As I’ve been thinking about what I can have my kids give their dad for father’s day I started wondering if a home made gift wouldn’t be as good as the cheesy gift they buy in the dollar spot at Target.  Because, “Dad really needs a swiss army camping spoon, fork and knife.” What the heck could we give him that is sentimental but won’t end up in the “round file” (garbage bin) by the end of the month?

Do you remember standing in front of an overhead projector at school while someone traced your shadow on a black piece of construction paper?  Ummm, me either. But seriously. Silhouettes!

Then it hit me. Do you remember standing in front of an overhead projector at school while someone traced your shadow on a black piece of construction paper?  Ummm, me either. But seriously. Silhouettes! They are so easy to make with the technology we have today and you don’t even need a projector! YAY!!!

What you will need is the following:

• 8×10 canvas
• Pencil
• Permanent marker
• Black Paint (optional)
• Paint brush
• Digital camera
• Printer

I had most of these supplies on hand at home, but did have to buy a canvas at the Dollar store, as I wanted a canvas panel not stretched canvas.

Instructions:

1. take a photo of your child’s profile against a solid wall/door/background.  (I used my iPhoneX)
2. print that image on 8.5×11 paper.  It can be in black and white.
3. cut out the profile.  Remember to cut in the hair that stands up or fly-away as that will make the silhouette even better. 

Once you have the outline of your child’s profile:  

1. Trace the profile onto the canvas panel with pencil.
2. Go over the pencil outline with black permanent marker.
3. Either paint with the black paint, or color with the permanent marker the inside of the traced image.

There you have it.  The silhouette is complete.  

I love the ones I did of my children, my only wish is that I would have started when they were younger to have a new one every year for each child.  (I am still considering thumbing through old digital photos to find them, but that isn’t happening today!) I hope my husband is as excited as the kids are about these fun crafts. Maybe this will be a family trend we can keep going for years to come.

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