Yippie yo, yippie yay…
Where my dogs at?
There they are. :)
Any Snoop Dog fans out there?
I love ALL things music. I don’t know music, like people in the know know music. I just love it in all shapes and sizes. Fo shizzle. 
And who doesn’t love a puppy? Or a silhouette of a big dog?
I got so many great comments on these guys (thanks to you for that!) when I revealed the gallery wall and here’s how you, too, can make canvas silhouettes of really anything you have a photo of. It’s easy as 1-2-3 (4-5-6-7). ;)
You may remember that my canvases were a couple of Goodwill finds that I flipped back to front?
They are the two on the right. The one on the left got painted black and turned into number art.
You could easily just buy new white canvases but I rarely take the sensible easy way. These are 12 x 12 inch squares and only cost me $2 a piece. That ended up being the only money spent on this project. Booyah!
Since these canvases didn’t have any backing I just had to flip them over and, using a mini pry bar and hammer, remove all of the staples.
I do recommend not stabilizing the canvas with your knee unless you’re ok with this happening.
I’m happy to report I will survive. :)
TIP!!! After you remove all of the staples I recommend ironing the creases in the canvas to bend the other way so you’re not fighting with the canvas when trying to restaple it inside out. Make sense?
Then you really just have to line up your seams and restaple the canvas back on the frame.
You may recall I had some billowing at this stage? I didn’t end up fixing it in anyway but once painted, you can’t see it at all, so if your goal is a pure white canvas you may need to just buy a new one.
I do have thoughts on avoiding the billowing, if you’re interested email me.
OK, so now you have your blank slate, er, canvas.
One of the funnest (Yes, I know it’s not a word, but I like the non word so choose to use it.) parts of this project was scouring all of our photos for good profile pics of the girls.
I mean, who doesn’t love to lay their head on a pillow?
Thank goodness this wasn’t a snapper. (We have very few picture of Mico even remotely looking in the direction of the camera.)
They just make me smile.
And look at this wicked cool pic my brother took of his border collie out in the field on the farm.
But, back to the silhouettes, I was looking for profile pictures, so I picked these.
(I ended up using a different picture of black dog because once I had the sitting picture cut out I didn’t like the way it looked.)
After I had my pics selected I resized them so they would fill an 8 x 10 sheet of paper and printed them on regular paper on my at home printer. If you want a bigger canvas you could definitely resize the pic bigger and have it printed at a printer.
Or, have you heard of Block Poster? I haven’t used it but from the looks of it you can upload an image, enlarge it and then print it in blocks so you could maybe tape it together and follow the rest of the steps here.
If you have tried this, or try it now, please let me in on the deets, I’d love to know!
TIP!!! I rotated my photos to the direction I wanted during editing, but realized after printing that I didn’t need to because you could just trace your silhouette with your printed pic upside down. Duh! ;) Also, flipping your cut out image upside down to the plain white side of your paper gives a good idea of what the silhouette will look like without any of the other details in the photo.
After the pics were printed I used my exacto knife to cut out, as true to detail as possible, around the outline of the dogs.
Then I traced the outline of the image onto the canvas.
Then I painted. I started with the edges of the canvas and then worked toward my traced image. I figured less chance of accidentally smudging my detail lines if I do them last, right?!?
I think I did a better job with some eye lash detail on the black canvas.
But overall, I am pretty much in all out love with these guys.
Let’s see how many steps it took…
1 – Buy canvas
2 – Pick your picture
3 – Resize picture
4 – Print picture
5 – Cut out picture
6 – Trace picture onto canvas
7 – Paint outside the lines.
See, just like I said. ;)
If I’ve missed any detail, or you want more info on any particular step please just shoot me an email.
Here’s the pic of Marley.
And here’s her canvas.
Here’s the pic of Mico…admittedly not a great pic…sorry about the full on backside view.
And here’s her canvas. You can see I didn’t add the collar detail to the canvas.
