Our Beautiful Jigsaw Puzzles - Here's How They Are Made

Crosswords, gardening, needlepoint, crochet, and coloring... Which is your favorite pastime? How about a good old fashioned jigsaw puzzle? With much of the world under lockdown and looking for something to pass the time, jigsaw puzzles have taken on new role: to save ourselves from boredom. The prime minister of Australia even referred to jigsaws as essential and allowed people to leave the house to buy them. Here at Ministry Ideaz, our paradise jigsaw puzzles are all the more essential, as they allow us to pass the time while focusing on Jehovah's beautiful promise that's just around the corner.

Each puzzle piece must be uniquely shaped, to avoid one accidentally fitting into the wrong place. That means 500 different shapes for a 500-piece puzzle, each drawn by hand by workers. Before a puzzle is cut for the first time, each piece is sketched on a sheet of paper draped over the finished image.

Pieces of metal are then shaped to form an elaborate cookie cutter made just for that jigsaw puzzle; it takes about four weeks to build one. The cutter can be used only a limited number of times before its edges are dulled and needs to be replaced.

The cutting tool for a 500-piece puzzle uses over 100 feet of steel.

Images are printed on matte paper, to avoid glare,
which is then laminated onto cardboard.

A die-cutting machine applies up to
1,100 tons of pressure on each puzzle

Once the image is pasted onto cardboard and the pieces are designed, the cookie cutter is laid on top and 1,100 tons of pressure is applied.

Completed puzzle, all cut up

The cut-up puzzle pieces are swept into plastic bags

The bags get packed into boxes

All ready to ship

What is your favorite pastime? Have you had to opportunity to put together one of the Ministry Ideaz paradise puzzles? How long did it take to put it together? Let us know in the comments below!