My son, Mike, mentioned something about making a couple of puzzles that could then be intertwined for a larger puzzle. Good idea! For Christmas I would give a set like that to his soon-to-be three-year-old daughter Elisabeth. I set about designing a trio of puzzles with monkeys as a theme.
The first monkey would be up a tree…
First of three monkey puzzles
The second swinging…
Have a banana!
and the third sitting on the ground…
Thank you
Trio of monkeys
I was going to use a brand of colored dyes that I bought a few years ago for these puzzles. But in researching I discovered that the company that made them is no longer in business. I hate when that happens!
So, I ended up just using watercolor tube paints that I watered down for a translucent look. The thing about using a water-based anything on the baltic birch is that it will raise the grain. Not to worry, just put it on as dry as posible and plan on giving it a light sanding before finishing. I have found that using a scrap of a brown paper shopping bag works wonders… it “sands” down the grain without taking off too much paint.
I used a black Sharpie marker to put in the details. When thoroughly dry, I sprayed with a clear gloss.
I had fun making them… I hope the kids have fun putting them together, individually or all three together.