Hmmm, and this makes me think Mico’s canvas needs a nose job. Doesn’t it look kind of rounded where the pic is straight? How did that happen? :/
Anyway, I still dig ‘em. What about you? Know of any other ways to make a canvas silhouette for only $2? Made any of your own, if so please link them up to my Facebook page, I’d love to see them.
And, I definitely can not do a dog related post without saying a heart-felt, tear streaked RIP dear Romeo. You were the best dog park running partner. We will miss our cheese and cracker happy hours and I know you have filled my dear friends Jen and Harry with many a memory to look back on and smile…even through the current tears. I can see you jumping clouds and chasing bunnies now. XO
And, if any of you would like some REAL canvas art I know an incredibly talented artist in Maryland who made us these beauties a few years back. Please, please, please email me if you’re interest, she is the real deal. These pictures truly capture the nature of each of our girls.
Like the size of my stocking on the left compared with Joel’s 48 stocking on the right? ;)
And find more of our upcycling ideas here, including one of the easiest pallet projects ever, a really creative wall covering and our driftwood Christmas trees.
This is so perfect and cute. I spent hours two days ago looking for art dog related for a dog themed bathroom. This will be cuter and cheaper. Thank you so much.
I totally did this. I didn’t use recycled canvas. I got 2 11×14 for 6 bucks, so cant beat that!
I tried to paste a picture in, but the box wouldn’t let me.
I did mine of my beagle Delilah in red and cream. I have plans to do my other 2 dogs. I think I am going to frame their paw prints in coordinating colors to put on the wall next to them.
Even though I feel like Mico is flipping me the tail, I love these silhouettes! Where are your dogs stockings – I see Joel got the shaft with that tiny little stocking (could it even hold a candy cane?) but what about the doggies? I see silhouette stockings in their future!
Kelly
The silhouettes turned out really well! I don’t think the nose on Mico is noticeable to anyone but you
The portraits by the Maryland artist are so great!! Not in my budget at the moment, unfortunately.
These are great! I love how they turned out! Very cute pups too : )
karah,
You know I loved these pictures when I first saw them. I didn’t know they were your dogs….I thought they were just random dogs. That makes them even more wonderful! I think I am going to do this project….just on a pillow. I am totally pinning this.
blessings,
karianne
Looks great! I may need to try this with some of my horses!
What a wonderful way to immortalize your puppies! Love that picture of the two of them looking head on into the camera ….
Such a clever idea and wonderful addition to your one screw gallery wall!
Linda
You are so funny! I read this in bed this morning (what?? is that weird to say??) and you made me smile. I love your writing style! And, these canvases as absolutely ADORABLE!! Love them!
You love your dogs! I love your canvases, I’ll have to do some of my pups, what a fun project. Pinning it!
I LOVE your dog silhouette canvases! And an excellent bargain at only $2.00 each
Your girls look so sweet, and I almost cried when i read about Romeo – he sounds like a great dog, and so fun that you used to have cheese & cracker hour together 
{Thanks for checking out my railing makeover post!}
Aww, I love your doggies, and music, and those canvases! This post was just full of all kinds of love for me.
Glad to hear you’re going to survive your injury!!
I found your blog through a link-up and let me just say–I am totally bookmarking this post! Amazing!! I write a blog for Goodwill about crafting/diy/etc. at http://www.goodlifeblog.org. Have a great day! Thanks for all the inspiration!
Thank you for being my latest Linky Follower! I just recently switched over to WordPress from my Blogger blog, and transferred my Linky Follower tool with me. I’m now unsure as to whether it is working correctly. Do you see any problems with finding my blog through your Linky Followers? I just want to make sure it isn’t directly people to the wrong address! I’ll be your follower, too, once I make sure I have everything working a-o-kay!
Oh, love the way those turned out.
Very fun!
