Canvas Silhouette Updates

Remember those canvas silhouettes of my kids I made last year? The plan was to update them once a year to keep track of how the kids are changing. I love how Charlotte went from a little no-neck baldy to a wild-haired darlin' in just one year's time.

Here's a list of supplies you'll need:

• 12" x 12" Canvas
• Acrylic Paint (I used red, white and aqua)
• Oracal Vinyl (any color)
• Foam Brush

Here's the step-by-step:

1. Paint the canvas white. 

2. Take photos of your subject(s) in profile. 

3. Use Photoshop or any photo-editing program to re-size the photos to fit the canvas.

4. Print the photos on regular paper

5. Trace a "cut-line" around the profile with a Sharpie.

6. Cut along the black line

Then I used the templates I made from the photos to trace onto the back of a vinyl sheet (see above & below). 

The extra step of tracing onto vinyl really saved me a lot of stress when it came to painting the profiles onto the canvas. Last year, I used a label sheet; but the label shifted around a bit when I started painting, and didn't leave the fine details as defined as I wanted them. The vinyl is the perfect solution. It stuck firmly to the canvas, didn't allow paint underneath, and removed cleanly when I was done painting.

Next, simply stick the vinyl cut-out to the center of the canvas. Paint over it with your desired paint color and a foam brush (or a foam roller, if you don't like brush-strokes). Two or three coats of paint may be necessary. After the paint dries, remove the vinyl and your silhouette is done!

Pardon all the smudges on my kids silhouettes. They found the finished products on the table one morning, and carried them around the house all day. Now I'm off to touch-up the dirty spots, and then these silhouettes will grace our entryway for the next year.

P.S. If you need a little more in-depth info, check out last year's tutorial.