Interactive Fire Nesting Puzzle

Where there's smoke there's fire...Okay, not really. {That would be dangerous and this is a kids' toy, after all.}

Interested in the tutorial.  Here it is...

Find yourself a scrap piece of wood, approximately 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall and 3/4 inch thickness.  Footprints on said piece of wood not required :) 

In pencil, draw out a flame design. 

Using a band saw, cut along your lines.  To preserve your fingers, make your first cut on line 1.  This will leave you more wood surface to hold onto while guiding the blade.  Work your way out, leaving the 5th cut as your last cut.

After you finish your 5 cuts, sand down each section.

*I only sanded the outside layer.  With each layer of paint I added, the thickness increased, making it more difficult to fit back into place.  Sanding each layer, even a little bit, should easily correct this.

Paint each layer.  I used both latex and acrylic paint.  Starting from the center, I used black, transitioning to red, transitioning to orange and finally to yellow.

This wooden fire nesting puzzle will certainly heat up imaginative play for your little one.

Roast some marshmallows, tell some ghost stories, sing campfire songs...

 use it as a puzzle or put it on a shelf and admire.

But you might want to make it a high shelf, I'm pretty sure the kids will be attracted to this puzzle like a moth to a flame.

{Pun intended.}

*Thanks Elena at 'A Casarella for helping me heat this post up with your word weaving skills :)