<![CDATA[Silhouette Quick & Easy]]>I love silhouettes and am practicing to become a master.  I bought a how-to book & tiny scissors but am still waiting to excel!  I have a problem with this sort of thing.  I took a couple of banjo lessons years ago and I am embarrassed to admit that I was a little (ok, a lot) shocked that I was not a virtuoso straight away.  I would hate to think that was the reason I didn’t stick with it but…  And while I have not yet mastered the art of cutting I am having fun bumbling along.  Progress?

Here is a quick trick that my friend Lauren uses for freezer paper stenciling that I applied to silhouette making today. I pulled up the image I wanted to use of the boys and traced it directly off the computer screen.  Maybe you all already do this but I thought it was a darn good idea.  I used painters tape and that worked well, no gummy crap on the screen.  I first used regular printer paper but it was hard to get the finer details, optimally I would have tracing paper in the craft room but since I don’t, I cut up the wax envelop that stamp sheets come in.  I heart wax paper.  After cutting out the image I used the wax silhouette as a template for tracing onto the black paper.  I couldn’t find the special silhouette paper at the craft store but I didn’t try that hard since I was thinking they were planning on charging me big $$$ for it.  I bought some black origami sheets and they are working well.  Any expert scherenschnitters out there want to enlighten me why I need the special paper?

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You might see a little blue peeking out because I backed it with painters tape to give it some stability. I tucked this into the corner of my framed Shepard Fairey print of Andre the Giant that hangs right next to the computer (so I look at it A LOT).  I am going to give it another shot with their full heads so they look a little less like kissing robots!

The boys wanted in on it so they illustrate the plain paper cut outs from my first tries tracing.

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These are now hanging in the “gallery” located in our front stairway.  My oldest  commented, “I don’t know why we didn’t use black paper.”  Anyone else have a 6 year old?  In addition to being able to do NO WRONG, in their own eyes, it seems they also specialize in the free and frequent critiquing of their mothers.

And on an unrelated note, Be My Vintage Valentine was featured on The Storque today over at Etsy!  Thanks to Eartha Kitsch for giving me the heads up!

Edit to add:  Please notice the lovely candlestick that I bought at Charlie and Pats (come back to me C&P!).  I guess I desperately wanted you to notice it as I moved it to be in both shots.  Nope, no shot setting up here.  I just shoot it as it falls.  Really.  Mostly.  Hardly!  BUSTED.

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