Silhouettes

I've been wanting to try these for a while.  I must admit, I thought that this would be an easy, 1/2 hour project, at most.  It ended up being almost an entire day of cutting and re-cutting each silhouette.  Although it was frustrating at times, I'm glad I stuck it out.  I really like the end result, especially when multiple silhouettes are grouped together.

Here's how I made them:

1. I searched for photographs that would work well, anything that is a profile view or a dynamic action that you would be able to identify easily.

2.  I chose three photographs to work with; Brian and I dancing at our wedding,  Brian and I swing dancing and a photo of me drawing on the beach.   After the photographs were chosen, I photocopied them (multiple times, since I kept re-doing them).

3. Once you have your photocopied photographs, I taped them to black paper.

4. Next, I cut (carefully!) around the figures taped to the black paper.  This was very difficult to do, especially considering how small the figures were.  I may invest in some very small scissors for the next time I do this.  The faces are the most difficult part.  This step took a lot of trial and error.  I probably cut out at least 4 of each of my photographs until I cut one that I liked.

5.  Once your black silhouettes are cut out, simple glue them to a white background.

6. I like these framed in black, so I bought a few cheap frames at the art store.  I think it's nice to have different shapes and sizes. I got a 3x5, 4x6 and a 5x5.

Below, are photos of my finished silhouettes.  There are so many interesting things you could do with this.  I was imagining silhouettes of birds, my cat, trees, flowers, etc.  When I have kids, I'd love to do a yearly silhouette of each of them.  Anyways, give it a try!

Brian and I swing dancing at a wedding a few years ago

Dancing the waltz at our wedding

Drawing on the beach (I added the bird, for more interest)

Kitty and the Silhouettes