If you have a working knowledge of Photoshop, this is a great personalized gift — create a custom Photo Puzzle! You know — those compare two photos and find the differences. They are getting more and more popular, but they are really easy to create. You can send JPGs by email, frame it or even print them as front/backs of photo cards.

• Select a photo which will have meaning for the intended recipient. Picture of the grandkids, favorite pet, favorite place, etc. You could always take a new photo with lots of props, designs and textures.
• Open the photo in Photoshop and duplicate the layer. The original image will be the base image, the other will be the altered image.
• Now for the fun, start altering one image. Depending on what you want to do, you can use the following techniques:
  • Clone Tool to copy sections to a new area
  • Brush tool set to Color to recolor an item
  • Select a piece of the photo, copy/paste it, and use the Eraser Tool to remove any unneeded area. Then move it in place.
• It’s really that easy.

You can create a unique and personal gift!   Take a look at the below images. How many things can you find in the follow photos??

The solution! You know that they will ask for the solution. You can make a solution by simply changing the layer properties of the top layer to Difference. See the following screen capture. It shows the solution for the above photo puzzle.