For Christmas, my wonderful husband gave me a Silhouette die cutter. I have really enjoyed playing with it. I was talking to my girlfriend, Rachel, and she was asking me if I could make silhouettes with the die cutter -- you know, silhouettes like the ones you can occasionally get at the mall for $30. I really hadn't considered it, but yes, I thought I could pull that off.
I made my boys stand against a plain background (my kitchen wall) and I took a profile picture. I put the pictures into Photoshop and erased the background. I then filled the profile with black and made a digital silhouette. I had a revelation at this step, and realized that I didn't have to have a fancy die cutter to cut this out -- I could just print the silhouette onto vanilla cardstock and I'd have the image that I wanted. I tried it, and fell completely in love with the results.
I printed this one small, and taped it into a blank pendant. I filled it in with Crystal Effects and set it aside to dry for 24 hours. It is not super durable -- you can scratch the surface if you try, but it does look great. If I remember correctly, the pendant blank was only about $5 online -- so this is a great piece of personalized jewelry for very little money.
The box was an after-thought. If I've learned anything from all the fabulous blogs I read, it's that packaging is important. It makes the smallest gifts seem special. I had an empty Altoids tin on my desk, and decided to Mod Podge on some pretty black and white DSP. I added the hearts for Valentine's Day and some torn Mulberry Paper to set them off. The inside of the box is just white cardstock. I cut a piece of paper slightly larger than the box. I traced the box outline and then snipped the extra paper so that it would fold around the box curves -- creating a raised piece for the necklace to sit.
If you are interested in a digital silhouette of your child, and don't have a software editing program, I will be happy to do it for you. Email me (barefootstamper@gmail.com) a profile picture of your child, against a plain background, and I'll be happy to do it for you. I'll charge $10, using PayPal.
How beautiful this project is! It's so personal and such a lovely presentation! Anyone would be thrilled to receive something like this! Absolutely gorgeous! One of your best ever creations! TFS
Posted by: Carol | January 24, 2008 at 08:35 AM
What a fabulous idea!! You are so talented. You really need your own TV show!
Posted by: chris mott | January 24, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Beautiful.
Posted by: Becky | January 24, 2008 at 04:01 PM
Susanna, this is absolutely stunning! What wonderful gift this would make. Thanks so much for sharing!
Posted by: Mary Davidson | January 24, 2008 at 07:14 PM
This is such an awesome idea! Thank you so much for sharing as I will be trying this one out for sure!
Posted by: Sandra Smart | January 24, 2008 at 08:42 PM
I just adore this! What an awesome idea, I love silhouettes I have quite a few of my son saved from Kindergarten and first grade. He is in second grade now and they did not do one, maybe I will do one. They are fun to compare. Thanks for the reminder, I love this pendant.
Posted by: Mary Jo Price-Williams | January 26, 2008 at 04:02 PM
What a beautiful idea. I absolutely love it. Thank you for sharing your creativity.
Posted by: Tracy Koufos | January 29, 2008 at 09:58 PM
What a great and beautiful idea! I agree that you need your own TV-show.
I'm just curious to know where you found the black and white pattern which you decorated the other side with? It is such a coincidence since I found exactly the same pattern in a book at my work at a museum and its from 1891 from an ornament book called "Die Ornamente" designed by two german architects inspired by 15th century italian silk.
Thank you for inspiring!
Greetigs from Denmark/Sweden
Posted by: Svante Helmbæk Tirén | November 16, 2008 at 04:37 PM