately 1.8 billion puzzles are sold annually. 

7. B - A 467-piece, hand-cut wood puzzle sold for $27,000, making it the most expensive ever sold. 

8. A - International Puzzle Day is celebrated on January 29. 

9. D - You can buy an 8x29 foot puzzle with 60,000 pieces for $349 at Costco. 

10. D - The largest puzzle ever made has 551,232 pieces. 1600 college students in Ho Chi Mihn City put it together. 

Jigsaw Puzzle Party

I threw myself a birthday party on Saturday. The theme was one of my favorite things: jigsaw puzzles!

To make my party hat, I started by coloring old puzzle pieces with Apple Barrel paint pens (affiliate links here and below). When they were dry, I coiled Twisteezwire in corresponding colors around each piece, then threaded the wire into a blue party hat. I secured the ends with masking tape. I used a Sharpie to write 54 on another puzzle piece and glued it to the front of the hat. 

Here's what the party invitation looked like. I had so much fun designing it! (I used PicMonkey, of course.)

I wore my puzzle piece necklace. It's from Springbok. I got mine for free awhile back for joining their loyalty club. I don't know that they do that anymore; probably not, since they're selling it now. 

So what do you do at a puzzle party? Puzzles, of course! We solved a neon 80's themed puzzle and a chocolate mystery puzzle. 

We made crafts using puzzle pieces. 

We played Puzzle Trivia (I'll share that tomorrow). And we played multiple rounds of Puzzle Chess. 

If you're not familiar with Puzzle Chess, I highly recommend it! We used a 48-piece puzzle; you can play with a puzzle up to about 100 pieces. Someone who is not competing completes the border and turns all the pieces face up. The contestants sit across from each other with a chess clock beside the puzzle. Start the clock, then the first player puts in a piece and hits the clock. The second player does the same. When the last piece goes in, the person with the least amount of time on their clock is the winner. It's really fun!

In between it all, we grazed. I love charcuterie boards for parties. They're so much fun to put together and everyone can grab what they like. Check out the puzzle piece candies!

I used the Celebrate It! Puzzle Piece silicone mold, sold by Michaels. I'm so frustrated that they don't sell it anymore, because it is AWESOME. As you can see, the finished candies actually interlock properly like puzzle pieces should. To make the candies, I prepared Wilton Candy Melts and added a drop of different LorAnn flavorings to each of the different colors before molding them. I didn't match the colors with the flavors logically (for example, purple was green apple), which left my guests a bit -ahem- puzzled.  

I had such a good time at the party! Thanks to my friends for helping make it so fun. If you're a jigsaw puzzle fanatic, I highly recommend throwing a puzzle-themed party of your own. 

Native American Museums Everyone Should Visit

Someday, I WILL visit the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC. I've traveled to DC five times, but I haven't been there since the museum opened in 2004. The museum looks spectacular and I can’t wait to go. In the meantime, I wanted to share the rest of my favorite must-visit Native American museums. 

First Americans Museum 

First Americans Museum opened in Oklahoma City in 2021 to share the collective histories of the 39 First American Nations in Oklahoma. It is beautifully designed and does an outstanding job of presenting the cultural diversity and the contributions of each of the 39 Nations. Technology helps tell the stories in a seamless way. Don't miss the outdoor exhibit about the Mound Builder cultures and definitely allow time to eat Native cuisine in the restaurant. 

Heard Museum

The Heard Museum has been a must-visit spot in Phoenix, Arizona since it was established in 1929. The museum is dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It tells stories of the indigenous people from a first-person perspective through traditional and contemporary artwork. The museum includes a library and amphitheater. 

Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum

The mission of the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum is to tell the stories of the American Indian children who were educated there, many by force. Located in Carson City, Nevada, the school was operated by the federal government from 1890-1980. Hearing about the experiences of some of the thousands of students who attended Stewart Indian School is powerful and eye-opening. In addition to sharing the history of Stewart, the museum also displays contemporary Native art and hosts public programming and educational activities. 

Chickasaw Cultural Center

The Chickasaw Cultural Center opened in 2010 to preserve, protect, and share Chickasaw culture, traditions, and history. The campus is enormous and stunningly beautiful, boasting a world-class exhibit center, an amphitheater, a traditional village, a library, art galleries, a cafe, and much more. There is so much to see and do as you immerse yourself in the rich Chickasaw culture. 

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center celebrates the culture of the 19 Pueblo communities through exhibits, a library, a teaching kitchen and restaurant, and community events. This award-winning Center opened in 1976 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is a wonderful place to visit and learn (and eat!). Not only is it a gathering place, but it also provides economic opportunities to Pueblo communities. 

Indian Museum of North America

The Indian Museum of North America is located at Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. It houses art and artifacts from over 300 Native Nations and is committed to telling the stories of their diverse cultures and histories. There are daily programs, including music and dance performances. An Artists in Residence program highlights contemporary Native artists. There is so much to see and do here, all in an incredible setting. 

Oklahoma 2023

I have fond memories from our visits to all the states, but there's something about Oklahoma that stands out. We packed so many cool things into 5 days in the Sooner State. We enjoyed amazing gardens, learned about a tragic day, discovered the fascinating world of banjos, and took a boat ride. We toured the  stockyards, learned all about Oklahoma's First American Nations, and saw florists at work. We fed flamingos and learned about cowboys. We visited the only Capitol with an oil well and petted pigeons. We were blown away by "the best success story of Native voices telling their own story." We had a GREAT time. 

Oklahoma 2023 (affiliate link)

I'd put off scrapping about our visit to Oklahoma because there were so many memories I wanted to document. I ended up picking 11 photos that give a glimpse into our visit. It's not the whole story (that's what the blog posts are for) but it's enough to spark memories. One look at the picture of the curly pigeon or the banjo collection or the Chickasaw lunch or Trevor feeding flamingos and it takes me right back.