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Miniature Jigsaw Puzzles made from Postage Stamps

February 7, 2016 by Ashley Hackshaw

Miniature jigsaw puzzles made from postage stamps … that sounds like something I would like, right? This stamp is so small I almost had to use tweezers to put this back together:

These amazingly tiny wood jigsaw puzzles are made by my friends father, Lynn Warner. Here he is at the Indiana State Fair demonstrating his woodwork (on a foot powered saw that he built):

A stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of mail order:

The intricate cuts on the back:

This puzzle is so small:

The pieces of the puzzle are smaller than a pea…so you can imagine how small the intricate cuts have to be!

These are so unique because Lynn uses a technique which allows the main image from the front of the puzzle to be seen as cut-out shapes on the backside too:

A little on the process from Lynn:

“A commemorative postage stamp is affixed to a 3/16″ plywood, then given 2 coats of clear acrylic finish. Using a very small (8/0) jeweler’s coping saw blade installed in a standard scroll saw the puzzle is cut. Yes, a magnifying glass equipped with a light is used during cutting. After cutting is complete, the puzzle’s backside is sanded and the sawdust is blown away. The process takes an average of an hour. The time varies with the particular stamp being cut and the number of times the cutter has cut the chosen stamp.”

Lynn includes a history of jigsaw puzzles in the packaging with each of his puzzles. A few excerpts:

The originals of jigsaw puzzles go back to the 1760’s when European map makers pasted maps onto wood and cut them into small pieces.
With the inventions of the treadle jigsaw and plywood in the late 1800s and early 1900s, puzzles for adults and entertainment emerged into a full-blown craze in the United States.
Because wood puzzles had to be cut one piece at at time, they were expensive. A 500-piece puzzle typically cost $5 in 1908, far beyond the means for the average worker who earned only $50 per month. High society, however, embraced the new amusement. Later, die cut cardboard puzzles brought the price down to a rate that most people could afford. With the lower prices, some companies began giving puzzles as premiums for buying their product.
With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, puzzles for adults enjoyed a resurgence of popularity. Puzzles seemed to touch a chord, offering an escape from the troubled times. With incomes depleted, home amusements like puzzles replaced outside entertainment. During the 1930s’ craze for puzzles, drugstores and circulating libraries added puzzle rentals to their offerings. They charged three to ten cents per day, depending on their size.

I wonder how many pieces were lost during rentals? And did they count the puzzle pieces when they came back just to make sure they were all returned?

I had to posed the little tiny puzzles with a few of my little tiny railroad miniatures. I think this looks like Sir Richard Branson:

A family of deer:

It’s funny, I remember doing puzzles when I was younger. My grandparents always had a puzzle out to work on. I think we did a few puzzles while we were at the Hemlock Inn a year ago. Since they were community puzzles they were alway inevitably missing a piece or two. I remember Harper the Intern trying to match puzzle pieces back to the original box in her spare time! I think I might start looking for some good puzzles to have around the house for snow days. Jigsaw puzzles are good for the brain!

A few other things to check out:

A 32,000 piece puzzle. The box weighs 42 pounds and the finished puzzle dimensions are 17′ x 6′. I think this is my new answer to the question: what would you take with you to a deserted island?

This 15-year-old is the fastest puzzler on the planet. She can assemble about 18 pieces per minute. I think my eyes would fall out.

Supposedly the hardest jigsaw puzzle ever…a 1,000 piece CMYK puzzle in 1,000 colors.

Thank you Lynn for sharing your awesome work with us!

Miniature Books – A Tiny Book for a Tiny Book Show

February 5, 2016 by Ashley Hackshaw

**Update: This tiny book Rewild was stolen from one of the Tiny Book Show stops on the east coast, North of Asheville. We would love to have it back. No questions asked. If found, please mail to Ashley Hackshaw, P.O. Box 910, Bryson City, NC.**

Miniature books are just part of my obsession with miniature things. My friends Maya and Amy of the Creativity Caravan put out a call for tiny books a few months ago…for their Tiny Book Show. I love a challenge so I decided to make one to send them for their tour. I ended up making a tiny hardcover book, 2″ tall and 1.5″ wide” as seen below:

There are miniature book collections all around the world. The criteria is usually that the book is less than 3″ wide and less than 3″ tall. To browse some truly amazing tiny books check out the past competition catalogs of the Miniature Book Society here.

