Repurposed Puzzle Art

When we purchased our eighth flip at absolute auction, it came with a lot of extra stuff inside the house, including this framed puzzle. I liked the frame and circular mat, and knew it could be repurposed.

I’d like to walk you through the steps of repurposing this piece. If this post inspires you, and you’d like to redo a piece of your own, I’ve included affiliate links to the products I used, as well as pictures of the process.

Step 1. Take the puzzle out of the frame.

Step 2. Using a foam roller, paint the puzzle with black acrylic paint to hide the image.

Step 3. Paint multiple coats of white acrylic paint (with ample dry time in between) over the black until you have a solid white surface.

Step 4. I used a vinyl cutout from my Silhouette machine, but you can use stickers. I centered the numbers on the puzzle and adhered them.

Step 5. I painted a couple more layers of white over the numbers. This step is so that the white paint will bleed under the numbers and blend in with the base coat. You don’t want the black in the next step to bleed under your numbers.

Step 6. Paint layers of black over the numbers until the black is solid.

Step 7. After the paint is dry, remove the numbers. Then, use a paint brush and apply several layers of Mod Podge (again, with ample dry time in between layers). I like to work the Mod Podge back and forth, over and over again until it has good texture.

Step 8. Once the Mod Podge has dried, apply a thin layer of brown acrylic paint onto the art piece with a paint brush. While the paint is still wet, wipe and move the paint around with a wet paper towel. The paint will get down into the crevices, but be removed from most of the surface. This gives the piece an aged, vintage look.