Crafts and Gifts to Make with Your New Jigsaw – Some Ideas

So, you have a new jigsaw, and you aren’t sure what to do with it. Aside from home improvement projects, you can make and create a huge array of gift options for friends and family throughout the year.

In this article, we will focus on some of the best ideas and suggestions that you can make using your jigsaw to make your loved ones feel special with your thoughtful and homemade gift.

Puzzle

Find any image that you want to make a puzzle out of, preferably one that is personal to you or the gift recipient. You can use kid’s artwork, a family photo, or an image that you have from a design or photography book.

Glue the image down to a flat piece of wood using the proper adhesive. We recommend using some sort of protection over the top of the image as well to prevent peeling from the wood or damage to the image itself.

Place another piece of paper on top of the image once it has dried, and draw out your puzzle design. You can secure this paper in place with tape or clips to the sides of the wood.

Cut out your puzzle design and sand down all the edges so that they are smooth. Once finished, put all the pieces in a canvas tote with a gift tag that includes the image of the finished product on the bag.

The main advantage of creating this kind of puzzle is that you do not require any artistic skills on your own, you just need to find a print that you like, and that means something to you and the recipient.

Heart Frame

Using a piece of thin wood, draw a heart shape. Inside of that heart, draw a 4×6 square using a straight edge. Take your jigsaw and cut out the inside of the frame where the photo will be placed and seen.

Now cut out the heart shape. Sand down the edges and paint the frame in a color of your choice. On the back of the frame, including a hook that will allow the frame to easily be hung on a nail, or drill a hole in the top of the frame and string ribbon through the top for another easy to hang option.

Wall Décor

Here is where you can really get creative. Take a piece of wood and draw a word on it that means something to your gift recipient, or you if this piece will be hung in your home. It might be something like “warrior” if they have survived a sickness, “create” if they are an artist, or just “love” to express how you feel about them.

Make your letters wide enough to be able to withstand the cutting – for example; the thinner parts may break when you are cutting through the wood. And take into consideration words that have the letter ‘i’ in them since you won’t be able to depict the dot easily.

You can find a variety of templates online for this type of project if you are not sure what type of font you would like to use.

You can use paper to transfer your image onto the wood as well. Once you’ve decided on what you want, cut it out, sand down the side and paint or decorate your design.

You can also cut out ornamental wall décors like arrows, feathers, birds, or other nature based designs which will go with most any home style.

Christmas Tree Ornaments & Decorations

Using your jigsaw tool, you can create ornamental pieces for your loved one and their holiday trees. Take a small light piece of wood, draw your design onto it, then cut it out. Sand the edges down and drill a small hole into the top of the piece and string onto a leather cord or piece of holiday ribbon.

This doesn’t have to be limited to Christmas either – consider Easter eggs and bunnies, Hanukkah designs, or even Halloween!

You can make larger scale items by cutting out pieces that can be assembled into reindeer, standing pine trees, or an Easter bunny as well. These simple outlines can be painted to include more detail or left as a simple outline.

Cutting Board

Cutting boards and cheese boards make great gifts. Find a piece of wood that is ok for food use, and using a pencil draw the outline on the wood.

Be sure to include a handle shaped at the end. Once you cut and sand your piece down, you can treat it with a wood oil that will help to retain the luster and shape – remember to use food grade oil!

Drill a hole through the handle and put a small rope or cord through it for easy hanging or display. If you have a wood burning tool, you can add a name or design to the wood for even more personalization!

Conclusion

If you own a jigsaw, don’t consider this versatile tool to be just for home projects and repair. You can create many things with it including an endless array of gifts and home décor that are specialized and personal to the recipient (or your own home!).