Stick Puzzles

This is a photo calendar (from 2005) of pictures my father-in-law took. I'm such a pack rat. It's nice to repurpose things, but it doesn't help me purge the abundance of clutter :)

So, you have to choose a photo that's smaller or can be cropped to be smaller than a popsicle stick (or get longer sticks, I suppose). In honor of Marlin and Nemo, we went with the clown fish. I wanted it to be a challenge, but not impossible. We're animal and nature lovers, so this was perfect.



So here's my cropped photo. I wanted a bit of the popsicle stick to stick out...you'll see why in a minute.

So Mod Podge. I love this stuff! There's two kinds: gloss and matte. I don't think it would matter which you use for this one....gloss might have made the front too shiny. It works best with foam brushes...which you can get for like $1 a pack...don't buy anything fancy because sometimes they don't wash out well and you have to pitch them when the craft is through.

So mod podge the back of the photo and line the sticks on the MP.

Here's what it looks like with all the sticks glued on.

Next, (this was the brilliant idea of the person whose blog I got the idea from) number the sticks. M can work on number order as well as visual relationship....and she can "check" herself.

Then, cover the front with a layer of MP....word to the wise: Be sure you make even brush strokes! You will be able to see the strokes when you're finished. It just looks better.

This one is of a bonobo ape. The orientation is vertical vs horizontal. And again, fun.

Once it dries (and I don't have a photo of this because I just did the craft tonight), use a straight edge razor blade (or a knife I guess, but be careful!) to cut apart the pieces.

This is sooooo not a kid-friendly prep craft. It did not take long to do....but really it's a homemade toy, not a craft to do with your kid. I suppose you could have your child pick out the photo and put on the MP and sticks....but it's super anti-climactic to have to wait for it all to dry and you're going to have to do the cutting yourself.

My plan is to store them in plastic baggies for her to use when she chooses.

Enjoy!