There is an upside to being a homebody. You get to spend time engaging in crafts and hobbies like solving jigsaw puzzles. While a 500 piece or 1000 piece puzzle might look complex, completing and accomplishing the task installs a sense of fulfillment.
You can also create a piece of art that you can frame and hang in your home, showing your dedication and labour. Gluing and framing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle eliminates the sense of loss and dread you might feel thinking of breaking it up. You have put a ton of energy and time behind the puzzle, and breaking it up to clear space does not seem right.
What Can You Do To Preserve Your Puzzle?
You have very few options in hand once you complete a puzzle. You can either break it up to solve it once again or frame it on the wall. Assembling a puzzle over and over again is also fun. However, when it comes to big puzzles like 500 or 1000 pieces, many people love to glue, mount, and frame them.
Many enjoy this preservation process because it captures and displays the time, energy, and hard work put into creating this piece of art. Also, it is quite easy and inexpensive to frame a puzzle.
Let’s learn how to turn your puzzles into framed art.
How to Glue and Frame Jigsaw Puzzle?
Finish the Puzzle and Prepare the Workspace
Before assembling, you must insert a cover between the puzzle and the work surface. Ensure that the cover extends on each side by a few inches. This cover will ensure that the puzzle is not sticking to the surface when applying puzzle glue for framing.
Parchment and wax paper are excellent cover materials. Suppose you haven’t inserted a cover paper before starting the puzzle. In that case, it will be tricky to shimmy it once you complete it without disturbing the pieces.
If you have indeed forgotten to lay down a cover paper, find another surface large enough to hold your puzzle, like a cardboard piece, and slide the whole puzzle on it. At the same time, you place the cover on the original surface. It is easier to take the help of another person to get this task done.
Once you assemble the pieces, carefully and delicately flatten the pieces to fit the jigsaw puzzle frame. Sometimes, a few pieces might pop out from here and there. Apply a little bit of force to pop them down. You can also use a rolling pin to ensure that all the pieces lay flat when you hang the puzzle on the wall.
Tip: While you can use newspaper as a cover material, we do not recommend it. You see, newspapers are more likely to stick to the surface of the puzzle pieces while gluing them and can ruin the project and damage your puzzle pieces.
Start Gluing the Puzzle Pieces
The best way to keep the pieces together permanently is to use puzzle glue for framing. This glue is specially manufactured for such purposes and ensures that all the pieces stay together without falling apart.
However, ensure that the parchment cover is placed between the puzzle and the surface. Parchment paper is non-stick, grease-resistant, and heatproof. So, you can easily use heat-sensitive glues to get the work done.
People use different kinds of puzzle glue for framing. You can use spray and powder glue or opt for its liquid counterpart, which has worked best on these projects. Liquid puzzle glue spreads easily, is affordable, and does not need to mix with another medium before application.
Puzzle glues, as opposed to standard glues, are made by mixing lacquer and adhesive to hold the pieces and provide a glossy protective surface on drying. Once you pour the glue on the puzzle, you can use a sponge, brush, business card, cardboard, or a plastic paddle to spread it evenly across the surface.
Ensure that the edges are also covered and sealed properly. Also, avoid using too much glue initially, as the pieces can swell or curl.
Give Time to Dry
Now patiently wait for the puzzle to dry. Depending on the glue you have used, the entire thing can take up to five hours to dry. If you want, add another coat of glue to the puzzle to keep it intact and flat.
Do not continuously touch the surface to check whether it has dried. Read the manufacturer’s instructions behind the glue bottle to estimate the drying time. Touching the surface can disturb the glossy finish.
Frame the Puzzle
Now comes the fun part. Choose from the various frame designs and sizes to select the perfect fit for the puzzle. You do not want to choose a jigsaw puzzle frame that is too big. Packing tape on the side would be double the work to keep the puzzle centered.
The Bottomline
Displaying a result of your perseverance and hard work is always satisfying. Framing a puzzle might be a bit different from hanging a normal artwork. Still, it certainly brings the same sense of fulfillment to our hearts.
