Are you all ready for Mother’s Day? I can’t believe it’s next weekend! Sometimes I still have a hard time grasping that I am a mother of 3. Three happy, stubborn, kind little people. The past five years have been a blur of pregnancies, newborns and breastfeeding. It’s funny, most of my memories are marked by ‘Oh yeah, I was pregnant with X then.’ When I think about what we’ve accomplished, it’s overwhelming. I try to remember that when I get down on myself about baby weight and not looking all pulled together every day.
To celebrate Mother’s Day this year, I wanted to make silhouettes of the kids. Nothing fancy. Just a simple marker of these 3 thrilling people who have made me who I am.
How to make Silhouettes
Without a doubt, the hardest part of this project is getting a profile picture of the kids. They won’t hold still for more than a nanosecond.
Supplies:
- Photograph in profile
- Sharpie marker
- Colorful cardstock paper
- Frames – Mine were 8×10’s that I got at T.J.Maxx
First, print the profile picture – depending on the size of the frame you are using you might need to shrink or enlarge the picture to fit the frame. Trace the head outline with a Sharpie. Cut out the shape and tape it to a piece of card stock paper. Then cut out the silhouette shape and mount it on a piece of white or gray card stock. Hand write the child’s name and age. Then put it in the frame and hang it a place you’ll see it often – you’ll smile every time you pass it.
It kills me how recognizable these shapes are – they look just like them! I just saw an idea of cutting out the silhouettes from kids artwork, which would be super cute. Do you have your Mother’s Day gifts picked out?
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This idea is perfectly cute!! Great!
After seeing these today made one each for my daughter’s grandmothers and one for myself. I cannot wait for them to see them! Thanks for the great tip!
These came out awesome! And I agree with Gloria, I love the colors you chose! I think I’m going to try to put together a family set that includes me and my hubs too!
Stephanie,
This is a great project. For Mother’s Day, I know my wife would appreciate something like this. Usually I go the store bought gift route; which she appreciates but deep down, I know she would truly love something creative and home made (not my strength). So I am stepping out of my comfort zone and attempting this project. Our boys (ages 7 and 4) posed fairly cooperatively for the photo so that was a good start. I do have a couple questions:
1. I have “Cover Stock” paper, not card stock. Is that sufficient or should I look for card stock?
2. When you say to ‘mount’ the silhouette to a cardstock background, what do you mount it with? Glue? Tape? Other?
I am going to have the boys handwrite their names and age on their silhouette which will be a nice reminder of how they were as they get older. Thanks again for sharing this idea and I appreciate any help you can offer.
What a fantastic idea, and I much prefer the colours to black silhouettes. I might even do this of myself and my husband :) I’m new to your website but have signed up for your newsletter & followed on twitter so I won’t miss another update! Thanks for all the craft inspiration :) Cassie (I blog over at http://www.cassiefairy.com) x
They came out great Stephanie and I LOVE how you did them in those sweet colors vs the typical black silhouettes you always see!
Love this, wish you’d had me do this with Sofia when you were working on the kids. I’d definitely like to have one of these for sure…
We can def do one for Sofia! Let’s remember to take a profile picture this weekend.
If only my nephews would sit still! ;) but my mom would love this!
I lost professional silhouettes of both my kids in a move
Would it be weird to do silhouettes of a 19 and 21 year old. LOL
Brett
I’ve done something similar and love the look — http://www.examiner.com/article/wall-art-for-the-frugal-family?no_cache=1367893681
Cute! Love the action – and the colors :)
Aww they’re so sweet Stephanie. What a busy 5 years you have had!
Yep, those 5 years have gone by in a flash! I think I’ve aged 10 though :)
I’ve seen these done before with tracing shadows and I always thought it looked like such a pain to do. This is SO much easier. You are so smart!
Yeah, I always thought you had to use Photoshop. And my aversion to that program is almost as bad as the one to the sewing machine. :)
I forgot, do you have Lightroom? I just switched my photo editing to Lightroom for the book (because Lightroom lets you organize things better than Photoshop) and it is WAY easier to use. I’m kind of loving Lightroom a lot right now.
No, I haven’t tried Lightroom – I wish I had gone that route instead of getting Photoshop. I may try the 30-day version to see how I like it.
This is such a cute little project!
And the way you write about your kids is just lovely. :D
Aw, thank you Steph! I can’t help gushing about those cute little kiddos :)
Love these, I was just looking for a DIY like yours for a little idea in my head. Pretty colors too! xx
i love your ideas! Xo Megan, http://www.TfDiaries.com
They are adorable! I always wanted to make silhouettes of my kids when they were little…I wonder if they are too old now?
They are never too old! Plus you’ll have a MUCH easier time taking their picture now!
These are so sweet. I love the pastel paper it’s perfect for this project. I really need to do this for my daughter!
It’s a Cameo!! You could make a locket necklace like this, well i think.
A terrific idea!
Wonderful idea!! I made silhouettes a couple years ago for my bathroom makeover. I need to make more, since I ended up selling two of my paintings. I love the idea of making them of the kiddos for Mother’s Day! So sweet!
Did you paint your silhouettes? That would be awesome! You should definitely make ones for the boys – they would be adorable :)
I love how simple this is. All the other examples I have seen are way to tedious!
Awww I remember making these in elementary school, but yours are much chicer :-) Love the colors you picked!
I know, I remember making them ages ago too – I had the same ponytail as Caroline! Wish I still had it.
You have the best DIY projects around. Not only that but I love the design of your site and how easy it is to navigate. Definitely one of my favorites!
Brittany, you made my day! Thank you so much for the sweet comment!! :)