DIY Tutorial - How to Make a Real Photo Booth

I’ve been wanting to know how to make an actual wooden photo booth for a while now, so when I saw that Jeannette from J. at Your Service created a tutorial on how she made hers for her adorable Nate’s 2nd Birthday Lil’ Monsters Party, I knew this was something I wanted to share.

Take it away, Jeannette…

Since Nate’s Lil’ Monsters party was posted, I’ve received tons of emails with requests for a tutorial on the Monster photo booth. This time I took a few photos to show the process… Also to show that I did in fact make them myself!

When I made these carnival game booths for Nate’s Carnival party last year, people did not believe that I had made them myself but I’m a very handy woman actually. I work a saw and a drill much better than my hubby (sadly).

I recycled one of my game booths and decided to extend the back wall to make room for the monsters.

The side walls are pre-cut wood boards from Home Depot, measuring 4’x2′, priced at about $7 to $8 each. The new back wall is a thinner wood board (sorry I couldn’t tell you the type because I don’t remember) but that was also pre-cut at 4’x4′, around $13. I decided to cut a foot off the side, making the back wall 4′ tall by 3′ wide. I used a hammer and nails for this, only because I was in a hurry but I recommend screwing them together with thin screws. Much more secure that way.

I didn’t bother to paint or touch up the insides since I was going to cover the walls with fabric. Which I forgot to take a picture of but it was very simple. I bought enough fabric to fit the dimensions inside of the booth and with a staple gun, attached the fabric to the walls. Much easier than having to paint it all over again. The fabric I bought in the Downtown L.A. fabric district.

It was now time to cut out some monsters! I purchased another pre-cut board, same one used for the back wall of the booth. I drew the shape I wanted with a pencil and pulled out my jigsaw. By the way…… I LOVE my jigsaw! (Excuse the way I look, but I don’t wear make-up when I’m gettin’ down and dirty!)

I bought a yard of each color but really only needed 1/2 a yard for each. Each monster measured about 3′ tall and about 1 1/2 to 2′ wide. I purchased this fabric in Downtown L.A. as well.

Using my staple gun, another of my favorites, I stapled the fabric to the back of each, making sure that the fabric was nice and snug. The facial details, eyes and mouth, were cut from foam sheets, glued on with a hot glue gun. You can get those at any craft store. That is how Charlie and Bud were born! 🙂

The final product!

Thank you, Jeannette for this great tutorial. I love a woman who knows her way around power tools. 🙂

If you make a wooden photo booth yourself for your next party, please send photos. I’d love to post them! And if you need some FREE photo booth printables, we’ve got you covered.

Also, definitely check out the incredible parties Jeannette has added to our site. They are really amazing! And to learn more about Jeannette and her party planning services, please check out her blog, J. at Your Service.