Christmas Ornament Idea

When I was little, there was a silhouette

hanging on the wall of my bedroom.  It was of my Mom from when she

was about eight or nine years old.  I used to look at that picture

and try to find ways that we looked alike.

I'd study her hair and nose, piecing together parts of myself.

She'd explain how her teacher had traced out her profile using

an overhead projector.  I was amazed. 

Last year, I used a light and some paper and did silhouettes of

the two older kids.  They cut out their profiles and glued them to paper.

My Mom loved them. I had meant to frame them, but then she got sicker, and

I got busier.  It never got done.

This year I read, on line, how to do silhouettes using a digital camera.

I thought I'd give it a try.

It was so much easier than using a light and paper taped to a wall.

Trying to decide what to do with my newly created profiles, I found a great idea

for making Christmas ornaments.

I thought these ornaments turned out really cute.

Here's what I did:

You need wooden shapes-I chose ornaments because it's Christmas time

Wood paint-I used Plaid with glitter in it

Mod Podge

a sponge brush

Some Christmas Ribbon

Print your profile to desired size, trace it onto

black card stock, cut it out.

Paint the wooden ornaments.  Use as many coats of paint as you want, just

make sure they dry between coats.  Once dry,

use the Mod Podge to glue picture onto ornaments.

Then cover the ornament and the picture with more Mod  Podge, to give

it a shiny look.

Once dry, string the ribbon and hang from the tree.

On the back of my ornaments, I wrote the child's name, age,

and year.

I'm thinking of doing one of these a year, so that the kids will be able to see how

much they've grown and changed with each year.

Maybe some day, their children will look at

the profiles trying to see pieces of themselves

in my children's faces.

Perhaps they will be amazed at what a digital camera and some

paint can do.