I’ve always been a big fan of Claudine Hellmuth’s delightful portraits where she takes photographs of faces and turns them into little drawn characters in all sorts of adventurous scenes. So inspired, I decided to make my own version of a whimsical family portrait as a Father’s Day gift for my youngest brother, Jeffrey. I had such fun turning him, his wife, Lisa, and their two little girls into tiny astronauts with their own colorful rocketship complete with a flag to plant on the moon. (You’ll notice that the little girls are wearing pink – spacesuits or tutus, my nieces love pink!) I used a variety of Kool Tak adhesives which made it so easy to assemble everything and to add shine and color to the rocketship with Kool Tak foils. I know my brother is going to get such a kick out of this. I’ll have to make one for my other brother and his family too!
Supplies:
Kool Tak™ Premium Extreme Tape – 2 1/2″ x 27 yards
Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheet – 8” x 10” (1)
Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Tape – 1/4″
Kool Tak™ 3D PVA glue with fine tip
Kool Tak™ Shiny Transfer Foil Sheets – assorted colors
Printed copies of family photographs
Wood shapes -flag, spools and circles (for each adult figure use one large spool and large circle, for each child use one small spool and small circle)
Wood dowels – diameter to fit spools
Wood rocketship
Patterned papers – assorted colors, one silver metallic sheet
Tools: Dark silver acrylic paint, paint brush, Westcott Brand scissors, black permanent marker, wire cutting pliers (to cut dowels), tracing paper, needle tool, pencil
Instructions:
1. Measure the spools: for the large spools, use the wire cutting pliers to cut the dowels 3″ longer than the length of the spool and for the smaller spools, cut the thinner dowels 1 1/2″ longer. Insert the dowels into the corresponding spools and glue in place with Kool Tak™ 3D PVA glue. Assemble one additional large spool and dowel for the flag. 
2. Paint all the wood shapes including the rocketship with the dark silver acrylic paint. Let dry. 3. Cut a strip of patterned paper to wrap around each spool. Secure in place with a piece of Kool Tak™ Premium Extreme Tape . Wrap a strip of silver metallic paper around the large spool for the flag, affix with tape and set aside for now. 
4. Adhere a piece of Kool Tak™ Premium Extreme Tape to the back of each photograph. Trace your selected painted circle on the photograph front with the permanent black marker. Cut 1/4″ inside the black outline so that the photograph is a little smaller than the wood circle. Remove the white release paper from the tape to expose the adhesive and apply the photograph to the wood circle. Smooth in place. Repeat for the remaining photos. 
5. Apply a piece of Kool Tak™ Premium Extreme Tape to the back of the silver metallic paper sheet. Trace the wood circles on the tape with the permanent black marker. Cut 1/4″ inside the black outline so that the silver metallic paper sheet is a little smaller than the wood circle. 
6. Use a bit of tracing paper to draw a helmet window on the photo. Put the tracing on the same sized silver metallic paper circle and trace the helmet window with the pencil to transfer the design. Cut the helmet window out. Remove the white release paper from the tape and apply the cut silver helmet window circle onto the photograph. Outline the silver circle with the black permanent marker and add details. Repeat for all the photos. 
7. Glue the wood photo faces onto the dowels in the spools with Kool Tak 3D PVA glue. Set aside to dry. 
8. Cut a piece of Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheet to fit onto the front of the wood flag shape. Peel the white release paper and expose the adhesive. Apply to the wood flag shape. Use the needle tool to remove the red plastic release liner and expose the adhesive. 
9. The Kool Tak™ Shiny Transfer Foil Sheets come as an assortment of various colored solids and patterns and are each basically a clear plastic release sheet with a dull side and a shiny side. Select a silver foil sheet and press it shiny side up / dull side down onto the adhesive and rub well. Lift and peel off the foil sheet. The clear plastic release sheet lifts off leaving the shiny foil adhered to the wood flag shape. (**Tip – You can use every little bit of the foil transfer sheet until all you have left is the clear release sheet.) Write the words “Happy Father’s Day” on the flag with the permanent marker. Fit the fine tip on the bottle of Kool Tak 3D PVA glue and add dots to the edge of the wood flag. Let the glue dry until it is clear. TIP:Rinse the tip immediately after use in some warm water. Make sure all the glue is removed.
10. Apply silver foil to the now clear glue dots. It’s very cool how the dots look like metal rivets! Assemble the flag by gluing the wood flag shape to the remaining wood spool and dowel. 
11. Add detailing to the rocket by wrapping strips of 1/4″ Kool Tak™ Ultra Clear Tape and adding dots of Kool Tak™3D PVA glue. Let dry until clear. Cut star shapes from the Kool Tak™Ultra Clear Adhesive Sheet and apply to the fins of the rocket. 
12. Add texture to the top and to the opening of the rocket by drawing scribbles with the Kool Tak™ 3D PVA glue. Let dry until clear. 
13. Apply foils to the now clear 3D PVA glue. Peel the red plastic release liner pieces from the Kool Tak™Ultra Clear and apply foils. But don’t stop there! You can keep foiling as long as you like! 
Wouldn’t this make any dad happy? Try making these with different shapes like wooden train sets and racing cars. And don’t forget moms – they would like these too! – Carmen