Christmas Craft: Tinsel Glass-Framed Child's Silhouette for Mom or Dad

I remember standing up against the blackboard in the third grade with a large sheet of paper behind me for a silhouette drawn for my Mother's Day gift. I also remember having to re-tape the paper because the teacher was too short to do it at the height I needed. I was very tall very early in life and there was trauma everywhere that continued for several years. One day I will write out the story of being the ugliest girl in the 6th grade, but today is not the day. (It really turns out good, so don't feel bad for me.) Needless to say, the problem would have been solved had we sat down, but we didn't. I don't know if schools still have children sit for a silhouette or not, but you can do it at home and create a beautiful picture frame for it.

Make the silhouette

To make a silhouette you will need a large piece of white paper. Butcher paper will do but I don't feel like the contrast is as striking. Put a lamp directly behind the child so that her/his shadow reflects onto the paper. This is the most important part. You want the image to be a duplicate of your child's head and not distorted in any way. You also want to be able to see important features like eyebrows and lashes.

Once the light is positioned simply trace the shadow onto the paper. If your child moves, and they always do, realign the head to what you have already drawn and continue. Angle the front of the neck down to look more like a cameo. Make the line angle down from the back of the neck to the top of the chest.

Staple this sheet to a heavy black piece of construction paper or posterboard and cut it out. You have now completed part one of the picture.

Make the Tinsel Glass

The next step will be to get a suitable frame. You will need something with a narrow wooden side. Again I will mention thrift shops, charity shops, garage sales and second hand stores for the frame. You are going to paint the wood black, so as long as the glass isn't scratched or the wood in terrible shape, everything else will do.

Painting the frame just means you take the glass out, clean it, sand it, and spray it with a light coat of black paint. Let the frame dry and spray a second coat. Make certain that you are in a well-ventilated area and lay newspapers or plastic under it.

You are going to frame your child's silhouette with an oval. This will be the toughest part of the entire process. Use more of the white paper that you made the silhouette on to create your outline. You may have to do several before you create the right size and desired shape so do it first on the scrap. Simply trace around the edge of the glass from the frame, center the silhouette and freehand an oval. Leave enough space at the top to have a small pattern or at least 2 inches and the same at the bottom and sides. Use some gummed temporary stick on or roll a piece of tape to keep the silhouette temporarily on the white paper once you have it centered. Put the glass on top of the silhouette and paper, line it up and trace the oval onto the glass with India Ink and pen or black craft paint pen. Once this is done you can set the silhouette aside.

Find a design that you like. It can be butterflies, flowers, stars, or designs. You are going to repeat this pattern in all four corners so make it small enough to fit. You can extend it above and below the oval and down the sides, if you choose.

Create the pattern by copying it onto tracing paper. Put it under the glass and trace it onto the glass with a fine point calligraphy pen and India ink or a black craft pen. Make one corner and flip it over to do all sides. When you are transferring it remember that the oval line will be widened to at least 1/4 inch. Don't fill in the areas of your design. You will do that later with liquid glass stain. Use a brush that is 1/4 inch wide to accent your oval. Allow this to dry. If you are using black as a background, this step is unnecessary.

At this point you can make your own design or decision. I like filling in the background with opaque white enamel paint but black or any other color will do. If the design that you created is full of flowers you may want to create a sky blue background. Paint the entire area around your design with a solid color but not over any of the action design. Make certain to fill in the small areas, if you have done flowers, use a fine paintbrush to fill in where the background shows between the petals. Allow this to dry overnight.

You will fill in the design you created with liquid glass stain. You may need to mix colors to get the right shade. You simply paint on a base stain, let it dry and use another base over it to get your desired color. It is easier than mixing them. Try to experiment on a discarded bottle or scrap glass first.

You are now ready for the final step. Trace the outline of the paper with the silhouette onto a matte or heavier white poster board. Use a pin to poke markers for the top, bottom, and sides of the oval. Cut the oval out of the lightweight paper and use it as a pattern for the oval on the matte. You simply need to lightly outline it in pencil, as your guide for the placement of the silhouette and pattern for aluminum foil.

Once the oval is traced then, again use the pin to poke 4 small holes as guides for the placement of the silhouette. Lift the silhouette off the temporary paper and align it with the holes. Use temporary measures again to attach it.

Crunch up some aluminum foil and then flatten it out again on a level firm surface. Cut the foil to fit the area around the outside of the oval and use temporary measures to attach it to the matte. Lay frame face side down and put the unpainted glass in it with the painted side up. Place the matte and silhouette inside the frame. If your oval is perfect and centered properly flipping the glass will make no difference. If it is not, this is the time we can make minor adjustments. Check to see if every thing lines up and if so, glue the silhouette and aluminum foil down to the matte. If it doesn't line up make adjustments and erase any pencil marks that show.

Once the glue has dried fit all the parts together. The painted part will be on the inside of the glass with the silhouette centered and surrounded by your design that has tinsel (aluminum foil) showing through.