Click HERE to visit Scissors and Spatulas Blog and see the original tutorial where I found this idea.
I was so excited when I saw this and immediately wanted to do one of my children. I followed most of the original tutorials steps completely but changed just a few things.
First I created a round template on the computer (I used Photoshop, but any program will work fine). I inserted the kids pictures so I could see where they would be positioned on the plaques.
I outlined around the outside of my kids pictures to create a "cut line" for the silhouette.
To keep it simple instead of having to retrace the silhouette onto black construction paper I just painted the paper with black acrylic paint.
Here is what the silhouettes looked like before the paint was applied.
I used 8x10 unfinished wood plaques which I found at Walmart for about $6.50 a piece.
I used Minwax Dark Walnut stain on the wood.
I applied the stain with cheesecloth and allowed the stain to soak into the wood.
Next I used Krylon semi-gloss white spray paint and painted the plaques white. I used about 4 or 5 thin coats and waited 10-20mins before adding each coat of paint.
I then let the paint completely dry.
I then used about a 60 grit sand paper and "roughed up" the edges and some of the surface. Then I smoothed out the plaques with a smooth grit (I think it was about 220) sandpaper.
Next I used an oval template I created in Photoshop to cut out ovals from Hymnal pages (I was going to use newspaper originally but a friend of mine offered to give me a few Hymnal pages to use instead!!). The Hymnal pages made all the difference!! I LOVE the music notes and praise lyrics vs. just the text from newspaper. One extra thing I decided to do was burn the edges of the pages to give the plaques an even more aged appearance. Please note you will need to burn these very carefully as they will catch fire quite quickly.
I then used Mod Podge Gloss to apply the Hymnal pages. I applied a layer on the plaque and then painted over top of the page as well.
Then I applied the silhouette image on top of the hymnal page. The silhouette bubbled up at first but it dries completely flat.
Finally I needed to apply the ribbon to hang these on the wall. You can cut the length of the ribbon to whatever size you desire depending on how far you want them to hang from the screw on your wall and how big you want your bow to be. I applied my ribbons using a hot glue gun and was sure to use PLENTY of hot glue to secure it completely.
I then flipped the plaque over and tied the ribbon into a bow. I was careful to try to tie all the bows at the same length so they would hang evenly on the wall.
And here they are!! I skipped putting the custom made frame around them for the time being. I like them just the way they are. I may decide to frame them later (I haven't completely decided the verdict on that yet) but for now I like them just as is. It took me a month to complete them only because I took breaks in between working on other things. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE how they turned out and am so happy with how they look in our master bedroom. :-) The fabric color of our curtains and bedspread is a golden color so these match perfectly!
