And also, make it a cat, because cats are awesome 
The best way to paint a puzzle is to either paint the wood before cutting, or at least prime it white (like with artists gesso), then cut it out. I normally paint puzzles with watercolors and then clear spray paint them while assembled, but this time I thought it would be fun to try acrylic. The only problem with acrylic is that you have to either pick up and paint each piece individually, or make sure not to glob paint into the puzzle cracks.
I designed this puzzle so that the stem cuts reversed from the puzzle, so if you leave it wood, the wood grain looks different. It has pretty big pieces which makes it a little safer for kids not to choke on, but the puzzle can be shrunk down to 4-3” if small pieces aren’t an issue!
I just got it accepted into the Glowforge Catalog, and since it has been so long since I have 1) posted and 2) submitted any new designs to the catalog, I thought it would be a good idea to post it here 
You can find the link to my Cat-O-Lantern puzzle in the Catalog by clicking on my profile (Edited to add link, since it looks like you have to click on the profile and on the name afterwards to find the link: Halloween Jigsaw Puzzle Cat-O-Lantern Jack-O-Lantern with Large Pieces – Glowforge Shop )
Happy Puzzled Halloween! (again What can I say, I make a lot of puzzles! )
