Gallery Wall Part Deux and an Easy Silhouette Tutorial

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you our new gallery wall that I had made from several white Ikea frames.    For all the details, you can head here.

Our gallery wall was meant to replace an outdated, small one I had put up when we first moved in.  While technically both could have probably coexisted, I like to keep our decor varied, so I had to come up with a plan for the half wall that held the first gallery wall.  

After much debate, I settled on...another gallery wall!  But I made myself a concession.  This gallery wall would feature absolutely no pictures of our family (I mean, really, how many pictures do we need on display?!?).  Instead, the gallery wall would be filled with words, quotes, numbers, and any other simple family-themed artwork or memorabilia I could think of.  Basically, I started with a quote I loved from Pinterest (that I just printed out, traced over in green, and framed) and went from there.

In case you can't read it, the quote says, "What I love most about my home is who I share it with."  

Obviously, the wall needs some additions...like the final face (which is going to have to wait until our second boy is born in a few weeks), and the wedding picture is just a place-holder for another project I have planned (that once again cannot happen until our family is completed).  

But for now, I am pleased with the fresh decor on that wall.  And it was so easy to do.  I already had the M and J in another area of our house, so I just had to purchase the &; and give all 3 a few coats of blue acrylic.  

As for the silhouettes, they are a total breeze to create.  The hardest part was getting my toddler and rowdy cockapoo to sit still long enough to capture a profile shot!  Once I did, I printed it out (I did mine as 8x10s) and then carefully cut out their faces.  When you cut the faces, you want to be extra careful to capture some of the subtle curves, hairs, etc, which will make it look a lot more realistic.  Once the picture was cut out, I carefully traced the face onto white scrapbook paper, again being extra-careful to maintain those subtleties (as you will see below, I went el cheapo and just used the back of some other scrapbook paper I had on hand instead of buying actual white scrapbook paper).

Once traced, just cut out the scrapbook face.  I used mod podge to affix it to the canvases I had already painted green.

Sooo easy, right?