Decorating On a Budget - Cutout Silhouettes

Alot of my inspiration for decorating my house comes from my mom.  She's very creative and artistic, and has alot of fun making new projects.

Both of us like the western metal cutouts, but they can be a little expensive!  Mom came up with a way to have cutouts that didn't cost much.  Plus, you can make whatever silhouette you want!

For these, she used the mat board like what is used to frame photos.  You can either find silhouettes or pictures to trace, or you can draw it out yourself if you are artistic!  Trace the picture you want onto the mat board, then use an exacto knife to cut it out.   

Lay the cutout on some old newspapers.  Mix the color paint you want.  Mom used a kind of rusty colored brown.  To get the rusty metal look, add a little bit of fine clean sand to your paint.  Dab the paint on the cutout, thicker in some places than others.  Cover the whole cutout in paint, and then let dry.

The cutouts don't have to be the western variety, either!  I had a couple pictures that my husband and I took on the wall of our bathroom.  The wall still looked a bit bare and boring, so I drew out some cattails and a pond with some ducks.

For this look I just used glossy white poster board, and metallic antique bronze paint.  I wanted it to look more like brushed metal.  I used a wide brush to paint all in one direction.  It turned out looking really cool, but you can't really tell in the picture.  ( I had a hard time getting a good picture with the lighting in the bathroom. Sorry! )  Since this was going to be in a damp area, I also sprayed the front and back with a craft sealant.  Then I put them up on the wall using poster putty.

I made these trees just to add a little something behind the clock in our bedroom.  It adds color and more dimension.

Something so simple and cheap to do, but it really dresses up the room!  Like I said, you can make any silhouette you want, and any color.  The possibilities are endless!  Have fun!