For this day I did a collection of holiday decor images from around the house simply framed in swiss dot card stock, with an edge stitch. My journaling tells the story of some of our Christmas items. I'm enjoying all the little thread bits hanging out here and there throughout the book, so I don't cut them too close. I may or may not add a stitched accent along the right side of the text when I complete the back side; not sure. That might detract from all the horizontal lines.
The framed silhouettes (photo, lower R) are something I put together this week. I've had the paper silhouettes cut from book text, done for a while now and decided to use them in this newly painted red frame -- also something that's been sitting around unoccupied.
A few weeks ago I gathered a bunch of things that needed a little something and had a spray painting session in the back yard. I know the door frame looks okay in the creamy shade, but you'll just have to believe me ... I tried it with several photos and none of them looked right. Most of our walls are light-colored and the frame just got lost on the wall. Also, it had what was supposed to be a vintage or distressed effect, but to me it just appeared as though it had been in a smoke-filled room for 50 years.
Getting a silhouette shape is just a matter of taking a photograph of your child in profile. Print in the desired size (on plain light weight everyday use paper) and give the back side a quick pass with a repositionable glue stick to hold it in place while you cut. Position the photo on top of the card stock and carefully cut around the outline. Peel away the photo layer from the finished paper.
I think were I starting this from scratch I might prefer traditional black silhouettes against a white ground, but these were ready to use. There's a monogram type text brad on each child's image. This will brighten a spot in my kitchen this season and I think I'll put it away with Christmas things in January.
