Saturday

DIYP#21- Making Old Fashioned Silhouettes



Hi! Welcome to my little doitmyselfbecauseI'mcheap corner of the world!

I am so excited to show you this project. It is by far my favorite! I think the results are amazing, if I do say so myself!

I love old things. And maybe that's why I'm drawn to silhouettes. But since I'm not really artistic, I've never thought about making them.

Until I read the NieNie Dialogues. This amazing mother of 4 is a silhouette-maker, among other things amazing things. I stumbled upon her blog months ago when she and her husband were critically burned in an airplane crash. Their amazing love story is rare and beautiful and it will continue.

I felt inspired to create silhouettes of my children, much like NieNie. There are many ways to make silhouettes, but I needed something quick and easy. And I read about painting the back of pictures to create the look here.

Step 1: Take profile shots. This was easy with my oldest two. My toddler was a challenge because she doesn't stay still for long.

Step 2: Enlarge photo. I had 8x10's made. But you can also do 5x7's.


Step 3: Cut out the profile. Many people use a sharp exacto knife to do this. I am afraid of them, so I used scissors. This is the hardest part. I had to shut out distractions and concentrate. Ya know, so my kids would have all their parts. I found that it looks more realistic if you can cut in curls and eyelashes. I even left my toddlers pudgy neck.


Step 4: Flip the picture over and paint it black with acrylic craft paint. Once it dries, the paint will scratch off easily, but it's easy to fix with a dab of the brush.


Step 5 &6: While these were drying, I grabbed three old frames I've used for other projects. They were mismatched and scratched, so I spray painted them all black. Since my pictures were life size and my frames were large, I needed 10x13 white mats. These are expensive, so I bought a package of 10x13 white cardboard cake boards in the baking section of WalMart for a fraction of the cost of the mats. I just glued them down and they fit perfectly.


Step 7: Hang and enjoy!

Step 8: Feel proud of yourself every time you walk upstairs and don't forget to whisper a prayer for NieNie. Wouldn't these make a great gift for your family or grandparents? Cheap, but grand!


47 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is very cool!

Blessings From Above said...

Wow, those look amazing. Thanks for sharing.

I have read about NieNie. Such a heart-breaking AND inspiring story.

Tara @ Feels Like Home said...

Those are wonderful. Wouldn't it be great to have profiles of the whole family? I might have to undertake that one.

I'll just accidentally cut off my extra chin, and it will look splendid.

Anna said...

I have wanted to do this for a couple of years! Thank you SO much.

Natalie said...

wow. those turned out great. i just took a ton of pics of my kids today trying to get a profile that i can use to make a silhouette. i am planning to give it a go with photoshop but if i have something i think i may try your way too. oh and very clever using the cake boards as mats!

D... said...

Awesome! I am so doing this for Christmas presents! Thank you.

Stephanie Wetzel said...

LOVE this! I wonder if I can adapt it for 9-year-olds to do as a make-and-take for my daughter's bday party.... Maybe not. But it'd sure be cool.

I think I know what Grandma's getting for Christmas this year!

Anonymous said...

So cool. I'm going to have to do one for my girl.
Christmas presents, perhaps?
About painting the back - maybe you read it here? http://littlemommaandcompany.blogspot.com/2008/08/instead-of-taking-shower.html
I remembered seeing it there a little while ago.

Anne M. said...

this is so cool!! thanks so much for this - I'd never thought of it! =)

Nancy M. said...

Those look awesome and sound fairly easy. Thanks for sharing the directions!

Hyperactive Lu said...

Love this idea!

Valarie Lea said...

I never thought about doing them that way! That is the bestest idea ever!

Joan said...

Very cool. My kids are big now so not sure how cute it will look, but might have to try it any way. Yours look awesome.

MT said...

Ok, this one may actually push me over the edge into crafting.

LOVE it. And love the uber-cheap component!

;)

KIMBO said...

FABULOUS! I LOVE IT! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

Patti said...

Great idea! And we get to play with cameras, paint, glue AND scissors. Yea!

Shane H. said...

Love, love, love 'em!!

Marni's Organized Mess said...

Wow that is awesome!!

Kama said...

Those are really cool. I saw them before and plan to do them as well. Yours look great!!

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what Nana's getting for Christmas!!!!!
You did a beautiful job!

Mama Smurf said...

Wow, Kristen! You've outdone yourself with this one. I'm totally stealing that and doing it myself.

Nancy said...

Oh my gosh! I LOVE those!! I wonder if I'd do justice to my kids with my not-so-steady cutting hand. heh Must try it and see....

Wifeof1Momof4 said...

What a neat idea! We had these growing up and I always loved them. Lost them in a fire though.

Wow, I can totally redo this idea for my little pics and my kiddos.

Christmas just got a little easier!

Unknown said...

Good job - super cute!!

berrypatch said...

I love that idea. I babysit two little girls. Their moms just may get something like this as a gift. ;-) Thanks for sharing!

Vanessa said...

I am NOT crafty, but I think I could do this one!!
THANKS

Carrie Thompson said...

I love it!
thanks for sharing!

Amanda said...

Fantastic..thanks for sharing!

Chris said...

Silhouettes are THE thing right now, and you make it look sooo easy! I'm totally stealing this for my grandparent gifts this year! Thank you!

Saucy said...

What a sweet post... I think about NieNie every day.

Sarah said...

This is a wonderful idea! Finally something cool that I can do myself easily! I will do this for my hall/stairs area where I haven't known what to do!
You can save up 40% off coupons for Michaels and get cool mats there too! :)

Jess said...

Thank you for sharing! I think I can do this!! wish me luck!!! Yours came out great!-jess

Jess said...

Thank you for sharing! I think I can do this!! wish me luck!!! Yours came out great!-jess

Astrid in Bristling Acres said...

I have so many silhouttes lately and I think they're awesome! Yours looks easy enough for even me to do!!!!! :)

These Are The Days said...

Thanks for sharing a quick and inexpensive idea. I love them, I'll be doing them tomorrow for sure!

Missy Wertz said...

Love Silhouettes. Still have one of my made in 1966 and one of DD made not long ago.

Cassie said...

I just love this idea! Thank you for the instructions.

Tamara Jansen said...

Elvis and the Girls are looking FAB!

Krisi and Adam said...

What a great idea. May have to do this for the wall by our stairs.

Thanks - found you from Just a Girl

Anonymous said...

These are very nice! Much easier than the way we did it "in the old days." Thanks for sharing!

Sarah said...

I came from Antique Mommy -- how CUTE!! And something I can actually DO!

Dana~Are We There Yet? said...

Oh. My. Word. This is the coolest thing EVAH! Our kids are 17, 12, 9, 4 and 3months and I NEED their silhouettes in our entry way. I can't wait to start on them.

Thank you SO MUCH!

Lydia said...

Oh, WOW! I can't wait to do this. Kudos to you for sharing it with us and also for mentioning NieNie's cause. She is extraordinary. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Mrs. H said...

OK so I am very late on finding this post and your blog, but what an awesome idea! I CANNOT wait to get started on this one! Thank you so much for sharing!

Krystal
holtsrus.blogspot.com

Catie said...

I have been wondering how to do this!! THANKS!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

How did you get the painted silhouette to stay on the cardboard? Did you use a special type of glue?

Anonymous said...

I am going to use this technique and make a quilt with my granddaughters silouhette surrounded by some fabric small silouhette's that I purchased. I think it will turn out awesome. I will display it in my house for a wall hanging size.