Make a Victorian Silhouette Portrait

You will need:

A photograph or print of your head and shoulders taken from the side (in profile)
Pencil
Black paper/card
White or coloured paper/card for the background
PVA glue
Scissors or craft knife & mat
Fancy edged scissors (optional)
Frame

What to do

1. Take a photograph from the side of your head and shoulders. If using a digital camera and downloading onto a computer, print out the photo onto ordinary printer paper because you are going to cut it up.

2. Using scissors or a craft knife and cutting mat carefully cut out the person in the photo, curving the bottom edge.

3. Place the cut-out onto some black paper or card and draw around it using the pencil. I found it easier to draw around by putting the portrait face down when placing it onto the black card, this also means that when you have cut it out and turned it the right way there will be no pencil marks showing.

4. Cut the silhouette portrait out of the black card.

5. Using basic scissors or fancy edged scissors cut a piece of coloured paper/card in an oval shape so that the black cut-out fits comfortably in the centre and glue in place. We have provided some oval templates for you to download and print off.

Oval Templates



6. You can glue this oval onto a slightly larger oval in a different colour if you like. I tried a couple of different edging and colour combinations until I found one I liked.

7. Cut a piece of white or coloured paper/card to fit the frame and again using the PVA glue stick your framed portrait onto the centre of it.

8. Now frame your portrait and admire your handiwork.