$5 Dollar Challenge: Silhouette Bird Plates

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.

Mood Board Monday - Rugs by frugalflourish on Polyvore.com

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.

I LOVE the finished project!!!

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!