Lots of Halloween Silhouettes

I've had this one in my mind for a while now.

I had no idea how much I was going to love it when it was done, though!

Last year, I made a bunch of these.(I found this idea HERE.)

I love, love, love silhouettes and have forever so this totally worked for me. I wanted more, though - more, more, more silhouettes. This year's idea just sprung up from last year's Halloween project. I love it when that happens!


Materials:
9 mini canvasses – 3 inches square
11 3/4 square board (1/4 inch thick)
black paint
newspaper
Mod Podge
9 silhouettes (just do a Google search--there are tons!
sponge brushes
hot glue gun
ribbon

Instructions:
{1} Cut several 3 inch long strips of newspaper. Cut 18 strips that are 3 inches x 1 inch.  
{2} Paint the board black. Be sure to cover the edges and one side completely. I used “hardboard” for this. It is a really cheap board and works perfectly for this project.
{3} Use Mod Podge to glue the small strips of newspaper to one side of the canvas. It should cover the edge and wrap around the top of the canvas.
If the edge of the newspaper is just a little longer than the canvas, you can gently fold it in and glue it down. This works really well since the Mod Podge gets the paper “wet” and the newspaper is so thin. It will look something like this:

Repeat on the opposite side. I didn’t worry about which direction the printing was facing, but you can match it if you want to.

{4} Take the long 3 inch strips of newspaper and wrap them around the canvas from the top edge to the bottom edge covering the rest of the canvas. I just left the newspaper a little longer than both edges and glued it to the wood on the back after I trimmed it closer to the actual size.

{5}  Adhere silhouettes to each canvas. I used my Silhouette paper cutter to cut vinyl for this, but I know another way to do this using your printer and no cutting.

I used to get so frustrated when people did projects with a paper/vinyl cutter because I didn't have one and I don't live in a place where vinyl products are easily accessible. So, I learned a whole bunch of tricks. Stick with me, I've got you covered!

If you do not have access to a cutting machine, you can print the silhouettes on vellum paper. Cut around the shape in a 3 inch square very precisely. You can Mod Podge the vellum right to the newsprint. The newsprint will look a little frosted when you use vellum, but it doesn’t take away from the project in any way! You can Mod Podge over the printing, but be sure your printer ink is very dry before you do this.

{6} Mod Podge over the entire thing and let dry completely. Add another coat of Mod Podge if you would like. (I always do—it just seems to work better!)

{7} Use a pencil to lightly mark where you will glue each canvas. You will place them with about 1/2 inch (a little less) between each canvas and 5/8 inch around the whole thing (like a margin). I marked where I would place each corner so I could line the whole thing up. It doesn’t show up in a picture so you’ll just have to understand what I am explaining! You could also set your center piece and line up from there just eyeballing the whole thing.

{8} Hot glue (if you want it quick like I always do) your canvasses in place. If you are worried about lining it up before the glue dries, try another glue. My other favorite glue is E-6000. Wood glue would work fine since you are gluing wood to wood and I bet Elmer’s glue would work perfectly, too. This is easy!

 I love the statement this piece makes with the stark colors and the "grunge" of the newsprint.

If you would like to soften it up just a bit, add a fluffy ribbon.

You could also add a picture hanger to the back or a ribbon to hang it with.

 I like the way it looks just sitting on a table easel. I'm pretty simple!

I'm linking HERE this week.

and to Today's Creative Blog