The TomKat Studio article on Silhouettes from HGTV

Entertaining: Make Your Party Personal with Silhouettes

• by Kim Stoegbauer

Click here to see this article at HGTV

Silhouettes. Simple. Classic. Beautiful. I fell in love with printed silhouettes when a friend sent me a framed art print of my children as a gift. That was a few years ago and since then I have incorporated silhouettes into my own designs and parties. I’ve also come across some gorgeous examples of how to use them for weddings and events. When created in black, silhouettes provide a striking contrast, especially when paired with muted colors. I’ve compiled several examples and ideas of how you can use silhouettes to make your next event personal and beautiful. This stunning navy and pink dessert table byShauna Younge illustrates a beautiful way to integrate silhouettes at a wedding or engagement party.

dessert table :: shauna younge

Silhouettes can easily be incorporated into the actual desserts of your party. Cake designers create beautiful fondant silhouettes for cakes and cupcakes. These mini cakes with fondant bride & groom are incredibly detailed with the tie, necklace and earrings. Another way to use them for desserts is to print the silhouette on edible paper to attach to cookies or other flat confection, like the cookie shown below from my daughter’s birthday party.

sources :: mini cake, cookies, cupcake

Bride and groom silhouettes are very popular for weddings and can be incorporated in many aspects of the event. This gorgeous wedding cake I spotted on Style Me Pretty shows how to display the silhouettes on an important focal point of the big day. Isn’t it lovely?

wedding cake :: style me pretty

Silhouettes are most often used in the paper products for parties and weddings. This adorable banner can be customized with various silhouettes or custom designed silhouettes by Vana of Le Papier Studio{my favorite source for silhouette items}. It would be perfect for a wedding party or a family reunion. Vana also created these adorable letterpress notecards, perfect for thank you cards after a birthday party. The silhouette wedding invitation by Southern Fried Paper is simple and sweet and perfect to set the tone for the couple’s big day.

silhouette banner, notecards, wedding invitation

For my daughter’s recent birthday party, we did a glamour girl silhouette theme based on this adorable shirt by Oh Fiddlesticks that she wore for the party. I used the silhouette design throughout the partyincluding all of the paper goods for the dessert table.

While all of the examples that I compiled use muted colors with dark silhouettes, you can also find silhouettes used in more whimsical and brightly colored themes, like this collection I designed.

What do you think? Do you adore silhouettes, too? Do you prefer them in a classic color scheme or something more modern and bright?

Kim Stoegbauer is a Party/Photo Stylist and Editor of The TomKat Studio. Her work and products have been featured on HGTV.com, MarthaStewart.com and in Celebrate Magazine, Parenting Magazine and several other publications. Learn more about Kim at www.thetomkatstudio.com.