A Puzzling Situation

We spend a lot of time gathered around a table working on a puzzle or two or three. We have over the course of time developed a system for how we build our rather complicated puzzles. I thought I would share a few of our family tips with you so you can make building a puzzle a fun thing to do. There is nothing worse than finally getting time with your family doing a fun activity only to have the fun activity turn into a major disappointment. I realize that there is not a lot of contrast between the table and the puzzle pieces. I apologize for that, but the pictures still clear enough to see well.

Step 1

Turn over all the pieces and separate the straight edge pieces from the inside pieces.

Step 2

Build the border.

Step 3

Isolated color patches. Grab ALL the pieces that have the small patches of color that is a small part of the puzzle. This is usually a color that stands out so it is rather easy to cherry pick the the puzzle pieces out of the seemingly endless sea of puzzle pieces. For this puzzle it is the the sky. See how Alyssa has the pieces lined up? Her system makes it a lot easier to find the piece she needs.

Step 4

After the mini patches of color have been put together, then start organizing the puzzle pieces. This will help a lot in the next step. Group pieces together that have the same shape.

Step 5

'Innies' and 'Outties'

I have names for the parts of a puzzle piece. They are real imaginative names that help me look for the piece I need. Now lets just say that the puzzle piece we need is not sitting right next to the puzzle. We would have to search through all sorts of pieces to find the piece to fit into that green hole. The piece we need will be mostly green and have at least three 'innies'. Since we have already grouped all the pieces together all we have to do is go to the groups that have three or four innies and find our piece. :-)

Step 6

Hints

• Chat, laugh and don't take it too seriously.
  
• Grab a cup of something warm and settle in. Puzzles can take days to build. There's not a time limit.
  
• When you get really stuck, try changing seats and looking at the puzzle from a different point of view. We do a Chinese fire drill sort of thing and every so often, everyone moves one seat to the right.
  
• You might not want to start with a 1000 piece puzzle on your first time out, but find a picture that you really like. Some 1000 piece puzzles are easier than 500 piece puzzles. I think photographs are easier to put together than heavily textured painting style puzzles.
  
• Make sure you have plenty of space. I like to build the frame and keep all the un-worked pieces outside of the frame so that way when you start getting chunks put together you can put them into the approximate place they will be in the frame. If it is full of puzzle pieces you have no where to go with it.
• Use the picture on the box as a reference. It will help a lot
• If you cannot tell if two pieces go together, flip them over and look at the back. The seam between the two pieces should be completely flush with no gaps at all.
  
• If you cannot find the piece you are looking for...check the floor. Pieces are so light and they easily stick to your sleeves so check the floor often. (This is also a tip in case you have young ones that put everything they find into their mouth. Puzzle pieces are choking hazards.)
  

A Lazy, Snowy Weekend and Grilled Cheese

We are so busy during the week that when the weekends come along we simply crash. We make sure to get our favorite football game in, we try to cook a few meals together and most importantly we spend time catching up.


This weekend we pulled out a bunch of puzzles and made a date in front of the fireplace to spend a few lazy hours talking, laughing, teasing, listening to some soft music and puzzle building. These hours together are priceless. Check out this post for our puzzle tips.



Since we spend a lot of time around a table of puzzle pieces so when I found this adorable cookie cutter, I knew that i had to have it. I love putting a fun touch on an everyday staple like grilled cheese. And for us, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup is a winter staple so it is fun to give it a tiny make over every once in a while. I just happen to have a puzzle piece cookie cutter to use. This technique is only limited by your imagination. Here is another look at a grilled cheese I served at my son's birthday party.



The board of ingredients for our lunch is so refreshingly simple. I am adding a touch of fresh parsley to our soup because I happen to have some on hand, but it is not necessary at all.



Start with two slices of bread.



Center your cookie cutter in the middle of your bread and press.



Leave the bread cut out in the slice of bread.



Add a drizzle of olive oil to your non stick pan or griddle. I am using a griddle. You can also butter each slice of bread if you wish, but this method is much faster.



Place your bread on the skillet right over the olive oil and let the bread get toasty. Do no do anything until your bread has toasted completely.



When the bread is ready to flip, add two sliced of cheese and top with the second slice of bread.



This is what you wind up with. Make sure you are toasting the bread on a low heat so the cheese has plenty of time to melt before the bread and oil start burning.


Yummy!

Cookie Cutter Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 Slices of Bread
2 Slices of Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cookie Cutter
Griddle or Non-Stick Pan

Directions

1. Cut Bread with cookie cutter.

2. Add a drizzle of oil to a non stick skillet over medium low heat.

3. Place cut bread in pan.

4. When bread is toasted add two slices of cheese and top with the second slice of bread. Flip the sandwich over and toast the second piece of bread.

5. Enjoy.

For a printer friendly version of this recipe click here.