Materials:
- Photos of Family
- Frame
- Foam Core
- 1 Ping-Pong Ball
- Washers
- Black Marker
- Utility Knife
- Spray Adhesive
- Hot Glue
Directions:
- Start with a frame. It can be any ornate, or exaggerated frame. You can find them at craft stores, garage sales, or even from cheesy wall art found at discount big box stores.
- We've taken images of our Family Member and photoshopped them to suit our project. You can play with sepia tones, over-lay costumes, or even superimpose props like hatchets, pumpkins, etc…
- After you are finished playing with your photos, re-size them to the frame's dimensions. Just make sure when you size your photos you don't make the eyes larger than the circumference of the Ping-Pong ball halves, or else they might fall through the portrait. *Helpful Hint: If you don't have a giant printer or time to get the photos made into a poster, just print the photos out in 8.5" x 11" sections.
- The beauty about these photos is that they don't have to be perfectly photographed, or expertly printed! For our purposes, they just have to be fun!
- You then trim and spray glued the photos to foam core, matching up the seams. *Bonus: If you want to add an old world, varnished look, give the photos a couple of coats of yellow tinted white glue. If you have printed out the photos in 8.5" x 11" this will also help the seams slightly disappear.
- Use a utility knife to cut the eyes out of the portrait. Just like when we re-sized the photo to fit the frame, make sure the eyeholes aren't larger than the Ping-Pong "eyeballs," so they don't fall through the front of the portrait.
- While cutting, hold the utility knife in a downward angle, going from the front to the back of the foam core. This will help with the effect by opening the eyes up more.
- Blacken the cut lines of the eyeholes. This will cover the white of the foam core that might reveal the illusion.
- Next, cut the Ping-Pong ball into two halves. To cut it in half, pierce the Ping-Pong ball with the utility knife and saw your way around until the two halves are separated.
- Color the washers with black marker. Glue one washer at the center inside each of the Ping-Pong ball halves, making sure they are centered where pupils would be. If the pupils are off center, the illusion will not work.
- With a hot glue gun, affix the Ping-Pong ball halves behind the eyeholes, so that when we look at the portrait we are looking into the concaved inside of the Pin-Pong ball.
- You will need to readjust the picture wire so that is attached lower than normal. This will make the top of the portrait hang away from the wall a bit, giving space for the protruding ping pong balls on back. Plus it angles the portrait nicely to look down upon you. *Bonus: Here's a neat trick! Tape a glow stick either above or below the eyes, and your eyes will glow! When the glow stick runs out, simply replace it with a new one!
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