We love to do puzzles when it's rainy or too cold to go outside. Sometimes even when it too hot to go out! I made a puzzle system that costs a total of about $5 and works for just about any size puzzle.
I've tried all kinds of ways to keep the puzzle together while we travel.
I searched Amazon for puzzle keepers. They have keepers like this
I've tried rolling it up like this - not a fan!! Also, assembling a puzzle on a sheet of felt is an exercise in frustration!
And they all cost quite a bit more than I want to spend. So, I made my own frugal version that works great! Read on to see exactly how I did it.
I visited someone who had a really neat puzzle sorter like this -
I never realized how nice it is to have separate places for different sections of the puzzle.
Well, I knew I could come up with a frugal, money-saving way to do all this AND make it fit in my tiny camper.
I bought everything at Dollar Tree, so my cost was about $5.
Get two pieces of foam board - one black and one white. This way you can choose if you want to assemble the puzzle on a dark or light background.
Buy a roll of non-slip liner in whatever color you like.
Wander over to the office supplies and pick up some binder clips. Make sure they will be large enough to go over 2 layers of foam board. I had clips at home, so I didn't buy them at Dollar Tree so I don't know if theirs are actually large enough. (which also kept my cost down)
Go to the food storage section and pick up some plastic containers with lids. I got mostly the same size, so they will nest for storage. We have very limited storage in our 19' camper.
Even with puzzle pieces in them, they will nest together. Put a lid on the top one. The segmented shape makes sure the rubber band does not come off.
To save space, cut the picture off the box. Then cut 1/2 way across the picture. Now you can fold it up easily. (I got this from the way Trivial Pursuit boards fold)
To store the puzzle in progress, lay the non-slip mat over the puzzle (do a better job cutting it than I did).
Lay the second sheet of foam board over it. Clamp around the sides in at about 10 places.
My puzzle didn't move at all, even when I stored it vertically.
Hope this works as well for you!
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Now quit fooling around with this and go play outside!
Now quit fooling around with this and go play outside!
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