Make A Traditional Silhouette Picture Of A Friend
Making silhouettes is something that has done for hundreds of years. Even before photographs making silhouettes was a nice way to capture the likeness of a friend or loved one.
Silhouettes are now fun and easy to make, but they still have that magical touch. And because they are rarer in this digital world we live in, if you give a silhouette as a gift, it is sure to be something that someone will treasure forever.
Here we use a photocopy of a photograph and use coloured paper or card to make the shape. Decorate greetings cards, boxes or anything you like. Here we are going to decorate a picture frame with our silhouette picture of a friend.
How To Make A Silhouette Picture Of A Friend
- We need a profile picture of our friend
- Piece of coloured card
- Pencil
- Decorative paper
- Picture frame
- Buttons to decorate
- PVA glue
- Scissors
Cut Out Our Silhouette Picture Of A Friend
Step One
First take the picture we have of the portrait of our friend. We can photocopy this picture, reducing or enlarging the picture to the correct size. Or take a digital photograph and simply print it out at the right size.
Now use your scissors and very carefully cut out the photocopy or printout. Try and be as accurate as possible. For difficult areas, ask an adult for help. Maybe an adult can use a sharp craft knife.
Trace The Cutout To Make Our Silhouette Picture Of A Friend
Step Two
Next, we can take our cutout image and use it as a template. Place it on the back of the coloured card and carefully draw around the shapes. We do it on the back so we won't see the pencil marks when we are finished.
Cut out the card again with the scissors, or ask an adult again to use a sharp craft knife.
Now We Can Assemble Our Silhouette Picture Of A Friend
Step Three
Carefully apply glue to the back of the silhouette. Then stick it to the decorative paper and press it flat. Let the glue dry.
Now we can think about if we need to paint the frame. Paint it a matching colour and let it dry.
Finishing Making A Silhouette Picture Of A Friend
Step Four
Finally we can decorate the picture frame to match our card silhouette and decorative paper.
Think about matching the colours and designs. Add stripes and dots and beads or buttons. Simple designs seem to work best. We want the focus to still be on our silhouette picture and not the frame.
Ask an adult to use a hot glue gun to add embellishments to the frame. Once the frame is decorated and dry, finally we can add our picture.
And there we have it. If you followed the original photograph closely you should be able to recognise your friend in your silhouette picture of a friend.