1.20.2009

Silhouette Success!

Today I want to share with you a little tip that I originally got from a fellow blogger, The Nester.  I have seen so many amazing homemade silhouettes in Blogland recently, and I really did think about trying to copy the idea.  But the truth of the matter is that I don't have the patience, or the steady hand, to attempt a halfway decent silhouette of my wriggly little girl.

So I did what any mama would do.  I turned on Sesame Street, parked my toddler in front of the TV, and took photo after photo of her sweet little profile.

Then I took her sweet little profile and sent it, along with a $20 personal check, to Lena Bengston, silhouette artist.

A few weeks later, I got this in the mail.  Can you believe how precious it is?  $20, people!  That's all I spent to get a gorgeous 5x7 silhouette of Nina!  (The frame was purchased separately, at Michael's, for around $12 in case you're interested!)  I am so pleased with the results and the straight up adorable-ness of her work.  I can't help staring at it every time I walk into my bedroom!

I highly recommend you check out Lena Bengston if you are, as I was, scared of silhouettes!


76 comments:

Shell in your Pocket said...

I truly may do this! I have silhouettes made of my two older kids but not my youngest! I may! I may! What are you still doing here? Where is that baby...smile!
-sandy toe

duchess said...

Oooo. How beautiful.
I may have to do this as well.
Turned out great.

Lana said...

I love this picture! It looks GREAT! :)

Lisa said...

Oh my gosh, I'm so going to do it! It turned out so great! : )

Betsy said...

Goodness gracious....I just LOVE it! I am so JEALOUS. What beautifulness.

Stacey said...

I love your method! Is she the lady that comes around to department stores? Yours is absolutely perfect. Wouldn't it be fun to do it every few years and hang them together?

Sarah said...

Oh my goodness, this so precious. I am going to remember her name so that I can get one done when "no name" baby gets older! :)

Michelle said...

Your daughter is beautiful! I love this idea.

Carolina Mama said...

Thanks for re=posting that name because I couldn't find it online for the life of me. You know how you go back to a blog and where is it.

It turned out gorgeous. Sweet Nina!

Guess what! We've Got Snow!! :)

Stacey @ The Blessed Nest said...

That looks DARLING!!! I have silhouettes of my 2 girls done about 3-4 years ago. I love them, and will always have them! I really like the frame you picked out as well, it looks fantastic!!

Christy said...

I love it!

I really wish I had a silhouette picture of each of my children. They are now the ages 12,11 and almost 18. Maybe I could go back through my boxes of photographs and see if I have any profile pictures of them. Thanks for sharing... love it!

April said...

Oh, I love that so much! Even though my girls are 16 and 12, I'd still love to have a silhouette of them...never too late, right! Thanks for posting about it! :)

Anonymous said...

i know you are so proud to have that! my mom still has mine and my sisters having in her dinning room. what a find too, $20 was so worth it! when baby jack gets older one would make a great gift for my sis.

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

It is so cute and she really captured the curls. thanks for the tip.

Jboo said...

Wow -- that is so adorable!! I always wondered how those silhouettes were done! Thanks for the tip. Love Nina's little curls!

Janet

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! It turned out so beautiful! I love it! Thanks for the recommendation!

The Donahue's said...

Oooh! That IS cute!

Desiree said...

What a beautiful sillouette of Nina! I might do the same thing as I have seen them at Nie Nie and love how they look. Thanks for sharing!
-Desiree

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

How cute is that!! I would love to do this of Nick and Sarah....thanks for the wonderful recommendation!

Lisa

angie {the arthur clan} said...

I would never do this on my own, but what a fantastic deal! That's beautiful.

(But yikes...now that I think about it, I'd have to plunk down $80 for my four kids. I think it still might be worth it!)

Darlene said...

That is absolutely gorgeous! LOVE it!

Windy said...

It's beautiful! I had my kids done one year and paid about $20 each and it was well worth the money. It has always been my favorite piece of artwork. I hung it where I can see it from 4 different areas of the house!

Free Art Printables said...

I love it! What a cool idea an so cheap!

The Krile Daily News said...

Absolutely amazing. It will be a timeless picture to pass on for generations. Your daughter is precious!!

Juice said...

That is sooooooo adorable. Well worth the investment. :)

Julie said...

Wow I love it! I may have to send her a picture or 2. Have a wonderful week and where is that baby?
julie

jennykate77 said...

OMGosh! What a beautiful keepsake. She's fabulous! I'll definitely keep that in mind. I don't have a silhouette of Isaiah either. I wish I would have done it when he was smaller, but I guess it's never too late. Too cute!! Thanks for sharing!

Hope you have a great Tuesday! Any baby action?

amy (metz) walker said...

That is absolutely precious!!! Love those sweet curls!

Brittany said...

WOW! That is the cutest version of a silhouette I have ever seen! I too am afraid of them. Although, I think I was successful at them in elementary school!

DESJ and Company said...

O
M
G
I am speechless.
And I was happy with the silhouettes I made myself. Suddenly they don't look so good anymore...but then again, they cost me $1.25 total, and I have 4 kids.

ENJOY it!!

Unknown said...

That is just beautiful, the details are amazing.
BTW, while your page was loading, I was hoping to see a baby picture! :)
Of course, I know that you'll have that posted within minutes after this precious baby arrives...
Thanks so much for supporting my blog, I love your comments.

MatersandMelons said...

That is great! I am going to have to do that for my kiddos!

♥B said...

That is very neat!

Jo said...

It is simply beautiful! The frame really sets it off ~ what a wonderful treasure.

Jo

TidyMom said...