To make the book, the first step was to cut the little pages from Strathmore watercolor paper. I used nylon upholstery thread to sew the pages together as book blocks. Instead of reinventing the wheel I’m just going to link to a tutorial that I think explains it well if you follow the numbering system she uses. Just skip to “SEWING” in her tutorial. My stitches were so small I almost needed a magnifying glass:

Oncee the pages were sewn together I started writing out the story and illustrating the pages using a combination of gouache paint, watercolors and woodless colored pencils:

The illustrations were done from different photo references. I used tiny brushes for the paintings and just kept layering mediums until I was happy with the result. The lettering was done with the smallest Sakura Micron graphic pen I had:

Sakura white gel pens are a great way to add texture and lighten up areas that need highlights:

To make the hardcover I cut out the three cardboard pieces from a cereal box. I covered them with the only canvas fabric I had, and it happened to be yellow. So I just painted the canvas using brown acrylic paint:

The finished book binding:

I glued the front and back page of the book signatures into the cover, wrapping the pages with wax paper to protect them from glue. I sandwiched the book between two rulers and held it with a binder clip until dry:

The finished book!

Miniature Books = Tiny Paintings:

The story I chose was based on a short film I embedded at the bottom of this post that tells how wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. Boo loves the story and so I decided to make her a small book that she’ll have to remind her of the power of nature. These are what the pages ended up looking like:

(Somehow I skipped scanning pages 4 and 5…but I already sent the tiny book off so I’ll have to update it when I get it back.)

[Read more…]

DIY Rustic Personalized Wood Cutting Board

February 1, 2016 by Ashley Hackshaw

I made this DIY rustic personalized wood cutting board this month as a Michaels Maker . This month’s theme was all about personalization, taking raw materials and transforming them into something unique. Michaels has so many great materials right now: galvanized metal, distressed wood, acrylic and chalkboard. I was thinking about entertaining this summer and wanted to make something useful for years to come:

I’m always trying to think of unique gifts for weddings, birthdays etc. Something handmade using unique materials. I used a natural stain made from coffee and balsamic vinegar. You can add a little steel wool as well (as I did in this other recipe) if you want to experiment with color.

Michaels has had these raw unfinished wood paddles for as long as I can remember. I’ve always thought they would be the perfect shape for a long rustic cheese cutting board for appetizers. It easily fits right down the middle of any table:

You can personalize it in many ways but I opted for a simple monogram. These Americana stencils have a great selection of arrows you can use as a template:

How to Make the DIY Rustic Personalized Wood Cutting Board:

First, I traced the crisscrossed arrows onto the wood board:

And I used a wood burner (also available at Michaels) to burn the design into the wood:

The finished design:

I just used our initials for this one. You could add a last name or a date as well:

How to Naturally Stain the Wood:

In order to use non-toxic materials, I mixed up a wood stain using a natural solution of concentrated coffee and balsamic vinegar:

It took a few coats:

Eventually the color was the perfect rustic brown:

To protect the wood I added a few coats of coconut oil. Using a hair dryer to heat up the wood allows the oil to penetrate the wood. After a few coats of oil I rubbed a light coat of beeswax onto the wood as well:

I made a sample label to show what I would attach to the board if I was giving it as a gift to someone:

The finished rustic cutting board:

I love how rustic and Tuscan it looks:

The personalization adds a modern touch:

Although the wood is treated with food safe stain, unless I go out and cut the tree down myself I’m never 100% sure about the source and whether it might have been treated at some point. I like to cut a small piece of wax paper to put underneath the crackers and cheese. Then there is less cleanup to do also!

Bring on the appetizers!

The best part about crafting is putting your own spin on a project. Whether it’s decorating with marquee lights or crafting an initial that represents your family name, Michaels has made it easy with their new Alphabet Soup by Make Market™ line of products. It might be my favorite line yet:

This collection of surfaces, letters, frames and more come in modern, eclectic or rustic styles. The possibilities are endless.

If you don’t know where to begin, you can always take a look at some of the fun projects on Michaels.com or the other 49 Makers’ ideas on The Glue String for to see how they personalized their crafts!

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