Monday, August 4, 2008

Hardcore handmade

Problem: Need a new, larger lightbox. Needs to have a white background, and be portable and able to be stored easily in my room. However, commercial light boxes are expensive and really small.

Solution: Head to home depot and make my own.

I had pieces of pine molding cut, and nailed them together to make two 2' by 3' frames. I also bought four hinges, black chain, and a staple gun (the guy helping me gave me the wrong staples, which jammed up the gun, so I had to go back and return them to get the right ones). I then went to JOANN fabrics to get a large sheet of white felt.

I only hit my finger once while nailing the wood, hehe. Screwing in the hinges, by hand, took a long time, but now I'm thankful I've been working out at the gym! My right thumb feels like it's going to have a small blister, but that's ok.

Then I stapled the felt all around, added the chains, and voila!



I'm hoping that the felt is good enough to provide a nice neat background. I've previously been using a light box I made out of an old pizza box and a piece of white poster paper. It works really well but it's unweildly and is pretty small. With this one, I can store it easily and use it for my larger pieces.

Overall it cost me about $70, which is well worth it in my mind to have exactly what I need. If you want to make something like this yourself, if you have your own wood and already have a staple gun, that'll dramatically cut your costs. I encourage anyone who needs a big light box to try out this idea! My aunt and I brainstormed the design together but I made it all myself.

10 comments:

GalleryJuana said...

Great idea and design. I might have to try this myself as I have limited space as well. Congratulations on your Newspaper feature!

Robin@creations-anew.com said...

I love the idea!!!! I purchased one of those "cheapies" and I hate using it. I never get the outcome I'm want.
I think I will give yours a try

Terri Pezzullo - Handmade said...

Wow! That is awesom, better than the one my husband bought me. I think I might try making one, thanks for the directions.

lovemaryxoxo said...

Oh cool! I had made one that wasn't nearly as nice. I'll try your idea. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

great idea!

Brownies Vintage said...

hey, I just might make myself one of those. It looks really good and so easy to make.

Treasures by Tina said...

Great idea! You're so resourceful! :)

Stela said...

Thanks for sharing!! that's a very smart idea!

Sara Millis said...

This is a great idea... just what I need in the bad weather over here... Gonna add a link on my next blog post. I'll let you know how I go making one too!
Sara x

nichole said...

I'm inspired! I need to do this too, yet never seem to have the time or motivation.