Photography Backdrops

Recently I wrote about using some fabric, a bunch of flowers and hot glue to create a "flower bed" for baby pictures.

Another money saving photography tip is to make your own backdrops.

Buying a backdrop will often run over $100.00 dollars a piece.

I make mine for 20-40 dollars.

Go to your local fabric store (I developed this idea when working at Jo-Ann's so I can tell you that the materials are there) and find the quilters section.

There you will find muslin.

This is usually white or cream (sometimes black) and is used for making complicated quilts.

 Buy a big piece.

Bigger is better.

Muslin comes in various widths. 

I like to get the 140 inch and buy two yards.

If you get from Jo-Ann's I'd encourage finding a coupon. They are always around and can save big money.

Then buy one of the large bottles of fabric dye.

Now dye like usual.

If you wad it up and hold with string you'll get the patterns that look nice without being distracting.

Pin to a wall or build a sturdy holder frame out of pipe and set up for pictures.

I have at least five backdrops in various sizes and colors and probably spent the same or less then buying one straight out.

 

Decorating: Little Shelves

Most of the time shelves are pretty wide.

Intended for books, framed pictures, clocks, etc.

But what about the little stuff?

Like rubber duckies?

Don't forget the duckies!

Last year we repainted some rooms and redid the floors. This required the base boards to be ripped up. 

Some didn't survive too well.

So we cut off the messed up parts and painted them and prepared them to be shelves.

Home Depot has packages of little (one and a half to two inch) L brackets.

 We screwed the brackets onto what was the front of the base board then screwed the other side into the wall. This put the back of the base board facing up towards the ceiling.

Now add your little items. 

Since most little items are light there is not a lot of worry about being strong enough.

I have shelves in my bathroom to hold rubber ducks (need to add more).

A short shelf in the bathroom to hold stuff for guests taking a shower. Extra toothbrush, soaps, little lotions, etc.

I'm soon going to put up another one in my craft room to hold the baseball memorabilia we have and maybe some of my paintings.