DIY: Baby Silhouette.

Lately I've been feeling kind of sad that Henry is no longer a tiny little cuddle baby. How perfect is this silhoutte to help me remember just how small he was?! These are incredibly easy to make, Henry's took me about forty minutes from start to finish.

Here's how you can make one, too!

If you don't have one already, take a side profile picture of your baby (or pet, or friend, or car, or whatever...) You'll want to make sure that the head shape, forehead, nose, lips, and chin (or chins in Henry's case!) are very noticeable. I chose this picture, see how his nose and lips are really defined?

Open your photo in any editing software (I actually just used Microsoft Office Picture Manager). Play around with the contrast and exposure until you've brightened the face enough to form a noticeable profile outline....It should look something like this:

Trace the entire profile onto a piece of computer paper. Most computer screens are actually bright enough to trace right on top of (use a pen that won't leak through the paper and press lightly!) If this doesn't work for you, print the photo out instead. Be sure and include a tilted piece of torso below the head:

Cut out the profile stencil from the computer paper and trace it onto a colored piece of cardstock. When choosing the two colors of paper (one for the head and one for the background), it's important to make the silhouette a darker color than the background.

Cut the cardstock silhouette using an Exacto knife for a precise and crisp cut.

I found that this was a better time to add the eyelashes than when you are first tracing the image (unless you can already see them in the original picture. In my case, they weren't noticeable). Use a pencil to play around with where you think they would naturally fall. Most eyelashes will actually be higher than you'd imagine. Notice where I've placed Henry's in relation to his nose and forehead:



Also, if your cut is jagged like mine you can easily fix that with the Exacto knife after you have cut it out. Just make sure sure you hold the eyelash down while you cut around it, otherwise it will rip right off.

Using any kind of glue (although a scrapbooking gluestick would probably be best) glue the silhouette onto a lighter colored piece of cardstock. Press it down really well to make sure that there are no bubbles while it dries. It will look something like this!

Find a frame that will fit the silhouette and cut the picture down to the right size. If you have the space, you can write your baby's name and age at the bottom of his portrait. I wish my cursive was better, if I was doing this again I might try and write it a little more professionally.



These silhouettes make great gifts. With most "new baby" photos readily available on facebook or flickr, you can surprise anyone by creating a custom silhouette of their little darling.

I am definetly excited to show grown up Henry just how tiny his head was when he was a little baby. Also, I love that I can tell exactly which one of his famous expressions he was making. It's like I've frozen a special piece of time!

Have fun!