Easy Magnetic Photo Puzzle Tutorial

Need to keep kids out of the fridge while you’re busy making dinner? I can’t guarantee this will buy you anymore than four minutes, but sometimes that’s all you need! Surprise them with a scrambled magnetic photo puzzle to put back together while you drain the pasta. It’s one of those instantly gratifying projects and you can make it super simple or more advanced depending on the person’s age. Even if the only person raiding your fridge is your roommate, it’s a really fun way to display more photos!

We partnered with the folks at Canon USA for this project. I used the PIXMA TS9521C to print these. I love that it’s wireless so I can print my photos from anywhere in the house while I’m keeping an eye on kids or finishing up a project in another room. You can also print up to a 12″ x 12″ size, so you can print a few different photos all on the same page. I’ve made it my goal to print out more photos of my kids this year, so having a printer that can give me high quality photos at home is really important to me.

Supplies:
-sticker magnets
-scissors
-printer + photos

I wanted photos that felt like they were taken in an old photo booth, so I took a bunch against a white background and then edited them to be black and white in A Color Story Desktop. Having my daughter pose for these might have been my favorite part of the project. Your photos can be of anything, though. A scenic photo from your last road trip, a pet, or a favorite memory from when you were a kid. I used regular computer paper because I wanted a matte look, but you could also use photo paper for these. Canon also just came out with this new magnetic paper too which would be perfect for this project!

Trim down your photo to fit the size of your magnet. I purchased a 5″x7″ sheet of magnet, but that felt a bit too big, so I sized my photo down to a 4″x 6″ size.

Carefully place your printed photo on top of the sticky side of your magnet and trim the edges.

Cut your magnetic photo into bigger shapes for younger kids or lots of small shapes for older kids. Enough to keep them busy for those last four minutes at least!

How do I know this works? I tested it out on this same kid eight years ago! Check out this bald little girl working on a magnetic photo puzzle of her big brother here. OMG, crying! She’s so big now!

Need even more dinner prep time? Mix up a few photos and tell them you’re timing them. See if they can beat their first time after you mix it up again. You’re welcome! – Rachel

Credits//Author: Rachel Denbow. Photography: Rachel Denbow. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.