DIY Puzzle Guest Book

Hello My Fellow Crafty People! 

I hope you are all doing well on this sunny Wednesday afternoon. I'm sorry I haven't been blogging regularly on here, but I have been crazy busy doing all kinds of things!!! I am hoping to make it a more regular thing, but it has been difficult even finding the time to do the DIY projects, let alone write them for you guys... But I am determined to do so. I want to pursue this writing a blog thing... its a dream of mine. 

Anyway, today's DIY is for the wedding oriented or if you are in the market for making puzzles. It is a DIY Guest Book Puzzle. This is something I created for my wedding after seeing something similar on Pinterest. It's pretty easy and takes approximately an afternoon, depending on how fast you work. Let's get started!!!!

Things you need:
- Bristol Board (needs to be thin enough to be able to frame after the wedding)
-sharpie marker
-ruler
-pencil
-markers for colour coating pieces (optional depending on the size of your puzzle)
-a guide for your puzzle (optional depending on the size of the puzzle - needed if you have a puzzle with a lot of pieces like mine so you can put it back together. 

Step 1:
You will need to cut the bristol board to the size you will need or you can leave it the size it is. I left mine. You also need to take into consideration how many guests will be attending. Make sure you will have extra pieces. 

Step 2:
Take your ruler and pencil and draw lines in every direction making a lot of irregular shapes. Once you are happy with it, take the Sharpie and trace over the pencil lines to give it a cleaner look. Use the ruler if you have difficulty with drawing straight lines freehand. (NOTE** Don't worry about having really small pieces as long as you have enough for your guests. You can colour those in black or draw little hearts (or something else wedding related) on them). 

Step 3:
If your puzzle is large, you may want to consider making a replica of the puzzle using white computer paper so that you are able to put it back together after the wedding. Just get a piece of white paper large enough, or tape several pieces of white paper together until it is the size you need. Place overtop of the puzzle and trace all the pieces. 

Step 4:
I had a ton of pieces, so I colour coded, numbered and assigned a letter to each piece. I wrote it on one side of the actual puzzle piece and then wrote it on the corresponding piece on the paper. 

Step 5:
Next, carefully cut out all the pieces and put them in a ziplock bag. Mine all fit in a regular sandwich baggie. 

When it comes time for your wedding, put the blank ones in a bowl and have some pens or markers handy. Have another bowl or a box for pieces with messages on them to go in. 

That's all there is to it. Just put it together and frame it after the honeymoon if you go on one right away. It's a fun way to have a guest book that is a little easier than making actual puzzle pieces. (Trust me! I tried! It is so hard to make it yourself so it looks nice and not bent or anything... I was so frustrated!) Hope you enjoy! Happy Crafting!!!