Fabric silhouette paintings

This is one of the funnest projects ever, although it took a lot of sitting and thinking about what would be cool in silhouette form and not cheesy (like old timey face silhouettes) and not trendy (like something you might see at Urban Outfitters). I finally settled on three different ducks. I guess it's a little cheesy, but I love how they came out.

The idea comes from Anna Maria Horner, and you can see a video tutorial of her making them on the Martha Stewart Show HERE.

She uses canvas that is stretched over wood, and her tutorial requires a staple gun. I went an easier route. I got a three pack of flat canvas boards from Aaron Bros (so cheap!!!!), and I Mod Podged the entire front (like Anna Maria), AND used the same Mod Podge to glue the fabric around to the back of the canvas board. No staple gun necessary! Mod Podge is awesome and great for so many things. I used a glossy finish, but you could just as easily use a matte finish, which I would also like to try. I let that dry on the back for about a half hour and the front for another half hour. This project requires almost no patience :)

Then I printed out the silhouettes I found, cut them out, laid them on the fabric coated canvases, and drew around them with a pencil. Then I either painted in the lines, or on the outside of the lines. Voila! Done!

A few hours later I went back and did a second coat of paint, but the first coat looked pretty good by itself. I would also suggest going back and sealing the whole thing. Mod Podge is perfect for that too!

This is a great way to use a piece of fabric that is too small for any other project. I am excited to try several more themed sets of these!