DIY silhouettes ...

I am sure you have seen silhouettes showing up all over the place as a DIY project. Well I decided to give it a try for our bedroom. My inspiration was from the owners of three potato four. I saw the sneak peek of their home on Design *Sponge and loved the way they had incorporated their family "portrait" at their stair case. Click here for their instructions. I have adjusted them a little below because I didn't follow theirs exactly.

What you’ll need:
- A side profile photo (I took one of each of us - including the dog - just for this project. That way we were all facing the same way and there was a solid color background.)
- Xacto Knife
- Photoshop or another photo editing software
- Glue Stick or double sided tape
- Black Acid-Free Cardstock Paper
- Scrapbooking paper or wallpaper
- Picture frame

Instructions:

1. Download the photo(s) you took and open them with Photoshop. Select the background and delete it so that all that is left is your silhouette. Max out the contrast and darkness so you get a black silhouette on a white background.

2. Next, print the photo. You skip step one and just trace the colored photo but the black and white one makes it a little easier. Remember when you are printing to keep in mind the size of your frame.

3. Tape the print down to the black card stock.

4. Cut your silhouette out using the x-acto knife. If you need to adjust your tape so that the printed photo stays secured to the cardstock.

5. Then take your finished silhouette and mount it to the scrapbook paper. You should cut this down to the size of the frame prior to attaching the silhouette. Use the glue stick or double sided tape to secure your silhouette.

6. Place in your frame and enjoy!

Fond memories ...

I was tooling around on Etsy this evening and I found this neat poster from Roll & Tumble Press.


It brought back fond memories of my weeks in Arkansas every summer visiting my grandpa. He lived in a small town in southern Arkansas, Camden. There wasn't a lot to do, so we were usually tasked with entertaining ourselves.

My grandpa had an old brownie camera that was stuck up in the top cabinet in the kitchen. Every summer when we would go visit I would get it down and "take pictures". When I found it one day when helping my mom hunt down some sort of pot or pan, I wished that there would be a half used roll in there that I would find and we could get developed. It didn't but I still thought it was the coolest. Luckily before my grandpa pasted away I brought it home with me. It's one of the few things I have of his but I treasure it so much. (The image to the right is the same camera that I have now.)

I have never been much of a photographer - I have this innate ability to take the worst, unfocused pictures. BUT I love photographs, especially old ones. I love the story behind them and the people in them many of which I never got to meet. I have a bunch of old photographs on my family and some of S's. Having a connection to the past is very important to me.