Apparently Hobby Lobby has blank canvases. (I don’t own a staple gun yet.) Maybe I’ll wait for a sale. I might do a small one of our Maine Coon – I have a great profile pic of her. There other one, not so much
I canot wait to make one for my sweet mastiff Izzy!!
Thanks for sharing!
~Jen @ hutchinsonherd.blogspot.com
I love them!
I love my dog and I need to do one of these! Love that you got your canvas at GW! Murphy sleeps with her head on the pillow too!
Debbie
Those are so cute! And so easy!
Thanks for linking up to this week’s Catch a Glimpse party! I will be featuring this tomorrow.
You make silhouette painting look very simple. I have no pets, but I know some pretty children that would look great in a silhouette.
Hugs, Cindy
This is a great project! Thanks for the tutorial!
Wow, that’s so cool. I never imagined it’d be so easy! Thanks, Karah!
This is so awesome, I’m totally going to try this.
Ok, I’m totally going to have to do this now for our puppies.
Those canvases turned out great! Thanks for linking up at From Scratch Friday! Come back next week
~Christina
http://marriagefromscratch.blogspot.com/
What a fun idea!! I so want to make one for each of our dogs. Thrilled to be a new Linky follower. Would like to invite you to join my blog bash {new neighbor on the blog}. Its all about new bloggers.
Christina
Drop By & Visit {The Tattered Tag}
I see these types of canvases at thrift stores all of the time and not once did it ever occur to me to upcycle them in the way you did. Inspired!
Your silhouettes are wonderful. And the dogs are adorable!
Those are so awesome! Thanks for the step by step guide to silhouettes. I love the idea of using thrift store canvasses. I love the idea of using thrift store anything!
Oh I’m in LOVE with these! Definitely pinning and sharing on facebook! Thanks for the tutorial!
These are sooo cute! Love them.
Karah! Love this!! And, I am happy to say that you inspired me, and in the 2 hours since I read this entry, I MADE MY OWN!
http://thediligentone.blogspot.com/2012/02/perfect-puppy-profile.html
they are simply FABULOUS!!!!! the subject matter though is AWESOME!!!! : ) hugs to the pups and to you….are you snorkling today as i freeze in NJ!!!!!!! : ) hugs…
Very nice tutorial and beautiful dogs. I really love the paintings over the fireplace.
I’m a new follower. New to this linky party thing. So not quite sure what I’m doing yet. I will have to check into that tool. But for now I am posting a link from the post page I submitted.
Love for you to stop by for a visit. And I hope you have a wonderful day.
Hello Karah! Stopping by for the first time to your lovely blog here! Love this project! Your tutorial is great
Happy to meet you!
Kindly, Lorraine
I just adore this diy! It looks chic and modern and pay tribute to mans best friend and they joy they bring. Sorry – I am a little sentimental we lost our dog about 5 months ago and it still hurts. I might find a photo of his and do a silhouette of him. Thanks you fo linking up! I pinned it!
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I love your canvas dog art – so clever to turn that canvas inside out! Thanks for the tutorial and for linking up.
I think I need to make one of these for our Willow. She deserves some artwork of her own. Saw you on The Girl Creative.
You did an amazing job! The dogs are too cute! I would love for you to stop by and link up at my linky party via: ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
Mrs. Delightful
Ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
Aww so cute! I want to do one of my kitty.
love this project and those dogs!
Those look great, what a wonderful idea!
Hi Karah,
Just found your blog via My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and I’m now following via the Linky Followers thing-y, if I did it correctly! Anyway … I’m a lover of dogs and all manner of dog art so I think your DIY is fantastic and the custom art you commissioned is beyond great. I’ve DIY’ed some art myself of our little man (his name is Beaver) and have more planned but now I have some new ideas based on your project. Thanks for sharing and I’m excited to fully explore your blog.
