I LOVE a solid DIY with pretty turn-key results and this one is just that!  When our EVP of Sales, Tiffany, asked for my help throwing her adorable little girl’s 1st birthday party, I knew we were going to have some fun 🙂  This was the perfect opportunity for us to debut our Mimosa Bar set (Shhh! Details coming soon!) and I was dying to create a cool backdrop that we could shoot everything up against.  This entire project took about 3 hours from Home Depot run to finish so I’m thrilled with what we were able to create in such a short amount of time.

Supplies

Tissue paper in assorted colors
Panel Board
2- 2×4’s (8ft.)
Drill
Screws + Bolts (I used 2″)
Staple Gun + Staples (light duty)
Measuring tape
Paper chopper

Instructions

Before you begin your backdrop, determine how large it needs to be.  We wanted ours to be 8′ tall and to line up with the entire width of Tiffany’s buffet table (~60″).  Knowing that, I purchased 2 pieces of panel board (as one wouldn’t be big enough to cover the entire surface area between the top of the 8′ 2×4’s and the top of her buffet (~5′-6″).  I had the panel board cut to size at Home Depot and we were ready to go!

1.  Once your supplies are home, lay out the panel board and the 2×4’s and make sure the panel board is square with the legs.

2.  Drill large enough holes through the 2×4’s and into the panel board for your screws to slip into, but don’t attach the legs yet (that will be your last step).

3.  Remove the legs from your workspace to get them out of the way and determine how thick you want each row of fringe to be.  We decided that we wanted each layer of fringe to be about 8″ tall which perfectly worked out to be 1 piece of tissue paper folded long ways (hotdog style).  We didn’t want to be able to see the wood panel board when the fringe blew, so we layered each row first.  Starting at the BOTTOM of your board, fold 1 piece of tissue paper in half (so that you have two layers and staple it in place).  It might take 2-3 pieces of tissue to make it all the way across your panel board.  Don’t worry about the seams – no one will ever see them once you have covered up this layer with fringe 🙂

4.  Create your fringe layer and apply.  To create the fringe, we took 2 sheets of tissue paper, folded them hotdog style (so that we had 4 layers of tissue) and using the paper chopper, we sliced the paper in 1″ sections.  Be sure to stop slicing about 1-2″ from the crease.   This was the most time intensive part of the project.  However, using a paper chopper will make the process so much faster and will make your fringe even and much more professional looking 😉  Apply your fringe with a staple gun (across the top along the crease) and repeat all the way across.

5.  Once you have applied your first row of fringe, repeat steps 3 and 4.  Just a little tip… we thought it looked best if we covered up the top inch or so of the previous layer of fringe with our next color of tissue (see picture for detail).  That way, the transitions aren’t so harsh between colors and you cover up any inconsistencies along the top (below the crease) with the cuts you did to create the fringe.

6.  When you’re ready, carefully stand your panel board up with another person.  Be careful not to step on any fringe… it will tear off SO easily!  It might be easiest to lift your board slightly and slide the legs underneath to attach them.  Either way, just be careful not to tear or crease any of your pretty fringe.

Put your backdrop into place and….voila!!!  I can’t wait to share the images from the full party!  We were covered by Style Me Pretty Living and the feature is the absolute cutest!

PS:  The Mimosa Bar in the pictures can be purchased here, but more on that later too 🙂  xo