Traditional Hand-cut silhouettes mounted on HANDMADE PAPER
You’ll love your freehand-scissored silhouette portraits mounted on handmade paper: a custom artisan-created portrait, the most beautiful, detailed gift for heirloom portraits, for good friends, or to celebrate heritage and history.

These silhouettes are made from special matte-black paper and will look like the traditional silhouettes you may have seen in museums, historic houses, in movies, and other places - these portraits can span the waist to top of head. 

Each silhouette is still cut by hand with only scissors in the traditional manner, and mounted on a card ready for framing, even the optional historic-style frame or mat.

Handmade paper:
This special option allows you to choose special handmade paper for your silhouettes. For thousands of years, paper was handmade using cloth fibers. One original “recycling” method was to use old rags, old clothes, or other old cloth in the paper-making process - cloth fibers were fused together in a mixing process and allowed to dry. The result was a bumpy paper now seen in the old books, museums, and other places which hold items of value and respect.

Read more about the historical methods of making paper here.

About your special Handmade Paper:
Your 100% cotton paper was made by hand (and wrists and arms) in the USA by Porridge Papers in Lincoln, Nebraska, using traditional paper-making methods dating back centuries. The owners of this modern-traditional firm was inspired by the ruins of an old mill, and an old wooden box found inside the rubble. This box contained photos, letters, and objects left behind from an age long gone. These old papers inspired Porridge Papers to create this collection of cotton sheets with natural deckled (feathery) edges. The paper is named “1889”.

Deckled (feathery) edges: the mark of handmade paper:
Look at the edges of the paper in the photos. (The feathery edges are the favorite of your artist!) These deckled edges are the natural paper edges that are normally sliced off at a commercial paper mill. Keeping these deckled edges are a mark of handmade paper, which is why you should buy these handmade papers for your handmade silhouettes.

Giving yourself or a loved one a gift of a handmade silhouette on handmade paper is a mark of quality, respect, and tradition.

These paper edges will live with you, and your silhouettes, inside your frames - forever. If you love handmade artwork and want to elevate your portrait just a little without breaking your bank - choose a handmade paper option for your silhouette portraits.

Your order comes with 2 copies
Silhouettes are traditionally cut as two (2) copies of the same person. In decades past, artists often kept one copy as an artist-archive of this valuable work. For the customers of Silhouettes By Hand, mail-order silhouettes come standard with two (2) copies - one copy for you to keep, and one copy to give away. Your artist will take photos of the silhouettes to keep in an archive.

Ordering multiple copies of the same person
To order multiple copies of the same person, choose the number of copies you wish to have cut. These several-copy options are also good for families with multiple grandparents, or aunts and uncles.

Final Size
The silhouettes themselves are approximately 3-1/2 - 4" tall, and mounted singly on a 5x7 cardstock, as seen in the photos. Your silhouette will show what is seen in the photo that you send. Accepted image is waist-height to top of head. Pets will be “bust height” = chest upwards.

More Examples
More silhouette images can be seen in the Examples page.

About Ordering ‘Quantity’
If you want to order silhouettes of different people, count the number of people you want to silhouettes, and order that quantity of silhouettes. People and animals are equally accepted for portraits. For example: if you want silhouettes of 3 different people (or animals), order “Quantity of 3”

How to order Family Portraits
Many families order family portraits in silhouettes. There are examples on this page. To make an order for a family of, say, 4 people, you would order “Quantity of 4” silhouettes. You would then send photos of four (4) different people - preferably 2 photos of each person. You would receive eight (8) total silhouettes back, ready for framing - or order mats or frames from Silhouettes By Hand. (This even works if the family was 3 people and a cat, or a dog, or a parakeet… you get the point.)

Pet portraits
People order pet portraits too! Pets will be shown like their human counterparts - from the chest upwards. Silhouettes By Hand has made pet silhouettes of dogs, cats, horses, a chicken, and a koala! Please also follow the same instructions as for humans: send profile (sideways) photos. Yes, it is hard to get pets to sit still - it’s probably easier for a photo than to portrait a pet in person. (Try saying that 3 times fast!) . Pet portraits are still given as multiple copies - many people give pet silhouettes to the “pet grandparent”.

Gift-Giving
These silhouettes are perfect for giving to two different people; or keeping one copy for yourself and giving the other silhouettes away as a gift! Multiple copies are a value-priced way to give a handmade gift - try to keep the secret that you didn’t spend a lot of money to give a quality gift.

Gift Certificate
Select this item if you wanted to create a GIFT CERTIFICATE as well. After making your product selection(s), you will be giving all GIFTING information in the Checkout of your order.

Terms
Please read the Terms to understand all details about your handmade portrait.

International Shipping (not USA)
Due to the postal expense to send from the USA to any other country, it is recommended that all orders are made without any mats or frames. These will be sent thin, letter-sized, and may be delayed due to artist schedule, post office schedule, and/or postal delays out of your artist’s control.

Shipping costs are added at the Checkout of your order.

Frames, mats, or folders are not included in this fee. Please feel free to select a mat or frame, or find an heirloom frame in your own attic!

"Quantity of 1" = 1 order of the number of copies of the same person --or pet .

-SCROLL DOWN TO LEARN HOW TO SEND YOUR PHOTO-