Hello fellow beauty bloggers and/or video makers! I was requested to share what I use for my background in videos and now some of the makeup looks I photograph. From this request comes a very lengthy DIY blog post about the background I've been using. I would suggest only reading on if you want to know in great detail how to accomplish this! :) I think this is a great option for anyone who wants to hide the mess (me!) as well as have something on hand that is not only custom designed, but portable and easy to take down, which was necessary for me. First, here is a video showing the background I use. Following the video is a materials list, plus step by step photos to help you out with this project. This project took me two days to complete but only because I started later in the day on the first day, so it could easily be done in one day.
Video
For my setup, I made three panels because I wanted to have a
lot of room to work with when filming, so I could choose to sit close to the background, or far away, yet not show the edges of the frame.
If you are using this setup for FOTD photos exclusively, you may be able
to make a slightly wider single frame.
You could easily determine this by taking a FOTD pic and then measuring
the area behind you that you want to cover up.
If you do modify the size, you will need to adjust the materials list
below accordingly. If you do a single
frame, you could prop it up behind you with chairs on either side of the frame
(which you could hide from view) and then you would only see the background.
Material List to
Build the Frames
To make 3 panels like I did you will need:
·
9
1"x2"x8' pieces of
wood. I used pine and it was roughly $3-$4 per
piece (8 foot length) Be sure to hand
pick each piece of wood because many of them are crooked and that will make it
harder to put together later on. I actually purchased 10 pieces in case I made a poor cut, which did happen, so that is just a suggestion.
 |
| corner braces I chose |
·
12 corner braces (L-shaped)
·
1-2 packages of Velcro strip (self-adhesive
backed is fine) I used this so that I could stand up all three panels together
and attach them to each other on the backside with Velcro. (Please see the above video for a more detailed explanation.) I needed a background that was collapsible
and easy to store, so this works well for me, but if you want something more
permanent you could use hinges if you wanted to, although I do not have experience attaching hinges yet, so I will not be able to offer advice on that.
Tools Needed
·
Saw (I used a compound miter saw)
·
drill bit to drill pilot holes for the screws
(if you don't do this step the wood may split when you drill in the screw,
which happened to me - grrrr.) The
screws come in the corner braces packet
and so I just used a bit slightly smaller than the screw - mine happened to be
a 3/8" bit but you may need to check the size of your screw first.
·
Screwdriver or Drill with Phillips bit head to
attach braces to wood
 |
Staple Gun & Staples are needed
if you choose to attach fabric to the frame. |
·
Staple Gun & staples (if you want to attach
fabric to the frame)
For the Fabric:
·
6 3/4
yards fabric of your choice (or 2 1/4 yards per panel if you choose to do
less than all three panels. Remember if you adjust the size of the frame, be sure to
recalculate the fabric amount needed as well.
1. I
used Linen (Natural color) from JoAnn Fabric & Crafts, and fortunately it was on sale when I got it
for 50% off so I picked it up for $4.49/yard.
If it is not on sale, be sure to pick up one of their sale flyers or an online coupon because many times they have a coupon good for 50% or 40% off a single item (which also includes a single cut of fabric). The plain fabric
I chose is linen because I like the texture and the natural color is a soft
white, not too harsh for a background. Be sure to think about
where you will have this set up before you choose your fabric. I knew I would have it set up with windows
facing it, and no light or windows behind it, because although linen is not
sheer, it does allow light through. If you choose the linen fabric, make sure you don't have a window or lighting
behind where you want to use this, because you will be able to see light coming
through the fabric. If that is an issue
you cannot work around, you could also purchase "blackout" fabric and
staple that to the backside to make it opaque - you can also get this at
JoAnn Fabric and Crafts.
 |
| Stencil I used & suggested paint |
·
If you want to add a pattern to a plain fabric
like I did, purchase a large wall
stencil. I have seen these at Hobby Lobby for a reasonable price - around
$20. I have also seen some smaller
stencils in the paint section at Home Depot that are Martha Stewart brand. You could use a smaller stencil, but just keep in mind the
smaller the stencil, the more you will have to move it around. If you want to use the stencil I did, please visit Cutting Edge Stencils . Again, this was something I borrowed from my sister, so I did not have this expense (this particular stencil is $69.95 because of its size and that it is a double layer stencil - I did not use the second layer because I didn't need that much detail.) If I were to purchase one, I would probably purchase it from Hobby Lobby, or if I were to purchase the more expensive one, use it again somewhere else in my house to make it more cost effective.
