A jar of soft gel medium and a few jumbo popsicle sticks = a photo puzzle! I made this one for Mr. Lil Blue Boo for Father’s Day:

With holes drilled in the top, all the pieces are kept together with a piece of hemp twine:

The three key materials to making this puzzle are:
Soft Gel Medium (you can purchase this at your craft store in the oil and acrylic paint section…..I use Golden brand but Liquitex also makes it)
Jumbo Popsicle Sticks (slightly wider and thicker than regular popsicle sticks)
A photocopy or laser jet-printed image

I picked up these “jumbo” mini sticks at a dollar/99 cent store:

Step 1: Print off your image in reverse using a laser printer or photo copy onto regular paper. It must be a dry toner ink….ink jet will not transfer correctly.

Step 2: Put double sided tape down onto a piece of paper and placed the sticks side-by-side onto the tape until they are wider than your image:

Step 3: Brush a thick coat of soft gel medium across the sticks covering them completely:

Step 4: Place the image face down onto the gel and smooth/burnish the paper to make sure there are no air bubbles:

 

Step 5: Once the gel has time to dry completely (about 20 minutes), wet the back of the paper with water:

 

 

Step 6: Use your fingers to peel off the paper:

Carefully rub the paper until it is all removed completely leaving the image behind:

Step 7: Use a razor or knife to carefully split the sticks apart…….

……and fine sand paper to remove any excess gel from the edges:

Step 8: Using a household drill, add holes to the end of each stick:

Step 9: Spray the front and back of the sticks with  a few coats of clear varnish:

 

 

Use a thick twine or leather cord to tie the pieces of the puzzle together. You can add a small card for a special occasion!