5 practical tips for cutting your own mats

RulerI don’t know if I hate cutting mats because I only do it a few times a year or if I only do it a few times a year because I hate it. If I did it more often I’d certainly be better at it which theoretically would mean it was easier for me. I mostly stick with standard, easy to find sizes. But once in a while I go off my rocker and want to do some goofy size and convince myself that it’ll be great to save a bunch of money doing it myself. I just finished cutting a bunch of mats tonight and probably saved about $100. But now I’m all grumpy. If you’ve likewise taken leave of your senses, here are some tips (to supplement the instructions that come with your mat cutter) that may help you keep your sanity:

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Tutorial: Create a lightweight, cheap photo backdrop from PVC

There’s a tutorial over at instructables for creating a large backdrop frame from PVC pipe. The tutorial says it’s for a stage backdrop or room divider but it would work just as well as a photo backdrop.

PVC backdrop

instructables : PVC stage backdrop or room divider (via Make)

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Make your photos pop out of the page

Photo Pop-OutsPhotojojo, the site with the oddly familiar name and really cool DIY tutorials, has a swell tutorial for making your own Photo Pop-Outs. All you need is a little bit of foam core, some tape and a knife, and a photo. Super easy to make and very cool. These look like they’d make great gifts.

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Make a pinhole camera for Worldwide Pinhole Photography day

Trying your hand at pinhole photography is easy and can be a lot of fun. Pinhole cameras pre-date autofocus and megapixels. They hearken back to a simpler time when a camera was literally just a box with film in the back. Photos made with pinhole cameras exude a fuzzy, low-fi charm that’s hard to resist. That said, it’s not for everyone, but I hope you’ll give it a try. If you’re anything like me, you’ll feel a little magic happening when you see that first photo. It’s sort of like stepping back in time. Have I convinced you? Do you have 30 minutes to spare? Read on to find out how to get started.

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