Photo Boards for Your Pictures

When I began my cookie journey, I had a lot of questions about everything. I felt like a sponge trying to soak up all the information I could. Your photos can make your cookies look AMAZING or just alright! I know how hard we work to make pretty cookies and I want us all to have amazing pictures to show off our hard work. Recently I shared my Sunshine light box with you and now it is time to share a tutorial on how to make photo boards! Photo boards can really help you take your pictures to the next level.

The good thing about these is, you can paint both sides so if you make 2 boards, you can have 4 different photo boards. This project was totally inspired by Recipegirl.com. She is a great blogger with a lot of recipes and wonderful tutorials like this one. I love her site and hope you check it out for yourself!

Photo Board Supplies:

Boards
Chocolate Brown Paint
Paint Colors You Like
Paint Brush
Paper Towels
Stain
Rag
GLOVES!!! (I didn’t wear gloves and let me just say UGH!!!)

Let’s talk about the wood before we get started. I have used luan that I got at the Home Depot. It was less than $6.00 for a 2′ x 4′ piece. You can get a full 4′ x 8′ if you have a truck to haul it in but I want something I can throw into the back of my Jeep. I also used some scraps I found around my house. Don’t be picky. It is just wood and if you don’t like the final results just paint it brown again and start all over.

Now you will still have to cut the photo boards if you intend on using them in your light box.I cut mine a little shorter than the box so it would slid right in without pushing on sides. I also painted the smaller pieces I cut of because I didn’t want to waste them. I will use them to photo individual cookies. They won’t work for platters but I can use a small plate and they will work just fine for that.

I used the paint I had on hand. This was leftover from a project I did last summer. I was happy to find a use for it.  It is Behr floor paint but you can use any dark brown flat paint. I would not recommend a semi-gloss or a gloss paint because it will add a glare or a shine to your pictures. If you chose to use a craft paint I would recommend Ceramcoat by Delta (color chart) and you can purchase it at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, or Michael’s. Burnt Umber 2025 or any dark brown would be a good base color. How much you need depends on the number of boards you are making. If you intend on making several, it may be cheaper to buy one quart of brown because it is the color you will use the most.

First, using the brown paint, paint the top of the photo board. When it dries you can flip it over and paint the back side.

Now to add some color. You can pick any color you want. It doesn’t take much paint for this part.

The first photo board we are going to make is my favorite. I like white because you don’t have to  worry about the board color clashing with your cookie colors. It is my go to board.

Squirt a little white paint onto an old plate. Next, dip the tip of your dry paint brush into the white paint. Brush it back and forth on a rag or dry paper towel to remove some of the paint. For this technique you don’t want a lot of paint on your brush.

No be brave and make your first brush stroke. The most important thing you need to remember about this is work in one direction! Do not go up and down and then from side to side. Make a decision which direction you want to go in and stick to it! You want this to look like an old board and not just random paint.

Continue until you get the look you want. I am not quite there yet.

That’s more like it. I will set this one aside and let it dry.

Now for green! This is the board I used for my alligator cookie. I didn’t like the dark green so I added a little lime green. You can wait for it to dry or add it when the first color is wet. You just need to be careful and not over blend the colors unless that is the look you are trying to achieve.

I like this better but it is still not quite right so I will add a little stain when it dries.

Perfect!! Do you notice I am not wearing gloves? Big mistake…HUGE MISTAKE!! I know better but sometimes I just get so focused on things and don’t think. Well, I had UGLY hands for days. I used some stuff to remove the stain but it didn’t remove all of it and I had to soak my hands in lotion for 3 days but everything is alright now! Did I mention you should wear gloves????

I wanted a blue one so I used the same steps as above with two shades of blue. It is a little bright and I need to tone it down some.

I added some stain to give it a nice aged look. This one might be my new favorite!

I love red so again, I followed the steps above to make it. This is one of the smaller pieces I cut off. It is a nice size but I won’t be able to use it for as much as I could a larger piece. It is still nice to add to my collection.

I added a little more stain and now it has the charm I am looking

The last thing you need to do is protect your photo boards from scratches or from oil spots from your cookies. You can spray them with a light coat of Krylon Matte Finish Spray. It will protect them without a shine.

Here is one side of my collection. I really like the way they turned out!

Here is the other side of them! I am ready to make some cookies now! I hope you get a chance to make a few photo boards. It really does make a difference in your pictures. I plan on making more. I need pastel colors for spring and warm colors for fall. I think I have a Photo Board” problem.

Leave me a comment and let me know what color you want! Can’t wait to hear.

Happy Creating,

Lisa