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HomeAboutFAQsHouse TourOther RedosProjectsOur WeddingVideosShopMood Boards document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js' %3E%3C/script%3E")); COMSCORE.beacon({ c1:2, c2:6191417, c3:"", c4:"", c5:"", c6:"", c15:"" }); 137 Head ShotPosted by JohnOctober 19, 2010There’s been an impostor in our house. This placeholder silhouette of a little girl has been staring back us from Clara’s frame wall since even before she was born. And it’s finally time for this fake head to go so Clara’s real head can take its rightful place. Well, not her real head. A rendering of her real head. You know what I mean.
After snapping Clara’s weekly photo on Friday (see how we do that here), we decided to grab a shot of her in profile while we were at it. We’d be adjusting it later in Photoshop so all that was important was getting a clean shot (which meant taking off her onesie since it was bunching up around her neck and shoulders). Photographing her against the curtain in the sunroom helped get the silhouette effect started and making funny faces at her got her looking in the right direction (most of the time) so Sherry could snap away from the side.
After about 15 shots we ended up with this one that seemed perfect for silhouette-ification (weird back of the neck lump and all):
Now we considered this low-tech approach (which anyone who doesn’t have Photoshop can do in about ten minutes):
Print your profile photo out to the size that you want your silhouette to be (even if it gets blurry from enlargement it doesn’t matter)Cut out the baby head so you’re left with just a profile and no background (yes, it will feel weird to cut off your baby’s head)Trace your head cut-out onto black construction paper with a pencil and then cut the shape out one last time.Instead I took the Photoshop approach (partially because we didn’t have any black construction paper around and I’m lazy). I just cropped the pic, desaturated it to black & white, and then played with the “Brightness & Contrast” (under “Image”, “Adjustments”) to get a mostly silhouetted look:
Then I used the paintbrush tool to fill in those lighter areas with black, which left me with a crisp black silhouette on a white background. Oh and I added some eyelashes and wisps of hair like we’ve seen in professional silhouette cut-outs. And I extended the shoulders a bit so we had a little more to work with. We didn’t worry about 100% clean lines on the added shoulder part since we knew the scissor cuts would straighten things out.
Once we had it done and printed to the size that we wanted (around 3.5? x 5? for our 5 x 7? frame) Sherry “Steady Hands” Petersik took to cutting it out with small hair-cutting scissors. Yes, the same pair that she got at CVS and uses to give me a trim every few months.
Then came the official head swap in the frame (where we had previously used a colorful piece of craft paper from Michael’s for 60 cents as the background). Looking at our placeholder silhouette really shows how off-base our expectations were in the hair department. Oh well. She’s got time.
Oh but notice how we cut the bottom of the shoulders for a more “traditional silhouette” look (I added more than enough black on the bottom in that area before we printed for Sherry to create that little freehand shape as she was cutting).
And with that, Clara’s round little head is officially represented on her frame wall. Of course I’d be lying if I said we weren’t looking forward to updating her silhouette periodically as she grows… especially when that hair finally does decide to come in. Have you guys done any silhouette DIY projects? Or cut out photos of someone’s head for any other reason? It feels weird, right?
Psst- Check out our weekly BabyCenter post here for even more DIY silhouette ideas. So much inspiration, so little time.
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CommentsPages: « 1 2 [3] Show All Comment by Liz
on October 19, 2010 @ 2:49 pm I love that the baby pictures of you and John show you both with your mouths wide open. You’ll need to put up a similar one of Clara! Too cute.
Comment by Amy
on October 19, 2010 @ 2:49 pm Nicely done! Maybe I’ll have a crack at this with our little guy!
Comment by YoungHouseLove
on October 19, 2010 @ 2:50 pm That’s what we think is so funny about them. We’re big mouthed babies for sure- and Clara definitely follows in our footsteps!
xo,
s
on October 19, 2010 @ 2:54 pm I’ve been meaning to do a silhoutte of my husband from his soccer glory days. I was having a tough time with the photoshop..thank you for showing me how to do it!
