So for starters – here is what I made. For $5! I love them. The rest of this post is about how we got there.
I’ll admit I was a little stumped when Lindsay @ Living with Lindsay first announced her project. I wanted to think of something unique to do and I just wasn’t having any inspiration. That is until I did my Mood Board Monday Dining Area and featured these Gothic Silhouette Plates from Target.
Everyone raved about them in the comments and I was in love. I seriously thought about buying them until I figured out that they were Melamine (aka glorified plastic) plates and were still $29.99 for a 4-piece appetizer size set. That was when I decided to knock em off for the challenge!
So I went surfing online for Silhouette Clip Art Freebies – check out the great ones they have at Fun with Pictures and Milliande Printables (both sources I used). After playing around online – I decided that I really wanted to do birds on mine. (Have you noticed that silhouette bird stuff is really starting to make the rounds? See examples A and B. I think we have found a trend here!)
I also (during the search for the perfect birdies) went to the dollar store and picked up these five plain off white plates. The coloring looks just a tad vintage – which is exactly the look I was going for.
At home – I printed out my silhouettes on to white card stock (which I had), cut them out, and traced them on to black card stock (which I also had) and cut those out. I am quite sure there is an easier way to do this, but I have to say that this really helped me get just the right cuts on the details and angles.
Once they were all cut out, I whipped out my jar of Mod Podge and set to work. I applied the Mod Podge to the back, centered the bird where I wanted it, and then applied a coat to the whole plate to create an even glossy look.
They are so perfect for this nice little patch of wall at the end of my kitchen that leads into the laundry room. $5 for a some big impact wall décor!
So tell me what you think! Are you in love too? Do you think bird silhouettes are the next big thing? Head back over the Lindsay's and check out the rest of the entries in the $5 challenge!

And because this was my absolute most favorite project I did all month I am also linking it up to Traci @ Beneath My Heart's Best DIY Projects of March Party!
P.S. I am one of the finalists for the Challenge! Please head over to Lindsay's and cast your vote if you think this project rocks!
P.P.S They are finally up! Check out the final project!
Also linking this up to the Mod Podge Challenge at the CSI Project!



































84 frugal friends said ...
They look like they are right from a catalog! Great job - fabulous price ;)
these are awesome! i would pay for these! but now i don't have to- i can make some. thanks for the great idea!
Love it! They look amazing...and you can't beat the price!
Blessings, Grace
What a great idea... these look so neat! And where you are going to hang them... amazing!! :)
~Jennifer
Very cute! I think 90% of the entries are featuring birds--I know mine did. Yup, birds are the bomb this year.
Awesome, I love it! Do you mind if I post this on my site to share with my readers?
Your plates look amazing! I am sooooo going to try this! =)
What a fantastic idea! I love this! :)
These are great! Yeah! Come visit me if you get a chance, I didn't enter my wreath because it was $6!
Creative and cute! They'll look great in your kitchen.
I love it. I have some sad lonely little shelves over my kitchen cabinets that could totally use something like this! I'm running to the dollar store right now!
good idea! they look really great
This was such a smart idea... If I didn't know better, I would have guessed these were $30 each!
Wow, this is so creative! And to think it only cost five bucks!
Love them -- seriously love them!
This is so smart - I love them! Stopping by from LWL.
They look fantastic. I wonder if there's a way to glaze them so you could eat off them?
What a great project! You are a clever and crafty gal. Happy Spring!
I like your plates! Way to be resourceful!!! Can't wait to see them hanging on the wall...
I know I already commented here...but I just wanted to say thank you for your sweet comment on my blog! You definitely put a smile on my face! :)
Oh my goodness! Love them!
Love them - Thanks for sharing!
LOVE IT!!!!
I love things with birds on them. And what you did with these plates is tres magnifique!!! I'm soooo inspired. I wanna go home and play but, alas, I can't. I'm at my shop, greeting spring break visitors. cheers, -susan
I love this! I am totally inspired to do this for my daughter. She will love it too. Thanks for sharing.
