SILHOUETTES - Making your own

BITS & PIECES

All I wanted was a silhouette of each of my kidults.

I hope this picture will show how good these are. (I do all my computer stuff on a mini lap top.)

I took profile photos of each kidult to my copy shop. I reduced/enlarged to get all 6 about the same size, and then copied them onto paper weight paper.

I bought an acid free black paper at a local art supply store. I prefer my silhouettes cut from the black paper rather than a copy of the silhouette. In my experience the copied black does not have the even solid look of the paper. Then I just cut the 2 layers together (picture/black paper) along silhouette /profile lines. (Basically, cut out the face ;) This may seem simple (Think George Washington and Abe Lincoln in 2nd grade.), but there are some tips. (I bought books.)
#1 Make several copies of your pics so you can practice. But here is a tip. Even in practice, use the black paper. How sad to cut a great one-out of the copied pic.
#2 Detail- Cut the eyelashes, wisps of hair, collars... These things give life and individuality.
#3 Cut just outside the "line" as you practice, if you are hesitant. Then you can try again or fix a rough spot and maybe save it.
#4 When cutting, hold your scissors in one spot and turn your paper. This gives you more control.
#5 I like to use small scissors made for fine details of paper cutting. If you are used to using an exacto knife, you may choose to use that for some of your smaller, finer, tighter areas.
This is really pretty easy.

JOURNAL ENTRY- They worked together to take each others profile pictures, and the daughter on a church sign language mission (in Portland, Oregon) sent her profile. It barely got done in time for the week long trip my husband and I were taking to Southern Calif. (It was a wonderful week. I went to a thrift store and found an amazing very olde globe with a light in it. Doug carried it home on our flight for me.)

Anyway, we left my memory card at a little place near the entrance to Disneyland to get real photos. (Can you guess why?) The next day we went back to pick up the pics. After getting them I asked for the memory card. The man, who did not speak English well responded with, "Oh, you want back? We don't keep them." PANIC!!! WHAT??? He bursts out laughing. "Good Joke?" I laughed.

We took the photos into Disneyland to the silhouette shoppe on Main St. We left them, and went back to pick them up later. They were terrible. I was so shocked by how awful they looked that I started to cry. They offered to have another person do them, but never mind. I was disillusioned. I knew I would have to make my own. (I had already paid. BAD USE OF TRIP MONEY!)
When we go to So. Calif. (me and the kidults, Doug just humoured me) we go to Character Warehouse (Discount Disney). I found the Disney Silhouette oval frames for $1.99! There were only 3. So, dear husband drove to the other Character Warehouse (about 45 mins. away) just in case they had more. We found just 4 more. Just enough. (They were $3.00 each. I did not care.)

I peeled the juvenile, childish looking Disney ones off the Disney background. Put my own on-and signed them, and dated them. They hang above the media closet. And I love them.

They may all look close to the same to you, but they are all really good likenesses.

This is linked at http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com