Lightbox Tutorial

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Winter is the perfect time to take pictures inside. So, let’s make a light box. Above are some of the supplies you’ll need to make the frame. PVC pipe and connectors, PVC Cement, something to cut the pipe with, Plexiglas. You’ll also need fabric to wrap around it, to create your backdrop and lights.

I won’t go into lengths, as you will want to decide what size you want your box to be. We made ours 2’x4’ and at least 2’ tall. You can tell by the pictures we did this in the fall so I really don’t remember our exact dimensions.

A pipe cutter is so easy to use! I totally recommend figuring one into your project.

We cut some PVC pipe in short pieces to use on the ends. Then used some cement (glue) on it, as well as. . .

putting glue inside the connector.

Then we pushed them together tightly. The cement dries pretty quickly.

We then put cement on the exposed end of pipe. . .

. . .and a corner connector.

Then squished them tightly together.

And twisted them into proper alignment quickly, before the glue set.

This is how it should look when you’re done. Then you just repeat the above steps on the other end of the corner connector.

And you should have this. You will need eight of these, or four, depending on how you want to do things.

Cute the pipe in the length you want for the height of your lightbox and glue into the T connectors.

Now we have four corners started.

We used cross connectors in place of the T connectors for the other end because we are putting legs on ours, You can do this to keep it elevated slightly or just use the T connectors again to keep in flat.

Here’s one completed corner.

After you cut four pipes to your width, and four to length and glue them all together then it will look like this.

Now it’s time to cut the Plexiglas. We placed the frame on the Plexiglas and marked the corners so we could notch them out.

All of the upright pipes will need to be marked for cutting out.

Since we think it would be easier to cut the openings square instead of rounded Dennis used a square to reshape the cut lines.

Now we’re ready to cut.

You can use a dremel to make your cuts.

This particular tool is used for cutting sheetrock/drywall around electrical boxes.

Or you can use a jigsaw.

The Plexiglas we chose is too thick to cut with a box knife.

I venture to say, this is the hardest part of the whole project.

Then pop the Plexiglas into the bottom of your frame. Now it’s probably safe to remove the blue protective film. You can slide different fabrics under for different items you may want to photograph. The color will show through the Plexiglas.

You need a light weight white fabric (I love white flag fabric) to encase it in so your lights can shine through it. I haven’t gotten around to sewing ours yet so I can’t show you those steps. We just have our fabric draped around it and the clamps from the lights are holding it on. It works, so I haven’t made time to finish it up.

Because of the open connectors on the bottom you can cut pipe lengths to make legs for the light box and just use T and corner connectors (like on the top) to give your legs feet.

Clear as mud?

Added:  Someone asked about seeing photos in it, you've already seen many but I know that all the photos in this post were taken inside the light box.

Tutorial for a headboard (under $100)

Yesterday I promised you a tutorial on how to make this headboard. I used the little tiny point and shoot camera for these photos so I know they aren't the best but it was easy to stick in my pocket in between steps.

Supplies: Amounts will vary according to what size of headboard you want to make. We spent about $87 on our supplies. The fabric was the most expensive thing. We made one for a King Size Bed so we bought:

• 1 2'x8' ½” plywood (could go with 3/4”)


• 1 4”x4” 8' post


• 2 post caps


• 3 2”x2” 8' boards


• box of 1 1/2” screws


• box of 3” screws


• 3 buttons to cover


• batting


• upholstery fabric

These last three items were purchased at Hancock's Fabrics, while the other items were purchased at our local lumberyard, Menards.

Measure and cut your fabric to size. This fabric will cover the end posts so I need two pieces.

While I was cutting the fabric and one layer of batting for each post, Dennis got our supplies ready and started marking the 4x4, makes sure your lines are straight.

We just cut it in half, to make two four foot tall sections. Make sure to cut straight.

Next we laid the fabric out, wrong side up, along with the batting, then laid the post on top. We tacked one end down along the side of the post, making sure to leave some fabric at each end. Then we wrapped the post tightly, making sure there were no wrinkles. Make sure your batting is not too long or it will bulge on the end and your headboard won't stand up right or it will have a bumpy top. We left ours down from the top just a bit so the cap would fit on without issue.

We used an air stapler to attach the fabric but you could use a hand stapler or even upholstery tacks. We folded the cut edge of fabric under to give it a more finished look, then stapled it. If your fabric is not very heavy you will probably want to use some cardboard in this folded edge to help prevent fraying. Once you've done both posts just set them aside. We'll do the ends later.

Next we attached a 2x2 to each long edge of the plywood with 1 1/2” screws.

That done, we measured and cut 2x2s to fit on each end.

Since the screw will go all the way through these 2x2s we pre-drilled the holes to help prevent them from splitting.

Then attached these pieces to our nearly finished posts with 3” screws at the height we wanted the backboard to be. We left some room at the top to allow for our caps and made sure the backboard was low enough to be below the mattress. Be sure to measure accurately so that the height is the same on both posts.

You will notice the stapled edge of our fabric covering, that is the back of the post, the part that will be against the wall. We placed our 2x2s at the very back of the post but you could do it anywhere you want.

Dennis used this neat little tool to make sure the post and board stayed flush.

Now it's time to attach your end post to your backboard. The 1 1/2” screws can handle this job. Make sure the boards stay snug together while you're screwing them in place.

We pushed against the boards to keep them snug. Me at one end and Dennis on the other, both pushing to keep things tight.

Finally, we finished the ends of each end post by folding the fabric like you wrap the ends of a present and stapled them down.

We did the same thing to the tops.

We cut two layers of batting to fit the backboard. It needs to fit lengthwise perfectly, and be wide enough to wrap around over the top and under the bottom to be affixed on the back. I think you can see where we stapled the ends. Make sure to keep this layer smooth, your wrinkles will show up through your fabric.

Next you cover the batting with your fabric. If it has a pattern like ours does then you'll need to keep an eye on that pattern. Make sure to pull the fabric taunt and keep it smooth.

Wrap it all the way to the back to attach it to those top and bottom 2x2s. We simply folded under the ends, next to the posts and while you could glue them down or something we haven't found any problem with them being simply folded. This headboard has been in use for over a month now.

After covering our buttons in fabric we drilled three holes evenly spaced where we wanted them in the backboard and used small cording to attach them. I happened to have these small spools around so we tied the cording to them to keep the buttons on.

This is the point that if you wanted to you could finish out this back with fabric attached to all 2x2s, but we just left it open as it's going against a wall.

Stand it up and admire your work. This is the point you may want to pre-drill some holes to attach your frame to. Make sure to measure accurately, you don't want your bed to hover, or you headboard for that matter.

We finished off the top posts with the post caps, you could actually use these on the bottoms of the post if you wanted too.

So there you have it a headboard completed in just a couple of hours for under $100. We're using this one in our guest room so of course we had to go out and buy new bedding to coordinate.