4.15.2008

Decoupage Silhouettes

Paper crafts are probably my favorite type of craft to do. And while I love scrap-booking and making cards, playing with Mod Podge is the most fun. I usually decoupage on wooden letters or shapes, like this:


I made my daughter's name to go above her bed. I usually think it looks a little flat with just paper, so I accessorize with buttons, ribbons, or like you see above I also added miniature picket fences on the letter "h."



Recently, I decided to try to decoupage on canvas. I ended up making mini art pieces for my niece's room. These canvases are tiny (4"x5"), so it was a really quick and easy project. 




I have wanted to do silhouettes of my girls for a while now, and since I had some extra canvases that I got on sale at Hobby Lobby (or as my daughter calls it, "wobby wobby"), I thought I would try it on those.

The process is really quick and virtually impossible to mess up. All that you need is a profile shot of your subject, tracing paper (I used wax paper), sharp scissors, decorative paper, mod podge, and a canvas. I also added chip-board letters for extra dimension.


Basically, start by cutting your background paper to the size of the canvas (remember to include space to fold it around the edges). Then paint on the glue, either to the paper, canvas, or both. Your hands will be covered with mod podge by the end of this project anyway, so I usually help the adhering process by pressing any bubbles down with my hands. 


The glue dries very quickly, so you can move on to the next steps right away. 


After tracing a photo of the profile shot, cut out the tracing paper, trace onto the decorative paper and cut it out. 



Go ahead and glue away! Oh, one thing I forgot: always glue both sides. I glue the wrong side of the profile to adhere it to the canvas, but I also glue the entire canvas on top so it has a nice glossy seal.



I added little bows in place of the area my girls wear barrettes (for "dimensionality;" I like to make up words). Then I played around with coordinating paper, and decided to overlap these two.


Then I added the decoupaged initials, and I am finito!


If you click on this picture to enlarge, the "g" picture looks very shiny and you can see a lot of brush strokes. That is due to the fact that I am incredibly impatient, and wanted them hung ASAP, whether it was dry or not! But, once it dried, it had a nice smooth, even finish.

One more tip that I have done in the past, but didn't do on this project, is to tint the decoupage with craft paint. This looks especially nice if you are going for a "shabby" look and tint the mod podge with a little bit of brown paint. The finish ends up looking antiqued. 

Do you have any decoupage craft ideas? I would love to hear them!

21 comments:

DM said...

These are adorable, you could probably sell them. I love the ones you made for your nieces. Also the girls silhouettes are precious.
Love, Mom

Blake O'Quin said...

Adorable!!! I stole your idea after talking to you and made a necklace of Belle's cameo:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11052893

I can't believe how fast you did all of that though!

Krista said...

Girl, you've been a BUSY, bloggin' machine!! I LOVE your new blog!! Where do you find the time though? Absolutely LOVE the silhouettes you did of Georgia & Chloe!! I'll definitely have to copy that!!! I'm going to forward your blog site onto a couple of my creative, crafty friends that I get together with often . . . they'll love it!! =) Can't wait to see you guys . . . the boys are VERY excited!! BTW, Blake & Beau love the tiny ketchup bottle!

Kristin said...

Thanks everyone!

Mom, I think I suffer too much from CADD (craft attention deficit disorder) to sell these. I like to make something and then move on to something else.

Autumn, love the cameos.

Krista, we are looking forward to coming down too. We definitely have to craft together.

Tip Junkie said...

I posted your tip today! It's amazing. Thanks for taking the time to submit it.

Jocelyn said...

Love love love these! Found you from Tip Junkie

Crystal said...

Love the silhouettes ! I am going to try one for my daughter's room! Found you on Tip Junkie!

Anonymous said...

Found you on Tip Junkie also. Those are adorable! I've been wanting to do silhouettes for a while, so thank you for this!

Summer said...

I saw your idea on Tip Junkie! The silhouettes are precious! I love them...I see you being on the Martha Stewart show giving a tutorial! Very cute!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I love this idea!

Anonymous said...

ok, this is my problem. I tried to trace a silhoette of the kids in my class at church (they are 3) and they wouldnt be still..lol
So, one teacher held there sweet little head and I was to trace HOWEVER each time I got to the lips they would talk, open them, wiggle their mouth...you name it. HOw did you keep your daughter STILL..even her lips..lol

Kristin said...

Traci,

Great idea to use this in your bible class. I'm sure the parents would be thrilled to get a little piece of art of their child!

I can understand that it would be very difficult to get a three-year-old to sit still to trace their face! I didn't do life size silhouettes; so I just used a photo of their profile to use as my pattern. Then, I cut out their face, and traced that onto the paper that I used on the canvas. Does that make sense? I hope it turns out well!

Jodi said...

ooh thanks! I have baby #2 on the way, so this would be a fun project to try for the next nursery! great instructions!

My Trendy Tykes said...

They are adorable! I am going to have to try some.

Linda

Julie Clark said...

I have been wanting to do silhouettes for a while - Thank you for the inspirations!

I made a "digitally scrapbooked" board book and coordinating wooden gift box for my niece that relied heavily on the use of Modge Podge!

You can find pictures of the project HERE

Kendra said...

I found your blog from Shannon of www.rocksinmydryer.net. I LOVE the silhouettes! I have some of these of my kids that we had done at the fair. Now I know exactly what to do with them. Thanks, Kendra

Unknown said...

Found you from Rocks in my Dryer... I love this idea!

I have letters to spell out my son's name (his walls are completely blank!) but haven't done anything with them. You've given me some great ideas!

Unknown said...

not sure how I found your blog, but I love the silohettes you did. I have been wanting to try something similar. I think you gave me te push I needed!

Anonymous said...

Oh fun projects! I'll have to try some of these. :)

Daiquiri said...

What neat ideas you have! I've been trying to think of unique ways to decorate in the kids' rooms...I think I just hit jackpot! :) Thanks so much for sharing.

The Beauty Bargainista said...

Oh, I love this idea! I am always looking for an excuse to use modge podge! :) You gave me great inspiration today!!

Thanks so much for sharing :)