February 19, 2020
How to frame a puzzle
Inner Piece makes beautiful, framable puzzles. A few of you have asked us how to frame a jigsaw puzzle, so we figured we'd just show you a couple of ways to do it.
The Glue Method
The best way to preserve your puzzle for framing is by using puzzle glue. There are dedicated puzzle glues on Amazon, but our favorite glue is the classic Mod Podge Puzzle Saver. All you need is Mod Podge and something to apply it – we use a putty knife but we've see people use a brush too.
Step 1 - Finish your Inner Piece puzzle. Yay! Look at that beautiful puzzle art work – it's going to look great hanging on your wall.
Step 2 - Make sure it's clean. Make sure the surface of your puzzle is free of dust (and/or drool.) ALSO: A lot of people are asking what they should put their puzzle on in case the glue seeps through. This isn't that much of a problem, but you could just do it on wax paper or newspaper. Even if the newspaper comes off a bit on the puzzle, it's going into a frame!
Step 3 - Apply glue to puzzle. Take the Mod Podge or puzzle glue and apply it liberally across the puzzle. Do it on a safe surface in case you spill a little. Spread it around so it fills each and every crack between the pieces.
Step 4 - Smooth out glue. You don't want it to dry with any globs so smooth it out across the puzzle. Wipe any excess glue on a paper towel or cloth.
Step 5 - Let that puzzle dry. A single coat dries within 20 minutes and is pretty solid, but feel free to add another coat. An 8oz puzzle saver will glue five or six 500 piece puzzles with a couple of coats each. Give yourself at least an hour before framing. It will dry totally clear! (see below)
The other option...
The sneaky tape method
If you want a simple, albeit more risky method, you can always tape the back of your jigsaw puzzle together with packing tape. This involves carefully lifting the puzzle from the corners and flipping it over – like we said, risky! From there, just cover the back in packing tape.
Again, not our favorite method but it works!
Framing your puzzle
Step 1 - Find the right frame! We make Inner Piece puzzles in very framable sizes. Some frames will fit perfectly, some larger frames will still work with help from some double sided tape to keep your puzzle centered.
Step 2 - Hang your puzzle on the wall. Or don't. Put it somewhere magical, you earned it you artist you.
Frame suggestions:
All our puzzles fit standard sized Ikea frames. Our 18"x18" puzzles fit the Ikea 19.75"x19.75" RIBBA frame with a little bit of double sided tape to help. Our 16"x20" puzzles fit a variety of 16x20 Ikea frames - we love the Silverhöjden.
Check out some of out framable puzzles and shop here!
2 comments
I saw a video on Amazon in which they placed wax paper underneath the puzzle before they glued it. That seemed to work very well!
Crissy
April 14, 2021
What should I put the puzzle on when I am putting it together? I have never framed a puzzle before. Will the glue go through the cracks onto the surface below?
Thank you.
Julia
September 18, 2020