This week I made a mess, a frustrating mess and I can not blame it on anyone but myself!!!! I had a cup of steaming hot chocolate and sat it down by the puzzle I was working on. I intended to work on it while a drank the chocolate. I knocked over the almost full cup on the puzzle. It ran off the back and sides of the table, down the wall and on the floor. About a third of my 1000 piece puzzle was instantly soaking wet. Cardboard puzzles act like a sponge and soak up the moisture immediatly.
I quickly dabbed up the mess with a dry tea towel. I put all the wet loose pieces upside down on a plate to dry. Fortunately I didn’t have many on the table. As carefully as I could, I lifted up corners of the puzzle and wiped underneathe. The wet pieces had already swelled so they stuck together amazingly well. Then I cleaned up the floor and wall and set a cookie sheet and plate over the wet puzzle as the pieces were starttng to buckle. I let the puzzle rest overnight.
The next morning the pieces were still damp but the tray had pressed them flat. I removed the tray and let them finish drying. Amazingly, the puzzle is not harmed or discolored. Tonight I finished the puzzle. It is beautiful with just a whiff of chocolate!
