Not every puzzle order has to be innovative or spectacular in some new way. Sometimes, it might just be a number of small puzzles as a memento to commemorate an event or activity.
I was corresponding with a client about a custom puzzle she wanted cut. In the discussion, it came out that she was a new author with her first book coming out soon. She wondered about maybe making a puzzle using the book cover art. I instead suggested she make some small collector card puzzles for a book signing or whatever similar function that might be happening.
She was interested in pursuing this concept but wants to hand them out as gifts to her editorial and publicity teams. She forwarded digital files of the covers. It turns out the U.K. version of the book will have a different cover from the U.S. version of the book. If you might be interested in the book, the pre-order link is here: Notes-On-Surviving-the-Fire-by-Christine-Murphy. Christine Murphy is a member of and comments in some of the wooden puzzle groups on Facebook.
Here is the U.S. version of the book cover:
Here is the U.K. version of the book cover:
Due to the geometry of the covers, we settled on puzzles that were 2″ x 3″ and had approximately eleven pieces in each. That let me print 12 of each cover on an 8 x 11.5 sheet of photo paper.
I printed out 12 of each cover and mounted them on cherry Appleply. Once cut out into individual puzzle blanks, I then cut them up into pieces. After sanding the backs, I applied a neutral Danish finish oil to pop the grain out a bit.
These are the fronts.
She wanted them delivered taken apart so that she could assemble them before handing them out.
She now has a pile of pieces that are 12 similarly cut puzzles for each book cover. That might be a challenge! If you look closely at the backs, each little mini puzzle is cut out using a similar pattern. When cutting these small business card puzzles, I found it is easier and quicker to fall into a repetitive pattern while cutting the pieces. Kind of like shifting gears in a manual transmission. There is only one below that is significantly different. That was the first one I cut, and I settled on a simpler pattern for the rest of them. Still eleven pieces each. Six edge pieces and five inside pieces. Or maybe four edge pieces and seven inside pieces. It depends on how you count the pointy middle edge pieces!
I recently attended the 2024 Puzzle Parley and made up sixty “business card” or “collector card” puzzles as give aways. These were 2″ x 2″ and had seven pieces each. I also made 96 similar ones for Puzzle Jam South last summer.
Nothing exciting from a puzzling standpoint, but a nice give away that is a form of advertising. I have a little three piece one that was sent to me by Stave Puzzles years ago. It sits next to my computer for some reason. I sometimes pick it up and wiggle it around while staring at the computer screen in thought. The cut edges are finally starting to peel or delaminate a little bit. I suppose I should get a fidget spinner or something similar to keep my hands busy while pondering whether or not 42 is truly the correct answer.
Happy Puzzling!
Bob