·
So if you use a stencil, then you need paint. I used regular interior house
paint for mine, but if you do not have that, you can purchase little samples
Home Depot can mix for you at their paint counter of Behr paint which are
around 7 oz for $3.50 or so. If you go
that route get 2 of them just to be safe).
In case you like the color I used, it is Behr Premium Plus Ultra in
Creamy Mushroom.
·
Small
foam roller (for stencil) I picked up a cheap one at Home Depot that says
it can be used for trim, so it came with a mini paint dish and the foam roller
for about $3.
To make the frames you just need to basically make 3
rectangular boxes.
 |
Pieces cut & ready to attach
2 - 8 ft pieces
2- 2 ft. pieces |
To begin, use two full pieces of wood for the tall sides, and
then cut the other piece into two 24" pieces for the short ends.
If you have a handy husband in your life, he would probably know to cut
the corners at a 45 degree angle so that the braces can more easily be attached
to stabilize them. I did not know this
and was informed by my handy husband
after I had already made the cuts! Oh well! I made it work
by purchasing larger braces so it would span a greater distance and be sure to
hold together.
Next, lay the braces on each corner and mark where the holes
should go.
 |
Please do not injure yourself as I did (drill bit through side of finger - yeeeooow!)
Always lay out the proper tools ahead of time, and do not improvise! |
Then drill the pilot holes
where the screws will go in. I found it
handy to mark how far down I should go with the drill bit with a piece of tape
so I wouldn't go all the way through the wood.
 |
| Be sure to drill pilot holes so the screws won't split the wood. |
Insert the screws
 |
| Screws attached to frame |
Repeat for the other two frames, then they will look like this:
 |
| Two finished frames |
Covering the frames with fabric:
To cover the frames with fabric, I laid out the fabric on the floor and put a frame on
top of it, cut off enough to be able to wrap the fabric around the frame, and
pulled the fabric somewhat tight (not leaving wrinkles) as I fastened it
to inside of the backside of the frame with a staple gun (see my video for a view of the back of these frames). Initially I had planned to stencil the
fabric first, however, I am glad I did not because it would have been more
difficult to make sure the pattern was straight as I was pulling the fabric
tight and using the staple gun, which was hard enough!
 |
Roller & Stencil
Application |
 |
Scrap wood I used to
support the fabric as I
stenciled it
since it was
attached to the frames. |
If you choose to stencil it at this point, since the fabric is already attached to the frames, it will not provide the necessary resistance needed to use a roller and stencil on.
To remedy this, I used some scrap wood underneath each panel and moved
it along as I stenciled. (See photo at left.) Before you begin to stencil, figure out where you want your first stencil to go, lay it down and then dip your roller lightly in paint and roll it off on a scrap piece of paper or paper plate to remove most of the paint that has absorbed. You will not want it to be too goopy and then leak out underneath your stencil. I suggest practicing the technique on a scrap piece of fabric until you get what you are looking for. After all you have come this far and don't want to have to start over! Decide if you want to stagger the stencil or how you would like the placement, and then move across the frames. I chose to work with one at a time, and then when moving onto the next one, I laid it next to the completed frame so that I would know where to place the next stencil. I was going for more of a stenciled wallpaper background look, so this is what I chose to do. You may like yours another way.
Finally, here are some pictures of the completed frames, individually & all together in my setup, which is also shown in my video.
 |
I used the same interior wall paint
we had on hand to paint the stencil pattern.
This color is Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint
in Creamy Mushroom(from Home Depot) |
 |
| Filming Setup (see video for more detail) |
To those who were interested in what my background was, I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions if I left anything out and I will be happy to clarify!
Good luck!
All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me, except the stencil which I borrowed from my sister. If you have not done a DIY project involving power tools, please consult someone you know for advice and be careful!
-Angie
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