No Sew - Child's Face Cut-Out Photo Screen

So far…in my 30 something life…this has been the – funnest -thing – I – have – ever -made! Okay, perhaps it was the ‘occasion’ I was making it for, but it really was easy & so.much.fun. Once I had somewhat of an idea, I truly ran with it. (But was open for suggestions or availability at the fabric dept.)

Supplies: I went with a boy/girl theme (hmm, I wonder why) my vision was that they were going to be dressed to go to a Broadway play.

1 yard of heavy canvas (paint drop cloth would work as well)
feather boa
1/4 yard of pre-smocked dress material
1/4 yard of gingham fabric
1 child’s t shirt (I used the back of a 3T child’s July 4th clearance t-shirt on sale for $2.00)
1 square of black felt
1/4 yard some sort of trimming for a hair accessory
1 large button
scissors & pinking shears
pins
pencil
chalk
salad plate
(brown) paint & small fine paint brush
glue gun & lots of glue sticks

supplies list for the frame:
2 – 6ft 1×2 poplar boards (or anything similar)
4 wooden stakes 24 inch 2×2
drill
saw
handful of wood screws
staple gun & staples
mallet
tape measure

Instructions:

*Find the center of your canvas fabric & place a pin in the center. Then pin proportionally on each side of the center pin where each silhouette will be placed. Then pin your pre-smocked dress on the canvas. Leaving room for the hem line to flow below the canvas.

*Using your salad plate trace around the plate for your face cut-out.
***Now Repeat for the boy side***

*Once you have the placement down & the salad plate traced, cut with pinking shears the circle out for both figures. (and if you are like me & purchased a clearance tshirt) cut & separate the front & back of shirt. *see image below*

Using your black felt & chalk, draw a top hat & bow tie silhouette. You don’t have to be perfect for your drawing. (Obviously.) It’s just a guide. You’ll find if you have a guide & sharp scissors your silhouettes will turn out great! Trust me.

*Using your gingham fabric (or whatever you purchased for the boy’s pants) cut with pinking shears the shape of shorts (or pants.) I choose shorts because of the time of year.

*Then start placing cut pieces for their outfits & for gluing. This is where it starts to get soooo fun!

*Where the sleeve ends for the boy or where the girl’s arm would naturally come out, cut small holes for each arm & hand to go through. Becareful to keep in mind child measurements! You don’t want these holes to be too big.

*Now you are ready to start gluing all the apparel & accessories. Gluing one piece at a time. You may want to leave 1-2 inches at the top of the canvas for staple placement for the wooden screen.

*Using your paint & paint brush, lightly stoke around the girl’s face cutout for hair. I choose to give her a little curl, so using the paint brush in lite soft u-shaped strokes.

*If you want to go for the “black tie & vest look”. Using your remaining felt, cut 2 long skinny triangle pieces & place on each side of the t shirt. Gluing a large button where the two points meet.

~Looking at image below, you can see how I allowed dress hem line to flow below canvas & shorts to end right around the end of the canvas. Remembering to allowing for legs & feet for photo booth session. Which makes the photos even more comical.~

Building the frame:

We wanted the most simplest structure, but also secure. Trust me when I say, kids will press hard against the screen! We thought about the option of placing this photo screen on a cloth line. But we really didn’t have anything that would work – where we were going to have the party. But again, I do want to say that kids will lean up against this, so consider something more secure in structure.

*Decide on how big you want your photo screen to be. For ease we went with 36 inches in width. Place your wood out on a table. Measure, mark, & cut your wood according to the size of your measurements. (I do not have photos of the husband actually cutting & measuring this phase of the project – sorry.) But hopefully you will understand to go by what size you want your screen to be.

*This is the only part, that may get tricky in explaining & actually doing.*

We used the actual stakes for driving into the ground. Using the mallet.

~THEN~

We mounted the screen legs onto each of the two stakes. For a more secure structure.

See image below.

Then we formed & mounted 2 center braces (one on very top & the other where your fabric will end) to form a square box. These center braces is where you will staple gun the top & bottom of your canvas fabric.

Here is where we supported the structure even more with an 2 additional center braces. It really made it strong & secure. Again, you can play around a little with the square frame. For us it was a matter of trial & error. As you can see our wood screws were longer then what was needed. So my husband sawed the longer ends off to allow for a smooth finish against the wood. Obviously, you do not want to have anything rough around the screen, because of the kids playing & leaning up against it.

Once you have your square screen frame, you are ready to start stapling your canvas. Start at the center top & work your way around. It really is quite simple once you get it going. Remember to pull nice & tight around the sides so it wont sag.

This was great fun!!! The only thing I wish I had done differently, is to ‘assign’ someone to take photos of each party goer peaking through the screen. We got some of the party goers, but not all. Looking back now, I wish I had gotten everybody, both young & old.

Again, it was so fun to create & have at the party.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TWIN’S FIRST BRITHDAY PARTY and THE DRESS UP PHOTO SCREEN IN ACTION!

If I have failed to explain thoroughly or you have any questions…please as always, feel free to leave a comment or email me. I will try to answer any questions you may have.

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THANK YOU!