Comment by Tammie
on October 19, 2010 @ 3:19 pm Love that so much. I remember doing that when I was in third grade (I am now 49 YIKES) and giving it as a gift to my parents. I wished I done the same thing for my two children. Hey, maybe my grandchildren at some point. KUDOS! You guys rock.
Comment by Megan S
on October 19, 2010 @ 3:37 pm It’s so amazing to see your little growing…and in such a fun way for her to be able to look back on when she gets older! I was wondering…what version of photoshop do you have and do you like it? Was it easy to figure out…I’m looking at investing in it but don’t necessarily want to fork over major denero for the lastest and greatest…what would you do? Thanks a mill!
Megan : )
Comment by YoungHouseLove on October 19, 2010 @ 3:38 pm Hey Megan,
We have Photoshop CS2 version 9. We really like it!
xo,
s
on October 19, 2010 @ 3:44 pm Okay adorable! I love the added eyelashes and hair. SO CUTE!
Comment by Christine
on October 19, 2010 @ 3:49 pm Haha, all this “chopping” heads talk is making me giggle!
The silhouette looks fantastic!
Comment by Lorrie
on October 19, 2010 @ 3:51 pm Getting ready to tackle my first siloutte actually. This summer we bought the large Ung Dril picture frame from IKEA
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00091967
and plan to place a large black silloutte of my daugther, with a lime green background to match the accents in her bedroom. Thought it might look cute handing above her bed.
Thanks for the inservice….I will need it!
Comment by Lisa
on October 19, 2010 @ 4:10 pm Love it! Here are the silhouettes I did of myself, my husband and our son recently using a similar (but slightly simpler) technique:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisamfb/4506325836/
All of my friends are asking me to make them now… they make a fabulous gift!
Comment by Julia @ Hooked on Houses
on October 19, 2010 @ 4:33 pm So sweet! Love it! :)
Comment by Renee
on October 19, 2010 @ 5:17 pm i LOVE silhouettes! i did a wall of silhouettes for our guest room: http://thisistotalbs.blogspot.com/2010/09/just-silhouette-of-idea.html
Comment by Sarah@StyleandCentsability
on October 19, 2010 @ 5:33 pm Love it! My brother and I got silhouettes done when we were young at Disneyworld the old fashion scissors way- but the CS2 way is way more my speed!
Comment by Meghan
on October 19, 2010 @ 5:44 pm My husband and I used our profile silhouettes as our wedding monogram! LOVE all things silhouette!
Comment by Haley
on October 19, 2010 @ 5:51 pm I love those baby bellies! She’s so cute!
Comment by Haley on October 19, 2010 @ 5:54 pm Oh and besides the belly…the cheeks are too adorable. I bet you can see those cheeks when looking at the back of her head. Ok, thanks for the dose of precious baby. I am off to deal with not so precious homework frustrations!
Comment by Jenn A.
on October 19, 2010 @ 5:56 pm Dear John and Sherry,
I have nothing specific to the post to say, but I was just thinking that I love visiting your blog! It is so fun to read and I love your economical approach to decorating. I am also truly enjoying your more relaxed approach (ie, keeping it real) as of late.
You have inspired me recently to think about what I already own and how I might be able to freshen it up a bit with just a few dollars (or just a bit of time and tlc). In this tricky economic time, that approach is helping me to still have fun while staying in the budget.
I appreciate what you do! Thanks, Jenn
on October 19, 2010 @ 5:57 pm Thanks so much Jenn! It really means a lot. We’re definitely having a blast being more spontaneous, imperfect, and real – so we’re glad our back-to-basics approach is doing it for you too.
xo,
s
on October 19, 2010 @ 6:10 pm She’s such a doll!
Comment by aly
on October 19, 2010 @ 7:21 pm I remember my mom making silhouettes of my sisters and me using polaroid pictures (she used the black layer).
Comment by Flynn
on October 19, 2010 @ 7:21 pm A friend had been lamenting that he’d missed a lot of life events taking place in his hometown, where we live, so I added him and his girlfriend in pictures with us at said weddings, birthdays, etc. It was fun to do and they thought the results were hilarious, but cutting out pictures of people and putting them into pictures of me made me feel like a TOTAL creepshow!
