J E S U S Craft – Make an Optical Illusion

January 7, 2011 By

Given that the month of January is dedicated to the holy name of Jesus, I thought this would be a perfect Catholic craft for this month! If this only looks like an abstract mess to you, trust me- the picture below actually says Jesus 4 times:

 

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This is supposed to be an optical illusion, but I’ll be honest and say I can’t not see the “JESUS” when I look at it anymore. However, for anyone who’s lost, you have to look past the popsicle sticks to see the word “JESUS” in this craft. Look at the one below and see “JESUS” written in purple:
 
 
I hope I haven’t lost anyone. 🙂 To make this craft, you’ll just need some popsicle sticks, paper, glue, and scissors. Popsicle sticks actually cut nicely with a nice, sharp pair of scissors, and you can get colored popsicle sticks at the Dollar Tree.
 
Start by gluing 2 popsicle sticks together long ways, overlapping the ends a bit. You will need to make 2 of these. Then cut 3 popsicle sticks in half (making 6 little half pieces) and glue them between the two long sticks like ladder slats. You need it to create 5 boxes total, one for each letter in “Jesus”. It’s best if the first box for the “J” is a little narrower than the rest.
 
 
Then glue on little pieces of popsicle stick in each square to create the letters J E S U S. The letters don’t look perfect, but it is neat. I think the word actually looks a little digital.
 
 
I thought it would be cool to glue some colored cellophane behind this one and tie on a piece of yarn to create a Jesus sun catcher. Here’s how it turned out:
 
 
 
Here’s one that was crafted with multi colored popsicle sticks
and glued onto black paper. I think it’s a little harder to
read than the others. My husband says he can’t see this one at all!
 
 
It is easier to glue the popsicle sticks down onto paper or foam board then it is to create them “free standing”. This craft is a little advanced, so I think it would be appropriate for middle school aged kids up to adults. It might be a great craft to do with a high school youth group. Speaking as a former art major, this craft would be an excellent art project for studying positive and negative space. You could also use this to study contrasting colors. I really like the one that is yellow and purple, and I’m willing to bet it looks good with other pairs of contrasting colors as well.
 
 
My daughter loves running her fingers through the popsicle sticks and tracing the letters in “Jesus”. Could you instantly tell that it said “Jesus”? Was it hard to read? Please let me know what you thought in the comments. Thanks, guys! 🙂
 

More Catholic Resources For January

You can find more Saint feast days and fun ways to living the liturgical year in January here.

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Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

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Filed Under: 00 All The Time, 01 January, Bible Crafts, Christian, Crafts for Kids, Holy Name of Jesus, Jesus, Liturgical Year, My Crafts 19 Comments

Comments

  1. Karen says
    January 7, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    I saw it right away. I was kind of surprised when you said it was an optical illusion.

    This craft could probably be adapted to younger children if the popsicle sticks are assembled before hand and they are set to glue different colored papers or cellophane on to the back.

    Reply
    • Delores Manili says
      December 28, 2019 at 9:10 am

      The yellow and purple are my favorite! Can’t wait to use this as one of my crafts from Christmas Break and we know Christmas is not over yet! Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Melanie says
    January 7, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    I had to look twice at the black with multi-color sticks. I think using multiple colors for the sticks draws the eyes away from the background. Love it! Off to buiy craft sticks 🙂

    Reply
  3. saganaga says
    January 7, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    i think it's really easy to read. my one son loves popsicles, so we have a lot of popsicle sticks around here

    Reply
  4. CoastalCody says
    January 7, 2011 at 6:32 pm

    This is great….I hope to use this as our craft in our Kindergarden CCD class this month (Of course, the sticks all pre-ready). Love your website.

    Reply
  5. Mirissa says
    January 7, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    I could see it right away, but the black isn't as obvious. I actually like the way the black name is more "hidden" so I think I'd be drawn to doing it that way.

    This is really neat and definitely a different sort of craft. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. EmmÅ says
    January 8, 2011 at 9:03 am

    I could read it right away. Though maybe not if there had been a lot of the multicolor sticks on black. For some reason that's the hardest to see, probably all of the colors. This is a cool idea!

    Reply
  7. Alicia says
    January 8, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    The top two were instant for me and the other two I had to focus on to see it. Especially the multicolor one. I may try this one with my boys this weekend if time allows. It would also be good to file away for VBS

    Reply
  8. Tiffany says
    January 8, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    Such a snazzy craft and colorful expression of Our Lord's Holy Name!

    Reply
  9. My Boaz's Ruth says
    January 11, 2011 at 7:32 pm

    I remember this as being very difficult to read in the one I saw as a child (made out of two different shades of wood)

    But I couldn't make myself NOT see JESUS on these 🙁

    Reply
  10. Amazing_Grace says
    January 11, 2011 at 8:19 pm

    This is sooooooooooo neat! 🙂

    Reply
  11. Sharon in MI says
    January 13, 2011 at 5:04 am

    Definitely the multicolored one is the more difficult one to read. As for the others, the name of Jesus just pops right out at you! Interesting craft idea.
    I love reading your blog, although I'm ashamed to admit I haven't actually found time to DO any of the crafts yet.

    Reply
  12. Michelle Willow says
    February 23, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Love this! Adding a link to this craft to my site as a part of crafts from reused items (popsicle sticks)!

    Reply
  13. Lacy says
    January 10, 2012 at 4:43 pm

    Well, I’ve seen decorations sorta like this ever since I was a little girl, but I never saw a Popsicle stick craft like it before I made mine. I don’t mind if anyone wants to order it. It would be nice to have pre-cut Popsicle sticks. Thanks for sharing this link- very interesting. 🙂

    Reply
  14. walt strader says
    February 4, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    do you have the whole font or just the word jesus i was trying to find the whole font so i could make a few name tags with that font —-thanks

    Reply
  15. Julie Arnold says
    January 20, 2013 at 11:20 am

    We did this craft this morning in my second grade faith formation class that I teach! I could see Jesus right away but I’ve been planning on doing this a while so I’ve checked out the site several times. Nice fun and quick craft! Thanks!

    Reply
  16. Sharon says
    September 15, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    My 3rd grade sunday school class did this craft today and loved it! One student said it was the best craft ever! Thanks so much for sharing the idea!

    Reply

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