Robin @ happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com
I’m loving this project! I never thought of painting over an existing canvas that already had art on it! I have been trying to find some sort of art work for where our kittens cat house is, and I think a silhouette of him would be perfect! I’m ready to get crafty after reading this! Thanks
-Kate
I love how you mixed it in with your other things on your gallery wall.
What a great idea! They turned out great. Thanks for linking up at DIY Thrifty Thursday on http://thrifty101.blogspot.com/ You’ve been featured! Stop by and grab an “I was featured” button and link up any other wonderful ideas you have for us this week!
Michelle Thrifty 101
I love how these turned out!! Thanks for linking your goodies up at my party!! You rock!
Comin’ to you via Wow Us Wednesday! Looks like you are a fur baby lover as much as myself. Can’t wait to give my crafty side a whirl and try this out. Super cute!
I LOVE this. Going to do this for my two Corgis! Thank you for the inspiration!
I have to admit that I’m not really big into pet pictures, but I love the silhouettes! I think it gives them a whole, different, bold, contemporary thing that makes them less pet-portrait and more art… or at least a good combo, where those visiting the house see art, while you enjoy the personal connection. Thanks for the instructions!
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I love everything about these!!! GREAT work!
So cute
And I love your gallery wall!
Here’s your latest Linky follower
This is so awesome! I pinned it to do later! I love it!
Hey Karah, thanks for submitting this to our Link-it-up! This is great!
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I love these. I love anything that has to do with dogs and decor now. Thanks for sharing at Wow.
This is SOOOO unbelievably adorable! I can’t wait to make some like this for my two crazy pups! I’ve been thinking about it, but have had troubles getting good silhouette photos, but I’m re-inspired because I just love how these turned out! : )
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
I really like how these turned out!! What a super way to have custom art. I may have to give this a whirl … and I would love the info on your Maryland artist.
That is sooooo cool. I am going to try it with my Yorkies. I’ve pinned it to remember.I will
also have to follow you!
awhhhhhh I heart your doggie canvases I am SOOO making some of these!!! Thank you SO much for the inspiration and for linking up! I am for sure featuring you tomorrow!!!
Jaime from crafty scrappy happy
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I love these. Think I will try to make one of one of my cats. FYI — I have the exact stocking that you have that was made for me by my great aunt when I was little. I guess you would now call it vintage.
This is such a great project! As much fun as I had reviewing your tutorial… I must admit I really enjoyed the pics of your girls!! Love, LOVE, this idea. Gonna have to peruse some pics now…
LOVE love these and labs and your creative idea! Right in my budget.
What kind of paint did you use?
Thanks!
Hi Karah
these are gorgeous!!! What a great idea
love
jutta
Thanks for this great tutorial…I’ve pinned it and can’t wait to try this! I’m also your newest Linky follower. Iwould love if you could drop by Moose Mouse Creations and follow me too!
Really fantastic! Your tutorial is so easy to follow too
Thanks so much for sharing at Taking A Timeout Thursday!
Oh my goodness…looks so GREAT! Thanks for sharing at Overflowing with Creativity! I can’t wait to see what you link up at my party tomorrow! I LOVE following you…you’re so inspiring! Just a little reminder, my giveaway for 1000 free FULL color business cards ends at midnight!! Stop by and enter to wiN!
***I featured you today on my blog!***
XO, Aimee
Oh..how absolutely wonderful! I found this post on pinterest and am so excited! Your babies are precious and I have been wanting to make something like this for my golden and my daughter’s little pup. This just went to the top of my to do list!
And – I have the same Christmas stocking you have! My aunt knitted it for me as a child and I actually have knitted ones similar for my kids!
Those must be popoular stockings. My great aunt knitted ones for me and my sister when we were little….and that was quite a few years ago.
