DIY Pet Silhouettes

The weekend pet food run revealed some graphic pet portraiture. It's a simple way to immortalize our furred family in scrap plywood. Or for that matter, to inspire such silhouettes in card stock or wallpaper, ala Inke Heiland Wallanimals.

These wood pieces would be equally smashing in smaller dimensions. Since they work so well in multiples and various colors, we can envision a mini-homage to several pets, or perhaps a "Many Moods of Otis" series.

The How:

Use projection to trace pet's silhouette from a photo or start on kraft paper first.

Cut out shape with jigsaw.

Sand edges.

Finish wood as desired: A clear seal to preserve wood grain, paint or or try colorized wood stains (as shown at Urbanimal). This might be a great application for leftover or "oops" paint.

Small scale paper version:

Trace silhouettes onto a card stock. Patterned stock or perhaps some relevant ephemera would add even more pop.

Cut out and mount onto a background of complementary or contrasting color. A solid pup might look great against a bold print.

Pop in a frame—you've got a great gift or an office-ready pet photo that doesn't scream "Cat Lady."

The Inke Heiland version of a non-domesticated feline.

Comments (2)

What an adorable idea! These would be really cute cut out of some semi-transparent contact paper and stuck on a sliding glass door or window. If you have kitties and put them on your windows it would help keep birds from flying into the windows and hurting themselves!

posted by Monica on September 8th 2008 at 6:55am
view Monica's profile

I can see the Wedge across the street. Sometimes I miss Lyn/Lake in Minneapolis.

UrbanAnimal is a great shop. Awesome selection of petfoods.

S

posted by siobhan. on September 8th 2008 at 9:42am
view siobhan.'s profile