“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ― Eudora Welty. In our quest to capture a moment that’s gone forever we humans have come up with very clever tricks, those extra touches that can enliven any photo even the ones taken at a fun party….photo booths, backdrops, props….the list goes on. My first real interaction with photo booth props came when a group of us friends planned our friend’s 40th birthday party. Don’t get me wrong I’ve used photo props on many occasions but this was the first time I actually put any thought into what makes a good photo prop, what will work with the party theme etc. Like any true DIY’er my first instinct was to DIY the hell out of it but as I looked at all the available options in stores I realized that many of the common options were not even worth the time and effort, let alone the cost of DIY’ing them. So after careful review we decided to buy the more generic photo props (aka. the mustaches, lips, glasses, lipstick, necklace etc. that you see in the above pic) and DIY only the special ones.
The first one that we DIY’d was this picture frame to hold as we posed. Pretty isn’t she? Perfect for our peacock themed party.
Would you believe that this frame is the same one that is hanging in our guest bedroom. Here is the detailed post about how I transformed this thrift store find into the navy beauty.
All it took to transform this plain frame into a photo prop were 2 rolls of satin ribbon, some tinsel, a couple of peacock feathers, and a holiday greenery sprig.
DIY Photo Booth Frame Tutorial
Tape one end of the ribbon to the back of the frame and wrap with a slight overlap till the roll is over, followed by the tinsel, again a roll of ribbon, and tinsel till the entire frame is covered.
Adjust the spacing of the ribbon and tinsel to your liking and hot glue the ends of both.
To make it extra special tie a pipe cleaner to the holiday sprig and attach it to the frame taking care to push the end of the sprig into the ribbon pleats. Once it is secure place the peacock feathers into the ribbon pleats behind the greenery sprig after adding a dab of hot glue to the ends.
Masquerade Mask DIY Photo Booth Prop
Every pretty Masquerade mask I found online or at party stores was either around $10 or when cheaper didn’t go with our party’s peacock theme. We had already ordered the peacock feathers for the centerpiece so I thought why not DIY the masquerade mask with a cheap $1 gold mask from the Party City.
Here’s how you too can make a fun photo prop out of a cheap mask, feathers, a piece of tinsel, and a skewer.
One thing to note is that as the prop handle aka. the skewer is going to be on the left side of the mask it is easier to have the feathers or embellishments to the right. Hot glue the feathers at an angle or whatever way you like them to be placed, to the right corner of the mask. Cover the glued end by placing a piece of tinsel over it, again with hot glue. Cut the sharp part of the skewer off and lightly sand the end if needed. Turn the mask over, on the opposite side of the feather hot glue the skewer with the cut side up. Voila!
What are your favorite photo booth props? Any special sources or DIYs?
You all look beautiful.. and the props are perfect! who knew they’d be that easy to make..
Seriously a great idea and something we can easily do.