Silhouette Portraits

Anna Griffin Foiled Silhouettes Stickers; BasicGrey Curio Felt Stickers;
Hero Arts Silhouettes Trio Rubber Stamps; Creme Brulee letterpress wedding invitation by Elum;
Martha Stewart Framed Silhouette Family Tree

I’m loving the return of the silhouette portrait in paper crafting. Paper Crafts magazine‘s trends editor Cath eyed this trend at the summer CHA (read that here). They’ve been around long before now, of course; a Wikipedia search tells me that the silhouette portrait artform dates back to the 18th century. These silhouettes, handcut from black card, were the hottest portrait medium before the arrival of the camera.

Spread in a mini album project I made this weekend, featuring Studio Calico silhouette paper (“Frolic,” from the Autumn Press collection).

The newest silhouette embellishments are great for decorating family-themed scrapbook pages or documenting relationships. These pre-made silhouette portrait images are presented either playfully or formally, making them a versatile trend. Above, the pages in an autumn mini album I made over the weekend use silhouette images from new Studio Calico patterned paper. (I’m planning to get more photos up of this album, but the rainy, stormy weather we’re getting here isn’t the best for taking photos.)

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to make your own silhouette portraits, I found instructions on this blog. Take it even further by creating an entire family tree of silhouette portraits, like Martha Stewart did (pictured in my opening product collage). Isn’t that such a cool idea? Love it not only as a decoration to hang on the wall at home, but think it would be a stunning and meaningful display at a wedding or anniversary party.