Steampunking your home can be a little pricey--especially if you are searching for antiques & oddities to display throughout; however, that doesn't have to be the case. Here is a simple DIY that can give your walls a little whimsy. Now, let's get creative! Here's what you'll need:
- Oval picture frame & mat (I purchased mine from Michaels when they had a frame sale, full price this frame is $19.99)
- Felt (1-2 pieces), the felt I choose had an ornate pattern which made it appear like leather. I recommend using a patterned felt to create your silhouette because it offers up another element of texture (.79 cents ea, $1.58)
- 1 piece of Scrapbook paper (any color/pattern of your choosing) Personally, I love DCWV (they even have Steampunk scrapbook paper) (1 sheet, $1.00)
- Tacky Glue
- Scissors
- Exacto Knife
- Paper & Pencil (for tracing)
- Black Sharpie Maker (optional)
Total Cost (excluding tools): $20.99 (per silhouette)
Steps:
- After you've purchased your supplies, download the silhouette head (or feel free to draw your own). Re-size it to fit your frame. This is how I re-sized my silhouette: I eye-balled it and enlarged the image on my computer. I then pulled out the stock photo from the frame and placed it over the silhouette on the computer screen. If your silhouette fits inside of the stock photo's parameters (with a little room left over for the embellishments [the hat, bubble pipe, etc.] you'll be making), then you can print your image. (If the silhouette doesn't fit, keep re-sizing your image.) Here is the silhouette template: Steampunkin Template--BohemianRomanceSilhouette
- Once you've printed your silhouette, trace her onto the wrong size of your felt with your pencil. Remember your silhouette will be flipped (facing the opposite direction once you've cut her out and flipped the silhouette over).
- Now it's time to draw her embellishments. Draw on a hat, or a pipe with bubbles, or anything else you fancy! For more intricate embellishments, for instance, the microscope, it's better drawn on paper. Keep that in mind as you are drawing on your felt.
- Once you are done drawing & tracing, use your scissors to cut out your silhouette & embellishments. Set aside.
- Grab your stock photo from the frame and your sheet of scrapbooking paper. On the wrong side of your scrapbooking paper, trace the stock photo's oval outline. Cut out and set aside. If your stock photo sheet fills the whole frame, and is not just a photo taped to the mat, be sure to trace lightly the photo's outline (on the right side of your scrapbooking paper) so you know where to place your silhouette and embellishments.
- Next, glue your silhouette and embellishments in place on your scrapbooking paper. Let it dry for 5-10 mins.
- Place your scrapbooking paper in your frame and close.
- Hang on the wall and brace yourself for the flood of compliments you'll be getting! (People love whimsy!)
To make the Microscope (or any other intricate embellishment or prop):
- Find an image of the object you desire, in this case a microscope. Be aware of copyright. I used an image of a microscope from The Graphics Fairy. Her images are free for creative use (and she has a steampunk collections of images).
- Re-size accordingly (as detailed in Step 1 above).
- Trace from your computer screen (or you can print it and cut it out). I choose to trace the image so that I could use heavy cardstock which jams in my printer.
- Once you've finished tracing, cut out the image.
- Color (optional). I colored my microscope with a sharpie marker so that it would also look like a silhouette.
- Glue in place.
If you don't want to make one of your own, you can also purchase a print of either of my silhouettes from me on my Etsy shop (coming soon). Then assemblage is super simple, 1. Purchase 2. Pull out of package 3. Place in frame! For all the rest of you, Happy Making!