Btw – that side pic of your baby is a beautiful photo of her regardless; nice job :)
Comment by Ange
on October 19, 2010 @ 7:34 pm Thanks for another timely post! I have been saving some examples of silhouettes in my DIY craft file to one day do a wall art of these of our 3 kids. This helps alot! Also thanks for all the helpful commenters too. I want to have mine printed as canvases & hung Andy Warhol style, with the 4th in the grid being myself & hubby on 1 together. Each child will have a different background colour, their ‘baby colour’.
Comment by Alaina @ LiveCreatingYourself
on October 19, 2010 @ 7:37 pm Love this – like everything you do! Your baby girl is beautiful and so is her silhouette! : )
Comment by Heidi H.
on October 19, 2010 @ 7:43 pm Ohhh pretty. I like it! Silhouettes are one of my all-time favorite decor pieces. I have one hanging in my living room. Very special! xo
Comment by Didi
on October 19, 2010 @ 8:10 pm Oh, God! Are those real butterflies?
Didi
(from Brazil)
on October 19, 2010 @ 8:11 pm Hey Didi,
They are real, but they’re not killed or anything for the art! They live a full normal life and are collected when they die. We figure it’s nice that they get to “live on.”
xo,
s
on October 19, 2010 @ 9:27 pm Hi from Down Under(Brisbane)
What a great simple idea! I immediately thought that you could do it on the same day every year and see the progression of growth. Even if it is just for her photo album. We take our daughter’s picture every birthday wearing the same white t-shirt. It’s funny to see her swamped by it on her first and now at 8 it’s starting to look normal.
Christeen
Comment by kelly
on October 19, 2010 @ 9:52 pm love the 3D name hanging, where did that come from? it’s all so very cute!
Comment by YoungHouseLove on October 19, 2010 @ 10:02 pm That was a gift from http://www.numsi.com. We loved it so much we had to get a You Are My Sunshine canvas for John’s mom from there too!
xo,
s
on October 19, 2010 @ 10:14 pm Here’s my twist on a classic silhouette and some simple directions for Picnik editing. :)
Lawrence Girls
Comment by Skooks
on October 19, 2010 @ 10:34 pm I’ve done this with everyone in the family . . . however we’ve added a kid since then and I haven’t made one for him yet. And we moved recently and I have no idea where those frames are . . . should dig them up and make up a new one for baby boy!
Comment by Katie
on October 20, 2010 @ 7:33 am Hi There! I have been following your blog for quite some time! I check it every morning :) I did my Scrapbook Silouette a few weeks ago and absolutely love it! Yours looks great! My is a little different but the shape of Clara’s face is perfect.
http://katieedean.blogspot.com/2010/10/scrapbook-silhouette.html
Comment by Claire K Creations
on October 20, 2010 @ 8:35 am That looks great. I have to say I do know the feeling. We have had a big canvas printed photo of us just sitting in the corner for ages so today I decided to make it into something useful. I brought out the old blackboard paint and converted it but I felt awful erasing friends and myself!
Comment by Helen | numsi
on October 20, 2010 @ 11:50 am Adorable silhouette! And hair on babies is completely overrated! So nice to see the wall art hanging there, it looks great with your lovely collection. Clara is a lucky wee girl!
Comment by Alycia
on October 20, 2010 @ 1:58 pm Very cute and I wish I had done this when my daughter was a baby. Oh and I hope you guys keep all the silhouettes as your baby grows up and you update those. They will be a nice keepsake to look back on when she becomes a teenager and you start remembering the good ol’ days! lol
Comment by Allison
on October 20, 2010 @ 4:24 pm I have been going silhouette crazy ever since I saw this! I first did one of my Boston Terrier, then one of each of my roommates and me. I made smaller ones and put them on the fridge as magnets. I work as a nanny and did one for each of kids I watch for the mom’s birthday, which is on Monday. I hope she likes them!
Thanks for the great idea!
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