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I am just loving this nursery art from Kate J. I’m thinking I’ll have to make one for my soon to be British-born niece or nephew, just so they are reminded of their Canadian roots.
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One of my mantras when it comes to gift giving, especially DIY gifts, is: big impact without big effort.So, when I came across this idea for a baby’s room, I knew it was the perfect gift for a good friend of mine who is expecting.
I love this gift because it is personalizable (you can pick the colour scheme and the images) and very easy.
Here’s how to make a set of four nursery silhouettes:
You will need:
- 8 pieces of scrapbook paper
- 4 picture frames
- Printed silhouettes of four animals or other images
- Scissors (one pair of regular and one small)
- Glue stick
- Pencil
- Paper clips
1. Find out the colour scheme in the baby-on-the-way’s nursery. The more details you can get the better! For this project I managed to coax the paint swatches from my friend.
2. Head to Michael’s or another store that sells scrapbook materials to buy 8 sheets of scrapbook paper. I chose to have a uniform navy blue for the background colour (four sheets) and assorted patterned sheets in similar green tones for the animal silhouette (four sheets).
3. Buy four frames that are small enough that the background colour paper will fit. I chose 8×10 frames.
4. Pick a theme for the images. I picked Canadian animals, including a moose, bear, whale and beaver. Some other great options are: safari, ocean or farm animals; transportation (trucks, boats, planes); or nautical (boat, starfish, sea horse, anchor).
5. Once you’ve settled on the theme and the images that you’d like, use Google images to find a silhouette of each one. Select the “large” setting and avoid any that will be too difficult to cut out, unless you are a master cutter! Download and save the images to your computer.
6. Decide on an approximate size for the silhouette image that will fit well in your frame. For the 8×10 frame, I chose 4×6 as the approximate size for my moose, beaver, whale and bear. Insert your images into a Word doc (one on each page) and resize them to your chosen dimensions. They don’t have to be exact. Remember: you want the animal to be the right size (not the whole image), so if there is a lot of white space in the image, crop it so the animal reaches almost to the edge before adjusting the size. Print!
7. Paper clip your silhouette to the paper you’ve chosen for it. You’ll want the silhouette and the front of the paper both facing upwards.
8. Use a window during the day or a light box to trace the silhouette onto the backside of the scrapbook paper. Do this with each animal and then cut it out. Using small scissors for the detailed parts will make it much easier. I used nail scissors!
9. Cut the background paper to the right size for the frame. Glue your silhouette onto the centre of the paper. I put a dab of glue in the centre only, as the frame helps press down the rest without making a sticky mess.
10. Pop it into a frame and you’re done!
Kate Jongbloed thinks the best way to procrastinate from her PhD is by making things to give to others. When she’s not making things or doing science, she is busy blogging over at
Because I’m a Girl.
Great idea! Handmade art always makes such a wonderful gift. So many possibilities depending on which animal/paper you choose!
Oh my gosh, Tan! These are so adorable. Forget the nursery, I’m making these for my own bedroom! Such a cute, simple idea <3
These are ridiculously cute. And I just love the paper you used for the beaver.
How fun! I love that it’s simple but creates a big impact.