Day 12 of my 50 DIY Days of Christmas: Painted Silhouette Kid Craft! It’s a fantastic present for the grandparents (or aunts/uncles/friends). I love my daughter’s artwork… so much, but I wanted to created something for my mom that she’d love to hang up in her living room (not to say that she doesn’t love my kiddo’s drawings, but those all end up on the fridge). This is one of my mom’s (the kiddo’s grandma) gifts this Christmas. I’m betting she’ll love it, especially since my daughter is so proud of it! Want to make one for someone special in your life? Well, it’s easy. Follow the directions below.

Supplies:

– One piece of small birch or oak plywood

– Contact paper

– Acrylic paint

– Scissors or X-acto knife

– Printer + computer + camera/phone with camera

– Someone to take a photo of

Directions:

– Put your kiddo (or whoever… cat … dog … husband … chicken) in front of a bright window. Using a camera (the camera on your phone will work), focus on the background of the image (outside). This will make the person in front of the window look dark. Perfect for a silhouette!

– Print out your photo. Following the outline, cut out your silhouette shape. Note: if your subject has messy hair (like my kiddo) you can just cut a smooth line over that messy part. 

– Trace the cut out silhouette shape onto a piece of contact paper. Cut out the traced shape with your scissors. If you’d like to get more detailed with the cutting, I suggest using an X-acto knife.

– Peel back the paper portion from the contact paper.  Press the outer portion of the cut out silhouette onto your plywood. Be sure to press down the edges VERY well. The more the contact paper is pressed down, the better chance you won’t have paint leaking under the contact paper. Note: if there are any portions of the plywood that are still showing (and you don’t want painted), cover with painters tape. My kiddo is crazy with the paint and I wanted to make sure she only painted the silhouette portion. 

– Set your kiddo up to paint! Since this is a gift for my mom, I gave her paint that I know would look good in my mom’s home. Some blues and gold. Let them go to town!

– When they are done painting, let the silhouette dry for about 24 hours. Carefully peel off the contact paper. I suggest tracing your X-acto knife along the silhouette edge to separate the paint from the contact paper.

– Optional: use E6000 to glue on a picture hanger to the back, OR use some temporary Scotch wall hangers to hang. 

– You could be done here, or there’s one more step… Since we used some light paint the silhouette blended into the wood color. I used a pencil to trace the edge.

– Done.

Wrap up this sweet thing and give to a favorite person… OR keep for yourself. Hee.

– Chelsey

To keep up with the series, click here or on the image below!

P.S. I do have a couple of spots open for the DIY Days, so if you think you have the perfect project to share send me an email. First, check out theDIY/Submission section in my FAQ’s for a bit of post submission info.  If you’d like to reminisce in the past 50 DIY Days of Christmas… here you are: 2011 & 2012.

For another AWESOME silhouette DIY, check out our ebook (comes with free printables):