SALE!

My single person Profile Silhouettes are available for $12 from Monday through Friday of this week (regular price $15). You can visit my Etsy shop to purchase them or visit my Flickr gallery for examples of my work.

Getting Settled

It's taken me almost 2 weeks but I have finally made progress in the office/sewing room. That's not to say I'm completely set up yet, but I do have all of my computers (most of which are having issues) set up. I have started the process of transferring all my precious files to the new laptop. This is very slow going folks. Especially as I try to get my work files (mostly profile silhouettes, about 90% of the ones I have made.) For some reason the Dell laptop they are on is being super slow - make that "super duper." It takes about a 1/2 hour for it to get started and is really slow starting any operation. I think it might be the hard drive.

For the moment I'm just grateful it has decided to turn on for me one more time! I've slowly been transferring my files using jump drives. It's working very slowly, but it is working nonetheless.

Anyway, I have re-opened my shop and have already had 2 sales! I'll share my first project with you. Isn't she lovely?

I recently met a university professor who teaches Graphic design. We had a long conversation about geeky things like Photoshop, Illustrator, art styles and such. Actually I rather enjoyed myself since it was the first time since I left college that I got to have a work related conversation with a peer, I'm a STAHM (stay at home mom) remember? It was great to see my husband sitting there with nothing to say because for once the conversation was about "my" work and not "his" work.

Anyway, back to the point of the conversation. We got around to talking about my Etsy shop and I told him about all the silhouettes I have been creating for my lovely customers. He then asked a bunch of questions so I'll share my answers with you as well.

I use Illustrator to create all of the silhouettes. I use the basic pen tool and not the fancy outline tool that finds the edges of a subject, but from what the professor was telling me it's very choppy. I'm actually running Illustrator 11.0 so it doesn't have the fancy tool available, honestly I hadn't even heard of it. I just go in and use the pen tool to create lots of (sometimes hundreds) individual curves that then make up the entire image. Then I add in the desired text, transport it into Photoshop, create my jpgs and email the finished product to my customer.

That's my whole process. Now you know my trade secrets!

Easy Gift: Profile Silhouette

I came up with super simple, inexpensive, and elegant gift idea for Christmas this year. I always struggle with ideas for "grandparent" gifts (gifts for my parents and my husband's parents.) I wanted to do something different than the usual picture of the kids. That's where my web surfing came in handy, I don't remember where or when I saw a wall with hanging profiles. Apparently that image was stored away in my brain somewhere because it recently came back to me while I was trying to decide on Christmas gifts.

These are classy and chic, not to mention timeless! A whole wall dedicated to black and white will look stunning and fit in with any decor. You can change the overall "feel" simply by the frames you choose. I know the grandparents will love them. I'll just have to go and make a set for myself now!

*These would look really cool cut out form patterned scrapbook paper too!*

Supplies:
- side profile photographs
- photo editing software (I'm using Photoshop)
- premium printer paper (or scrapbook paper/cardstock)
- scissors
- fine tip sharpie
- picture frame

1. Take some side profile pictures in front of a wall. You will get a nicer profile if you actually take the time to "do" your subject's hair. You will get a crisper photograph if you choose an area with indirect light.
2. Crop your picture to be just the head and hair... don't forget some neck too!
3. Convert your picture to black and white (grayscale)
4. Play with the levels (photo shop) or the brightness contrast until you get some good crisp lines around the edges of your subject. Don't worry if the cheeks or ears start to fade away. What you want is a crisp outline.
5. Resize your picture to print out as large as possible on a regular sheet of paper.
6. Print your image using the least amount of ink, and black ink only. Trust me you don't want to waste a bunch of ink on this step.
7. Take the sharpie and outline your subject's profile. Go around the details you want. Sometimes you have to improvise sections, like hair, or even simplify them. Don't forget to add the eyelash.
8. Now flip your paper over and look at your outline. Fix any trouble spots on the right side of your picture. Once you are satisfied, trace over your outline with your sharpie, on the back side of your picture, to sharpen your outline. This is where you add the little "swoop" at the cut off point at the bottom of the image.
9. Scan your outline back into your computer (the back side of your picture)
10. Your scanner will pick up some of your photograph through the paper. Play with the brightness/contrast to make the picture crisp.


Here is where you can choose to either continue digitally or you can actually cut out your silhouette form some black scrapbooking paper/cardstock.

Paper:
11. Resize your image to fit withing your frame.
12. Print out your profile and use it as a template for cutting your cardstock

Digital:
11. Make sure your image is a "layer" and not a "background"
12. Use your magic wand and click outside of the profile
13. Now select inverse (shift+ctrl+I)
14. Select your paint bucket tool, set the fill color to black and click inside the profile
15. Before you de-select, take your paintbrush tool(the larger the better) and paint over the edges of the profile to get everything filled in.
16. Resize your image to fit within your frame.
17. Add the name (usually first and middle) in a nice font.
18. Print out your profile (I used hp premium presentation paper) using your "best" setting.
19. You are done! Cut your profile to fit in your frame and frame it!


Of course if you don't want to do this yourself, don't have the time, or don't have the programs, I will gladly do this for you. You can purchase my services through my Etsy shop. For $10 you will get 2 high res digital images (one left and one right facing) in a 5x7 format which you can then print at home or send out to your local photo lab.



* Just another thought! you can print these up small and put them in those ornament frames for your Christmas tree.
* or use the profile to create tile coasters
* make an iron on - for a quilt or pillow
* make a stencil
* make profiles of your pets
* make full body profiles
* use them on personalized greeting cards and stationery