Oh that's just BEAUTIFUL!
We did that for my mom with 3 of the grandkids years ago (she now has 4- I should try and do this for my brother's second child)

Thanks for the link
~Tidymom

Tara said...

WOW!!! that is beautiful...and only $20!!! way worth the money....i've attempted and have NEVER gotten it done...thanks for sharing!!

Marci @All Things Wonderful said...

This is beautiful! Nina is so pretty!

julie & joe said...

It is beautiful! I have been wanting to do that too.

Shannon said...

That is gorgeous! I love it! I tried to do a silhouette of my nephew and it is hard! :)

Ally's Corner said...

I'm glad you had someone else do it because I tried to do this of my girls and said forget it. THANK THANK I will be contacting them and sending my $20.00 in for ones of my girls.

Jodi said...

Thank you for sharing this! After I remembered I had this done in late elementary school, I thought it'd be a good idea for my toddler. However, she's not very good at staying still so even a snapshot is a struggle! Thanks for the Sesame Street tip too! :)

Wendy said...

Very cute!

Jack said...

I just did this and cannot wait to get my three littles back in the mail! Oh, and it wasn't Sesame for us, it was Dragon Tales! LOL!

frillsfluffandtrucks said...

Very sweet! When we were at Disneyland in September I had the silhouette artists there do my children. It was amazing how quick they did it--and all with scissors in their hand too...no sketching, just snipping the paper! Seriously it was under a minute and they were done!

~ Sarah

Screaming Meme said...

WOW! $20.00! I love it! Nina is so beautiful! :)

Unknown said...

How precious!!

AndreaLeigh said...

the detail is just incredible! i love it!

blueladybug said...

How cute is that! I like your silhoette much better than the ones that they do at Disneyland/World. You will have to have another one done of the new baby!

Mrs. Gray's Class said...

That's beautiful! I love her little hair.

Marla said...

She captured the curls so perfectly! I had them done for mine last year...I love them. The lady who did mine cautioned me against matting them thought...she said over time the silhouette could curl if not pressed flat against the class.

Mimi Sue said...

I love silhouettes. I had some done of my kids at Disneyland a long ago and I love them still. She did a great job on yours. $20.00 is a bargain. Just look at the detail! Mimi

Amber B. said...

That is absolutely beautiful! And what a great value for such a wonderful keepsake!!!

Raquel said...

oh how beautiful! i may do this too, thanks for the link!!!

Our Complete Family said...

What a sweet profile Nina has. Truly adorable! I love baby and toddler cheekies!
The silhouette turned out fantastic. Betcha you'll have another one next to it in a year or so when baby #2 can pose for one!!! Happy day wishes hun~ Les

Pretty Organizer said...

I love it! I too was inspired by Nesters Silhouette post and decided to do my girlfriends 4 kiddos. Too cute.

I took the photos and had hubby magnify them on Adobe Illustrator. He outlined them PERFECTLY then printed the outline for me to Xacto knife on black paper. I'll have to send a picture of the finished product. I barely could give that gift away... they weren't even MY KIDS! I loved it too much.

I'll try to remember to send a pic. in the future.

Great post lady!

Latharia said...

I remember getting my silhouette done at Disney World as a child. How fun!

Aleta said...

OMG - I love this! How neat. I'll have to check out her site. Thanks for sharing this and what a beautiful silhouette!

The Golf Widow said...

Just beautiful. Sweet curls and all. Thanks for the tip!

Ms. Tee said...

That's so adorable! I love that she even caught the little wispy curls in the back - just precious :) And *such* a great price!

OH MY #6 said...

I haven't seen one so nice. Your little girl is just precious.

Lea
xo

Keeper of the Skies Wife said...

too sweet!!!

Heidi Boos said...

Amazingly beautiful...I'll be looking into this for sure! Thanks for passing it along. There's no way I could do it myself. I'm sure it would definitely look like something hideous. :)

Rhonda said...

your daughter is beautful and I love her name. My DD is also Nina and she is 24 now.

Mandi Shandi said...

Love this! I am gonna have to do this ASAP. I have a place already picked out to hang them, but have been putting off making them. Thanks for sharing. That will be money well spent!

Sweet Simplicity said...

That is too adorable!! I love her little curls. I hope I remember this when I have a little one...one day...
What a great price too!!

Ruby Red Slippers said...

i love the silhouette!!! I want to do that!
I had to read up on your blog-I've been gone for awhile-I missed alot!
Love the window, the sweet nursery, and the neat things at your friends house-she does have some really great decor!
I have used Craigs list, and it is easy-however-you hit the jackpot with that new cabinet! It is beautiful!
Now, when is that baby coming???

Victoria said...

$20, no way! It's beautiful! I must do this tomorrow!!!

Jodee said...

That turned out sooo cute! What a steal too!

Aubrey said...

Wow, $20 for something that turned out to be priceless! So sweet!!

The nursery is looking good! I can't wait to see whether you have a bundle of pink or blue!

Shannon said...

So cute!

Lisa & Gerald said...

That silhouette of Nina is so Beautiful!

SoBella Creations said...

I love silhouettes. It is one of the reason I chose to use it as my logo. Mine is of my girls.

Your silhouette looks great and love the frame.

paige said...

she did my two middle girls too!!
i LOVE her work
too precious

LuckyMe said...

That is so adorable. Great tip!

Katie said...

Oh....my....goodness....that is so special! I love it!

And can I say...those are about the SWEETEST, most perfect curls I have ever seen on a head!!!

I would love to have one of these of Amelia...so precious!

sweetfunkyvintage said...

I have been wanting to do this for my girls for the longest time!