Black silhouettes printed on book pages – I LOVE THEM! I saw the photo below on The DIY Showoff‘s Pinterest board and knew immediately what I wanted to do…

Ok, I’ll admit…. my eye was drawn to the horse… but I wanted to put my own spin on it. MY HORSE! …and then I took it a step further…. actually… THREE steps… Roxy, Quinn and Emma…

….if my house weren’t already a dog/horse shrine… I’d say it is now. Definitely going to have to swap out some artwork in the GALLERY WALL now!

Here’s a breezy run-down of how they came together.

Step One – Cut out pages from $3 thrift shop Encyclopedia

Step Two: Edit photo using Picnik (free subscription will do just fine!). Here’s the full run-down on how to do this step.

Step Three(ish): Trim paper to standard size and print image directly onto encyclopedia page.

Step Four: Repeat process… under the scrutiny of your next subject. Yes… Emma crawled into my lap just as I was getting ready to print hers!

I put a little thought into the pages I chose for each pet. My horse is named Sylvester, so naturally I chose the page with his name right on it!

…for the dogs I wasn’t as lucky. Unfortunately, Emma, Roxy and Quinn weren’t listed in my encyclopedia… so instead I used Boxing (for the Boxer), Labrador (pretty self explanatory) and Terrier (for Foxy Rox).

…and in case you’re wondering… here are the original photos:

….and my “after” silhouettes! I tried to find pictures with easy to define outlines. Turns out squirrels in the front yard make the perfect distraction for labs and boxers while you take pictures of them!

…and at this point, I was GIDDY EXCITED. My sisters received immediate texts of the photo above accompanied by “eeeeek!” Yup…. THAT excited.

Now I will say, this post is more of a reveal than a How-To… but I’m MORE THAN HAPPY to share the nitty gritty if you’d like to make your own. Just leave a comment and let me know! I’ll GLADLY do another post that walks you through exactly how I made the silhouettes using Picnik.com! UPDATE – THE PICNIK.COM HOW-TO IS NOW UP AND AVAILABLE!

I bought $5 11×14 frames at Walmart that came with an 8×10″ mat. PERFECT! Now they sit happily on my ledge (from the Board and Batten) and I swoon when I see them.

Here’s a couple more shots of the dining space’s progress.

(Chair Makeover Here, Table Makeover Here, Board and Batten Here)

…and that air vent. YEAH…. I’m working on that. Right after these pictures were taken I PROMPTLY removed it and am currently working on it to make it disguise a bit better.

…note to self, take close-up photos BEFORE placing the prints behind glass next time. Glare! Grrrr

I hope you love them as much as I do! Remember – if you want more info on the nitty gritty of the picnik.com steps, check this out. I promise – it’s easy!

Hope everyone had a GREAT weekend. I’ve been working hard on building a banquette seat in the corner of my dining area and seriously can’t wait to show you. Give me a few days though… still have to finish trimming and painting and then recover the cushions.

…and as always, if you decide to make your own silhouettes I would LOVE to see your version! Send me a link to your post or even email me a photo – craftedniche{at}gmail{dot}com Who knows… maybe we should start featuring some of them HERE to help get people’s confidence and creativity going!

Be sure to check out all the great Link Parties where I’m linking up!

…and big thanks to Home Stories A2Z for hosting!

Amazingly featured at:

Joining the fun in the Fall Pinterest Challenge!

Big thanks to the following blogs for creating such a GREAT challenge!

Sherry @ Young House Love

Katie @ Bower Power

Ana @ Ana White

Erin @ House of Earnest