Introduction
Making your own Easter backdrop is a perfect way to have professional --looking photographs right from your own home. With a digital camera, you can create studio-quality portraits of your kids for Easter. Giving them to friends and family, or just having them in your home, is a great way to memorialize your family celebrating one of the most religious holidays of the year. Making the backdrop only takes a little bit of creativity mixed with imagination and only a handful of materials. Taking the time to create your own backdrop is inexpensive and less hassle than getting professional portraits done.
Gathering the Supplies
There are a couple of things that you need to complete this project. All the items can be found at a fabrics and/or crafts store. Check with your local Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and Anne's Linen for the things you need. The first thing you need is some muslin fabric. Make sure that the fabric is enough to cover the wall that the photos will be taken in front of. If you plan to make more than one backdrop, you will need a large amount of this fabric. For backdrops with a solid color, buy some Rit dyes. The colors used during Eastertime are pastels. Buy the dyes in soft pink, yellow, green and blue. For backdrops with colorful design, buy some felt-tip markers and colored pencils. Other things you will need are a large bucket, thumbtacks and a wooden stick.
Visualize the Design
Before doing anything with the fabric, draw up designs that would look good as an Easter backdrop. Things like bunnies, Easter eggs and baskets are good things to think about. You can also go a fully religious route and draw symbols that are significant to the Christian holiday. Think of fun and colorful designs that will make your Easter portraits really stand out.
Dyeing the Fabric
You can dye the fabric for solid-colored backdrops, or as the background color for the main design. The first thing you need to do is to prepare the fabric. Wash it in cold water to make the fabric less stiff and to get rid of the debris new fabric sometimes has. Do not put the fabric in the dryer after washing it. You will place it in the dye right out of the washing machine.
While the fabric is washing, follow the directions on the Rit box about mixing the dye. You will need to fill the bucket up with boiling hot water. Pour the dye mixture into the hot water and mix it well. Place the fabric in the bucket and allow the dye to absorb it for about 30 minutes. Use the stick to stir it every now and then. The longer the fabric stays in the dye, the darker the color will get. Check on it often to make sure it has the right color. Remove the fabric from the bucket and dry it.
Adding the Design
On the dry and slightly wrinkled fabric, outline your design. Do not iron the fabric; the wrinkled material photographs better. Fill in the design and add color with the colored pencils and markers. Once you are finished with the design and color, secure the fabric to the wall using thumbtacks. Your Easter backdrop is now complete and you can start taking your photographs or use it as decoration for your Easter festivities.
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