Don’t you just love a good handmade gift? Anything given with love is meaningful. But to me, something handmade carries a little extra meaning to it.
We put together this easy state silhouette wall art for the Happiness Is Handmade blog hop hosted by our friend Bre from Average But Inspired. For the blog hop, 26 bloggers each came up with unique handmade gift ideas. You’ll find pictures and links to each tutorial at the end of this post, so if you’re looking for handmade gift inspiration be sure to check them out. Oh, and one more thing.. we’re giving away $180 in PayPal cash so you can purchase all the supplies for your handmade gifts!
But first I want to share how we put together the state silhouette wall art. Are items with your state or city hot in your area right now? Because it’s definitely popular around here.
I found some old pictures at the thrift shop and removed everything from one of the frames.
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The frame got a coat of Annie Sloan’s Old White chalk paint and a light coat of clear wax. I found these plank panels at Lowe’s, cut them to size and did a paint wash using Annie Sloan’s French Linen chalk paint. A paint wash is basically just painting with really watered down paint. It leaves more of a stained look rather than the full coverage you usually get with paint. It left the planks looking like they had a light grey wash over them.
I used clear silicone to adhere the panels into the frame. To do this, I just placed the planks in the frame (they’re interlocking planks) then ran a line of silicone around the edges and alone each seam. I used my finger to smooth the silicone then left it to dry completely. It’s a bit hard to see in the picture because it’s clear.
The state silhouette was really simple. I used an overhead projector to project the image onto the sign, then just traced the outline with a watercolor pencil, using this technique. But you don’t need an overhead projector to do such a simple graphic. You could print your state silhouette and just trace the outline. Or if you need something larger than what you can print on a single sheet of paper, try blowing up the image at blockposters.com (it’s free).
Once my image was traced out, I put a heart sticker in the area where we live, then I used realllly watered down paint to paint in the graphic. I basically just barely dipped my brush in paint, then into water, then brushed it on. I had to do a couple coats to get the coverage I wanted. I wrote home on the bottom too. Then I was finished, I removed the heart sticker.
Now are you ready to win some cash? Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter for your chance to win $180 in PayPal cash. And when you’re done, be sure to check out the rest of the handmade gift ideas below. Just click on each picture to take you to the full tutorial.
Love this idea! We’re also from Ohio. This would make the perfect gift for our sailor girl! Thanks for the inspiration.
This is a wonderful gift idea!! Great idea to use a projector to get the shape, too. That’s perfect for someone without a cutting machine.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!! That little heart is so sweet and who knew there was such a thing as plank panels?! Brilliant!
This is so cool! I love taking old frames and making pretty things 🙂
Love this!! Such a cute print for anyone, and it’d be the perfect house warming gift, too! Thanks for the giveaway, too! 🙂
I lurve lurve LURVE this. So classy and elegant and I know quite a few people who would love one! 🙂
That is awesome that you used planks for the background! I never would have thought of that and love the texture it gives the piece. Thanks for much for the DIY gift idea. This would be perfect for my husband’s back porch!
What a cool idea! I’d hang one up in our house and then give one away 😉
Vicki and Amy – this is such a great gift idea! I ought to make one like that for Michigan. 🙂
LOVE these!!!! And, love how you up cycled the frames!
Amy, what a great idea! you’re so right homemade and handmade gifts are the best. I love how easy it is to personalize this for each recipient. It’s totally awesome, CoCo
Love this idea, Amy! And I never would have guessed that it wasn’t a new frame by looking at the pictures. This is such a unique gift to give someone.
What an adorable gift – I want one for my own home!!
Another smart and creative idea!! This would make a great gift for anyone – newlywed, new home, etc. We’re fans!
I love this, Amy! I would be so tickled to receive a gift like this. It’s perfect! I love that you added the little heart where your city is.
What a great idea! I love the unique things you think up! I hope you have a great week!
Smiles!
Terry
Hey there, I featured this project in my blog post of 15 DIY wedding gifts to make with a Silhouette! Thanks for the Silhouette inspiration! If you want to check it out, I published the blog post this morning: http://smallstuffcounts.com/diy-wedding-gifts/
Hey Emily! Thanks for letting me know! I’ll definitely check it out and I appreciate you including our project :).