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Sebastian and I absolutely love dog silhouettes! Thank you for sharing =)
xoxoxo,
Erika and Sebastian
http://www.sewdoggystyle.com
these look great! so inspiring – thanks for all the details.
i use adobe reader to print out things on multiple sheets of paper, then tape them together. i posted about it here:
http://thereddollarhouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/four-dollar-event-banner.html
This is such a great idea! I have been looking for a project to memorialize my nephew’s dog who passed away last year after 13 years of faithful friendship. He is going off to college this year and maybe this in a 5×7 size would be just the thing!
I have used blockposters and it’s super easy. You can hardly see where the pages are taped together, especially if there is a busy background. If you use it just for a template to make a silhouette then it wouldn’t even matter if it was noticeable. Makes me want to make silhouettes of my yellow and black labs who are now gone but not forgotten. I wouldn’t have thought of turning the ugly canvass over, I usually just paint out the ugly with gesso.
This is absolutely awesome! I’m can’t wait to make one of these of my dog. I’m not familiar with paints at all, so I am wondering what kind of paint did you use? Thank you!
Thanks so much for linking this to my party! We are big dog lovers too. I will admit . . . I will be a copy cat on this project. I’ll let people know where the idea came from.
I am your newest linky follower.
~ robin
How much did the canvas paintings over the mantel cost?
I absolutley love these! I just made mine this weekend of our two pups. They turned out great!
I posted it on my blog thescottlife.org
I credited your wonderful blog for the inspiration. Thank you! My dogs thank you too!
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These are so great!! I just love them! I do a series every week where I make my own of something I’ve pinned and this was my inspiration this week! I love how mine turned out and it’s so special to have your furry friends on the wall. Thanks for the inspiration! You can see how mine turned out on Thursday 3/15.
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AHH!! Congrats on being a finalist over at Whispering Wood Cottage!!
Your fur babies are precious. I found your blog through Haute To Sew’s blog. She did the same project and now I want to do one for our fur baby Holly (she is a 5 year old yellow lab & the love of our lives).
If you want to stop by my blog here is my web address http://craftybrooklynarmywife.blogspot.com
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I love this! You inspired me to make a similar frame with a dog silhouette to hang by my desk space
Thanks for sharing and I also shared it on my blog.
Here’s the post I included it in:
http://thesheltergirl.blogspot.com/2012/04/monkey-and-my-artsy-self.html
Thanks again!
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Your Labradors are fabulous! Thank you for sharing your Bow Wow silhouettes. They are beautifully displayed. I want to do this project for my Yorkshire Terriers and German Shepherds dogs.
I love this! I was thinking of having some art of my two fav pups made, but didn’t know exactly to do. This is perfect!
Could not be more adorable, Karah! What personality they add to your gallery wall!
Love this idea, thanks for sharing it. I have a yellow lab named Moses Marley and I think this project will be a wonderful one for our home. Thanks.
Karah…I love these….(no power tools required)….thanks for the inspiration..I am definitely trying this out….I so love your sweet dogs!
you know how much i love this project!!!! thank you so much for sharing it with us today! even though your creativity was a STROKE of genius — you know it’s all about your models
lol!!! woof woof! sending tons of hugs to all! hope our little patient is feeling chipper this morning!
I think this is a great way to reuse a canvas! And look at how you made it so personal with your own pets and family pets! I love this idea! I am going to look out for some that I can do this with! Thanks!
Blessings,
Susie
Why have I never thought to reuse a canvas before??! I’m glad you figured that out for me, I have a few I could reuse instead of just getting rid of them! You’re a genius I tell you! Thanks so much for sharing your skills at my Throwback Thursday party! I hope to see you again this week… with a particular project of yours… *hint* *hint*
great post
Love these! Wanted to let you know that you inspired me to make my own, super bright silhouettes of my pets! My blog post is here: http://fifteenminuteplan.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/pet-silhouettes/
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iReally cute idea.
f your canvases aren’t preprimed, use gesso before applying your acyric paint. It will go on much easier.
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I love this idea! I’ll be trying it out for my daughters bedroom. Can I link you the credit?
Of course! I’d love to see what you come up with, it was such a fun project!
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