A Silhouette Tutorial and a Fairy Door...from me to you!!

photo source: Ladies Home Journal

I think of all the projects I have undertaken, my fairy door and silhouettes have been the most popular. Like me, many of you see the charm in whimsy, and enjoy keeping decorating light-hearted and fun, and not stressful and expensive. I have been very remiss to not respond to the call to explain how I made my silhouettes. I have seen many great step-by-step tutorials on how to create them, and again, I will not measure up to their attention to detail. I am a one day project girl. If it takes more than a day, I am less likely to do it. Basically, I bore easily and thus focus more on projects that I can complete in a flash. My silhouettes were no different...

So, here is the nuts and bolts of how to make your own silhouettes. For those needing more complex and/or detailed instruction, go here. For those who are more lazy and/or have an attention span akin to mine, sit back and take (a few) notes:

First, round up all of your subjects. If you have to bribe or threaten them to sit still, so be it. That's part of the tutorial, in my world. Have them sit on a chair, with a blank wall (I skipped this step), and stare straight ahead. I photographed my people on their right sides. This is important if you want the finished product to show left facing. Tell them no smiles are allowed - maybe they are, but mine simple sat closed mouthed (thoughts unspoken) and stared irritably into space. I photographed them from a distance of approx. 3ft away. I forget if I used the zoom feature or not, but this is an example of the shot I ended up with:

or this:

(See, they don't need to dress up!)

You may have to take a few shots to ensure all of the pictures are roughly the same "size" (i.e. look the same when you see them on your computer screen. After you are satisfied that you have your "shots", upload them to your computer, then use your printer to print them off (in colour) in the size you wish the finished project to be. My frames are 8x10 oval, so I sized them accordingly (convenient way to say I forget if I printed them off in a 5x7 size or 8x10...sorry). Do note, if your subject has curly hair, as my Sophie does, a pony-tail will be much easier to cut around and look more real.

After you have them all printed off, glue the pictures (using a scrap booking/acid free glue stick) onto acid free black card stock. Then, using small sharp scissors, cut carefully around the features of your subject's face. Now is a great time to cut away any double chins, super-sized moles... basically give your subject free plastic surgery! Of course, if the subject is a child, simply cut away...they are already perfect! Once you have your subject in silhouette form, do some doctoring to the shoulder area to make their shoulders look more authentically silhouette (see after photos below): To finish, carefully peel away the pasted on colour photo and flip over to the perfect side, which will be your completed silhouette, facing left. I adhered mine to white card stock (cut to mimic the oval paper that came with the frame), using a piece of acid-free double sided tape, then put the frame all back together and hung it on my wall. Easy peasy... I am not kidding!!

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Now, for the fun part!

I am giving away a fairy door to one of you! It is red and glittery, and very sweet, and you can simply adhere it to the inside (or outside) of your home using heavy duty, double-sided tape. Note: it is the door only; it does not have the surrounding moulding that mine has, but it is very cute anyway!! (It also measures roughly 5"tall by 2" wide).

If you would like to win, simply leave me a comment (if you don't have a blog, also leave your email address) by Tuesday morning, Nov.25th (at which time I will close comments). If you'd like to be entered twice, simly mention this give-away on your own blog (with a link back to this post) and let me know you did.