Friday, June 10, 2011

{DIY} Our Silhouettes on Canvas

I've wanted to make our silhouettes for quite some time, and was inspired by how easy Stephanie Nielson's tutorial was (which I can't seem to find! wish I had pinterest back then), but her yearly silhouettes are fabulous. My method is very similar to the spring silhouettes I made and shared over at The Idea Room! A very versatile concept :)

Here's how I created ours :)
STEP 1:
Take a profile photo of each person. (use a light background)

STEP 2:
Gather supplies...
- printed photos -
{ make sure they're mirror images of how you want your silhouettes to be }
{ I just printed them from my computer on regular paper }
- canvas (I used 11''x14'') -
- heavy cardstock/scrapbook paper -
{ I used white, but I just realized you could use black and skip all the painting steps! }
- Mod Podge (glue) -
- black acrylic paint -
- sharp scissors -
- 2 paint brushes -
{ one for the paint & one for the mod podge }

STEP 3:
With paint brush #1 quickly spread a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the back of the pictures. Then press onto the card stock/scrapbook paper.
STEP 4:
Cut out silhouette (this is my favorite part:) BE SURE to get all the details!...hairs, eyelashes...and be careful with trimming and cutting too far into the face/head, it's like a wig: you can always cut a little more, but you can't make it grow back if you've gone too far.

STEP 5:
Use tape to secure photo to a painting surface (in my case, cardboard) so that you won't have to touch it and smudge the paint.
STEP 6:
Use paint brush #2 and paint! Be sure to do TWO LIGHT LAYERS (let the 1st one dry)...otherwise it will bubble like the 3rd photo (I re-did that one, only took a few minutes:)...and make sure the paint strokes are all vertical. Let fully dry.

STEP 7:
Put a book under your canvas (if it's framed and hollow in the back) so that you have a hard surface to press the painted silhouette onto.
STEP 8:
Use paint brush #1 and quickly spread Mod Podge onto the back of the painted silhouette.
STEP 9:
Center/place silhouette on canvas, press and smooth with hands.

Ta-daa! Display your beautiful silhouettes and enjoy!
I wasn't sure if they'd really look like us, but they do :) and we love them!
This is definitely going to be a new tradition...
SUMMER SILHOUETTES :)

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I'm sharing my project over at:
Go see what other projects, ideas, and recipes people have been working on!

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh I love it! Silhouettes are so classy!

Katie said...

they look exactly like you guys! way to go :) love it!

thatjordangirl said...

Love it, I'm going to make my doggys pose. HA!

Cara said...

I have been itching to do this for a while...I will need to give it a go. For serious...I need to get motivated.

Brooke T said...

You always have the best and fun ideas!! Now you can add this: Watermelon milkshakes- a bunch of watermelon and vanilla ice cream and blend it up! Be sure to put a lot though and maybe even add milk? super easy and delicious!

kylie said...

i've been wanting to do this - thanks for the tutorial! i pinned it on pinterest :) so cute

Megan and Justin said...

yes! I am totally doing this :)

stephanie [the merry way] said...

Wow - I love these! Yours look awesome, and you have such a pretty silhouette! And I love Brook's little curly hair..so cute!

Robin Rood said...

This is so cute! You are so creative and crafty! Now I wanna do this for the living room in our new place!

Nicole Dianne said...

OH MY GOSH! I'm in love :D what an amazingly easy craft and it turned out SO good. awesome job girl!

Annalee said...

SO cute!! love your crafts! your turned out amazing. The Iguana was wonderful, it was like chicken but much better. I wish I could buy it at the store. I love being blog friends!

Marlene Fredricks said...

I love it! Thanks for sharing.

katecreate said...

What a cute idea!

ChinkyGirLMeL said...

omg! this is too cute to pass up.I am definitely doing this project soon. =)

Chelsea said...

such a creative idea!

Emma said...

I love it! Those are so cute. I wanna do mine asap!

Our Little Bubble said...

that is the coolest idea I've seen in a while! thanks for sharing :)

Alli said...

I'm playing catch up here but I love these silhouettes! I may be trying this in the near future. :)

Merilee said...

Cute! Holly and Andy just did this too!!

Shay said...

YES- they totally look like you guys, I love them! I have always wanted to do these so thanks for much for the tutorial!

MariePhotographie said...

What an awesome tutorial, thank you! If I ever have a free minute, I will be all over this! And can I just say, you have a most beautiful profile!

Ashley {hudson's happenings} said...

Oh my goodness...I am overwhelmed by cuteness and creativity! You are so awesome!! I would love love love to do this sometime! I am dying over Brooks' little silhouette...imagine how sweet it will be when he's older and can look back on his little baby profile that mommy so lovingly recorded in a beautiful silhouette! Aww.

Joy said...

So glad you posted this! I was actually googling the Steph Nielson ones and yes, nowhere to be found. I'm glad I was sent over to this fantastic blog!

Joy said...

BTW, I haven't made these yet, but I could swear that Nienie just painted the actual printed picture and skipped the entire transfer step. I'm going to try that first.

tRiSh said...

oh my goodness: this is so brilliant! I really love the idea! your silhouettes look so lovely! =)

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