I have always had a thing for cameos. When I was little, I treasured this little pink and white cameo necklace or ring or brooch or something that I had. Okay so it doesn’t sound as if I liked it THAT much… Ultimately I like that the shape of someone’s silhouette is so unique, yet so unlike a photograph that the image is instantly more special. And it seems this classic art-form is not leaving us anytime soon.
While browsing the wonderful world of blogs, I came across one picture in particular that made me go “ooooohhh!” Here it is:
My favourite is the one of the dog. Adorable. I love how the silhouettes add a simple, yet personal touch to the whole (already personal) wall. This is entirely inspiring for my own focal wall in our living room, because you may or may not also see a chalkboard in there (like this one). What can I say, The Nester is just full of inspiring and amazing ideas!
Here are the TEN (sounds like a lot… it’s not. Promise.) steps I took to make my very own:
- Took/chose photographs of our family to be used. (I chose two wedding photos and took one of Luther.)
- Printed them in several different sizes to figure out what would work best.
- Traced the images onto white paper.
- Filled images in with black marker.
- Did not like the way they looked. At all! The marker left uneven lines on my perfectly drawn cameos!
- Decided to buy some quality white and black card-stock.
- Traced images onto black paper.
- Cut them out.
- Used spray adhesive on the backs of cameos and glued onto white paper.
- Cut white paper to size. My cameos are now ready for framing.
YAY!
At this point, I was “finished”…but there was one problem. The frames I bought at IKEA (the HAVERDAL), has an off-white mat, and I was just not a fan of the way it looked. I had some gold acrylic paint sitting around, so I painted one… the colour was pretty hideous – mustard-y and dull. So I tried using the gold marker from the polka dot bowl project… but that would have taken forever (DUH, what was I thinking?), and much like the cameos I attempted to fill in with marker, there were very obvious marker lines. Off I went to get some spray paint. Problem fixed!
Here is the final project once again. These will eventually go on the same wall as the chalkboard with some more artwork I’m preparing. Can’t wait for that to happen!!!
I love how special these are now! Has anyone else tried or considered trying this?
This post has been featured!
Stephanie says
March 14, 2013 at 12:14 pmlove it! I’d like to do this for our gallery wall after we get married this summer (so I can use some of those pictures). and the dog will TOTALLY be included :)
Thalita says
March 14, 2013 at 12:46 pmGreat idea! I used 2 wedding photos I would not likely frame, so it made me feel good to be able to use them. Congrats on the upcoming nuptials!
vmg206 says
March 14, 2013 at 12:36 pmBeautiful! This project came out really nice. But, I just have to say….
I. Love. Nester! My alltime fav blog.
I found you today thru the Live Laugh Rowe Linky. I hope you get a chance to stop by my blog and leave a comment, too!
~ Megin of VMG206
http://www.vmg206.blogspot.com
Thalita says
March 14, 2013 at 12:53 pmThank you Megin!! It’s impossible not to love The Nester, isn’t it?!?! Just stopped over at your blog – amazing that you designed it all on your own, btw!!
thecapeonthecorner says
March 14, 2013 at 2:06 pmthat looks amazing, and i love the gold matting!
Thalita says
March 14, 2013 at 2:18 pmThank you!! It looked like I had made a bad mistake at first since the acrylic paint looked terrible, but spray paint saved the day!
carriehurst says
March 16, 2013 at 11:51 amSo pretty! Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Projects.
Kim says
March 18, 2013 at 12:42 pmThalita, another beautiful job. I may have to do this project as well. I just called out for ideas for an empty wall in my front room.
Thalita says
March 18, 2013 at 2:21 pmFantastic! And it’s so easy to do, so why not, right?
Megan@JustForMeAndYou2 says
March 18, 2013 at 1:56 pmThese turned out so cute! I love that you spray painted the mats. I’m going to have to do that next time I don’t like a mat color.
Thalita says
March 18, 2013 at 2:20 pmThanks Megan! I definitely recommend it :)
HeatherC says
March 19, 2013 at 11:24 amAdorable project, you made it look so simple!!
Thalita says
March 19, 2013 at 4:23 pmThank you Heather! Thankfully, it WAS simple :)
lovelymrsp says
March 20, 2013 at 9:29 amI love the silhouette idea too! I am inspired by that great living room pic too! Thanks for linking up at Made in a Day last week!
Kim
Thalita says
March 20, 2013 at 9:33 amSilhouettes are just a little classic and a little whimsical all at once aren’t they? I really like them :) Thanks for hosting the party!!
Holly Lefevre says
March 21, 2013 at 2:40 amamazing!
Thalita says
March 21, 2013 at 6:20 amThanks Holly!! :)
thethinkingcloset says
March 26, 2013 at 2:28 amThese turned out beautifully! So elegant…and I love the gold mattes. Gold is so hot right now! I want to incorporate it into every single craft I take on these days. ;-)
Thalita says
March 27, 2013 at 1:46 pmThank you!!! I am also in love with gold and want it absolutely everywhere… the gallery wall is definitely going gold!
thethinkingcloset says
July 12, 2013 at 7:35 pmTwas really fun to revisit this post today when doing my hopping around for The CSI Project. Love it just as much now as I did back in March. (If anything, my affinity for gold has only grown.) And I still can’t believe you did those silhouettes with a sharpie. Mad skillz. Thanks for linking up, Thalita! So happy to see you at The CSI Project!
Thalita says
July 13, 2013 at 11:05 amAw thanks, Lauren! It’s SUPER exciting that you are the guest judge this week!!! You’re busy gal, but you’re doing some wonderful things and I couldn’t be happier for you!
Lauren @ The Thinking Closet says
July 13, 2013 at 3:32 pmThanks, Thalita! And not sure if you saw, but I chose your project as one of my top 5. Congrats!
http://thecsiproject.com/2013/07/13/winners-of-the-spray-paint-galore-challenge/
Thalita says
July 16, 2013 at 8:44 amWoo hoo!!!!! So exciting, and thank you!!!
Jenna says
July 3, 2013 at 5:02 pmI am loving gold and want to do cameos in my dining room! This is perfect for me! Pinning! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof
Thalita says
July 3, 2013 at 8:55 pmThank you so much Jenna!!This was a fun and easy project – not to mention easy on the wallet. I can’t wait to see what you make!!