You might have noticed by now that we really like our cats.  A lot.  So of course I couldn’t resist immortalizing their little kitty silhouettes.

The contrast of the colorful lined paper against the black background gives these silhouettes a slightly modern spin on the traditional silhouette.

We hung them in the bathroom between the laundry room and my office, as this space has been designated the “cat room” – all their cat goodies are corralled in one place which makes me a very happy girl.

Did you spy the birdcage shower curtain?  I thought it was appropriate for our little kitties’ room.  :)

Anyhoo, here’s how you can make your own graphic silhouettes {cats or people, whatever floats your boat}.

1.  Assemble the supplies. You don’t need much for this project {and it’s super cheap!}:

~ printout of your subject, blown up to the size of your choice {I just printed out pics of the kitties in black & white from my computer}

~ frame of your choice {w/mat}  {I used a Ribba frame from Ikea}

~ feature paper in the color/design of your choice {I used a graphic, multicolored lined craft paper}

~ background paper in color of your choice {I wanted to do black but I didn’t have any black construction paper so I just printed out a black page on my computer.  That’s the lazy girl’s way.}

~ pencil

~ exacto knife

~ double-sided tape or spray adhesive or glue stick

~ self-healing mat (optional)

{ Yes, I actually used pictures of the same cat – I didn’t have a good shot of our fat kitty!  Shhh, don’t tell him… }

2.  Cut and trace and cut some more. First you’ll want to cut around your subject, using your exacto knife.

Then place your cut out on the back side of your feature paper and trace around the cut out.  Remember that the cut out should be facing the opposite direction of the way you want the final result to be.  {Also, be sure to make sure that any pattern is running the way you want it to.}

3.  Put it all together. Glue or tape your cut out in the center of the background paper, and then assemble everything together inside the frame.

Now they’re ready to hang!

{You might have noticed that I changed the position of the cat’s tail in the final cut out.  The best time to make such a change is when you’re tracing the cut out onto your feature paper.  Just draw and erase until everything looks right.}

Have you gotten hooked on the silhouette trend?  I think they’re awesome, and they definitely add a little more pizazz to the space – and who couldn’t use a little personalized art of their favorite pets?

This post is shared with A Soft Place to Land, Reinvented, A Silly Little Sparrow, Today’s Creative Blog, and Tip Junkie.