Great Idea!!
Following from SITS
Deanna
OMG! I love them. I loved bird stuff before loving bird stuff was cool. Your plates are great. Thanks for sharing the link to where you got the silhouettes.
LOVE these!! I have in mind to do something similar with silhouettes I made of each of my kiddos!
LOVE this! Great idea. I may have to do something similar!
Great project! I showcased you in my blog.
They are beautiful! Could you please post a photo of them when they are hung? I would love to see them up!
These are so great! love your idea!! I have another plate idea for you that I did last month if you're in the mood for a new project :).... http://myhouseofgiggles.blogspot.com/2010/02/painting-vintage-china.html . It's so addictive and I can't stop painting/drawing on all my old plates!
These are so classic! Of course, I want to eat cake off of them, too. Do you know if there is a food safe alternative?
Oh, these are really cute! I love how you came up with a great plan for so little $$. Great job!!
Wow...that's one of the best projects I've seen all day!
Stop it. Those are fantastic!
Those look GREAT! Love how simple they were too -- you rock!
Those are beautiful! I've been loving those Target plates, and now I just may have to make some for myself!
I am such a lurker but you TOTALLY get my $5 challenge vote. LOVE this project and the super simple instructions. I'm copying it to the T and using this idea in my dining room. Thank you tons for sharing!
I love those! You've inspired me to make some too!
I voted for you. Great job with this challenge!
These are AMAZING!! I put them on my blog today with a link here!! I just had to share!!!!!
Very pretty! Great job!
Those turned out great!! You did a great job.
Those are adorable! I wonder if I can do plates of my kids silhouettes? Have to try... I love the birds too!
These look really great!
Congrats on being a finalist! I love this project and I'm in need of some red and white plates to display on my built-ins, so I think I may be making some version of this!
very nice! I'd just love it if you'd drop by my crafty blog linking party every Sunday (thru Tues)@creativejewishmom.com Hope to see you there!
Jess,
I love these! They turned out awesome! I would love to do something like this for my master bedroom re-do. I need some inexpensive artwork for the walls. You've got me thinking...hmmmm....
Thanks for linking up to my party!
Blessings,
Traci
Very cute! I love these -
These are so good! A great simple approach.
I'm completely in love with bird silhoutte designs right now [I blogged about them here: http://thecopyandpasteproject.blogspot.com/2010/03/ive-been-pasting-silhouettes.html just last week in fact!].
These are fantastic! I'm totally into birds right now. I've been looking for something for a large wall in my kitchen, I think I'll make several of these!
They are beautifull!!!!!!
Excellent idea!
Congratulations on winning! Such a super idea and they will look great in the spot you picked.
They would be even easier with vinyl. Slap and stick! Check out my vinyl website for ordering info www.talkingwallquotes.com
Great job and Super Easy!!! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to make mine :)
I love how you did these.. thanks for sharing
Amazing! Love that dollar store! Your plates are far better than the ones at Target!
You rock! LOVE THOSE PLATES! Consider me your newest follower!
Brittan
http://www.prettyhandygirl.com
They look great! I bet you could print just the outline directly on black card stock, and it would show up enough to be able to follow the line for cutting. I like the vinyl idea too.
Love these! Found you through Tip Junkie.
Very beautiful bird silhouette plates! I was thinking to make spooky cat, bat witches silhouettes on orange plates. It would be perfect for this Halloween decoration! Thank you for the tutorial! Now, I finally know how to make them. I've done some craft projects and thought you might be interested in checking mine out at www.makemania.com Feel free to promote cool projects on your blog!
I love these plates so much that I made my own version :o) Thanks for the inspiration!
ah, brilliant!!
I just found this project via Southern Hospitality.. love it! I may have to copy:) And you my girl need a silhouette!
These are wonderful! You've made simple plates look so chic, I'm going to add these to my to-do list! I'm new to blogging, I'd love if you'd stop by for a visit!
Were the plates you ended up using melamine or were they ceramic? Am really keen to try these but having trouble sourcing melamine plates cheaply. Thanks :-)
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