One of the most important craft projects to me is our altar backdrop/photobooth background. I was inspired to make this project after seeing this post on OnceWed. The bride and her family constructed this amazing tree and I wanted to do something similar, but with hearts…tons and tons of hearts. I bought a bunch of felt at the store and set out to make my own backdrop. Sadly, I had to scrap my first attempt because it turned out so lame! I decided to enlist some help because it seemed like a project beyond my skill set. My friend who came with me is an amazing crafter and so so creative. I trust her sense of color and design, so off to the fabric store we went!
I sent a photo of this to my partner and she freaked out! She loved it as much as I did!
We went to Joann Fabrics. A great selection!
These are quilting squares. Only $1.99 each - yes, please!
Sparkly thread.
Waiting for our fabrics to be cut.
Rainbow? Sorry, not this time.
She picked out 4 fabrics in the blue hues and 4 in the red. The patterns are all different, but complimentary. We took home 2 quilting squares of each pattern and then if it was on a bolt we got a yard. The fabric we were going to sew the hearts on was found in the interior design area of the store – I believe it was meant for drapes? It was off white, kinda shiny and heavy enough not to buckle underneath the weight of the hearts. Next thing we did was start cutting out the hearts.
Here are the 3 different sized hearts we used.
Pick your fabric and fold it over.
Cut around the heart template with either scissors or a rotary cutter.
We cut out 2 hearts of each size template.
Can you say adorable??
Fabric selection.
Shabby chic without being too country.
You gotta love a red and white checkerboard pattern.
Subtle damask.
And so it begins...
After cutting out all of our hearts – it was time to grab the iron. I ironed all of the hearts and the entire backdrop. Don’t forget to sew a spot for the dowel to go through at the very top!
Ironing is meditative to me for some reason.
Iron more than one to save time!
The more hearts I ironed - the happier I got. They were so cute!
Scraps!
HEARTS!!!
After the hearts were ironed we laid the background out on the freshly cleaned kitchen floor. Laying out the hearts was like putting stickers in a book, one of my favorite activities as a kid, so we had a blast. It was a collaborative process – we talked about which hearts looked better where, etc… In the end, we needed to make some huge hearts, so that there’d be more hearts on the backdrop than white space.
The layout process begins.
I love how the patterns look with one another.
Once the hearts were allllllll laid out. We pinned them down, so that she could run them through her sewing machine. We decided on a zig zag stitch – my favorite!
Here it is! We finished putting the pins in and it was off to the sewing machine!
My friend is my hero for sewing this. She's also the person that is going to marry us, so stay tuned for a post about her as our officiant.
I will post more photos when we construct the structure that will support the backdrop. Stay tuned! Oh yeah, the fabric cost me about $100 – totally within my budget and I’ll end up with something that I will adore forever and ever!
All photos by me – Sarah Deragon.
I love it! You are sooo crafty!! It’s beautiful! YAY Love your pics too…helps that you’re a photographer…mine would be bunk lol
That is super cute! Another great resource is IKEA or the Crate & Barrel outlet stores. I did a back drop similar to this one for a client and we picked up a cute fabric from IKEA. The fabric was actually sheets that we cut open. Super cheap and the pattern was just right. C&B Outlet stores sell leftover fabric from their displays.
Just gorge! Please tell me you are seriously considering Wedding Planner/Designer as a future gig.
This is so adorable! Great job. Love the choice of patterns!
Sweet idea, LOVE it!
[...] DIY altar and photo backdrop was my favorite DIY project. I blogged about it here. The photo’s in front of it turned out so so [...]