Sunday, June 1, 2014

Fadeless Bulletin Board Paper


The photo real scrap paper in my craft stores is .59 cents each and up to $1.19 for the fancy, glittery type paper. I, of course, only buy paper when I can get it on sale from .25 to .33 cents, which still seems a lot to me. So, I've been keeping an eye out for cheap posters, wrapping paper and other materials to use for backdrops or scenery. Here's an alternative I really like:


Fadeless paper rolls are 4 x 12 feet and they come in plain and photo real options. The photo papers are meant to be viewed horizontally, which makes them very cumbersome for crafting purposes, but still worth it.


Each photo roll has an image on its side so you can get an idea of how it's going to look opened out. I only have 4 to show you but the other photo options are a beach scene, a mountain top, underwater scene, jungle leaves and the night sky. There is also one intended to be the back drop for a theater, but it's pretty much just curtains and not realistic ones at that.


You'll find these at Joann's for $7.99 in the kid craft/teacher planning section. I used 50% off coupons for all the ones I purchased.


At AC Moore they keep them in the foam board/poster board isle (not in kid's crafts) and they are $7.99 as well. AC Moore issues 55% off coupons sometimes, so even if you don't have one really close to you, both Joann's and Michaels' will take their coupons.


At Michael's you will find them in the kid craft/poster board isle, but don't buy from them if you can help it because,


they are charging $8.99 for them. The nerve! However, Michael's is the store that readily has the paper that looks like bricks, so.... yeah.

Anywho, scale photos!


Tatiana is our model today and she's standing in front of the grass and sky background. Some of the papers I wrapped around a tall box and others I'm draping over an ottoman. I used this paper in my last post, so this time I'll show you how you can break it up for multiple use.


I've turned my ottoman on its side so that it covers up all of the grass part and you get this nice blueish gradient backdrop. Since the roll is 12 feet long, you can always just cut a section of the blue part off if you want. But I would probably buy a second roll to cut if I were going to do that so I could have one intact.


You might think from seeing Tatiana stand in front of the entire roll, that the grass is too big, but it's not at all. Also, if you let the grass drop over an edge, it looks like she's on a cliff. I was afraid that the clouds were going to be completely off scale, but nope, and they are not as repetitive as they appear on the wrapper.


Behind the scenes tip: If you put a good amount of space between what the doll is standing on and your backdrop, you wont get any shadows from the doll on the background and you wont have to worry about hiding edges or showing spaces where edges meet.


The brick pattern is actually quite huge and you can tell that from even seeing it rolled up. However, again, the more distance between it and the doll, the smaller it appears. This first photo I'm using wood scrap paper as the flooring so you can see how it compares size wise to the wood boarder paper in the next picture.


Eh, the "planks" are pretty darn wide, BUT, I still like it. It's nice and earthy and "weathered" just as the name of the paper says. I would definitely recommend the wood and brick papers even if they aren't exactly to scale. I bet you can find other applications for them, like for houses, buildings in a distance, walls, steps, etc.


Here's the wood paper from a distance so you can truly judge the scale. Its pattern also doesn't repeat that often either.

One caveat to my recommending these papers is that they are fairly thin and if you are handling them by yourself, they are going to fold over, crinkle and just be generally annoying. If you can get someone to help you roll them out and back in again, it would be easier. If not, you may consider cutting them into more manageable sections. I'm keeping mine whole because I'm a rebel like that.

Bonus!




Walmart has these beach mats on sale but I found some on clearance as well for $2.00. They are 68 x 32 inches and would be great as outdoor walls or flooring in something Asian inspired. The weave is pretty tight and they roll up nicely. They smell kind of woody, but it's not bad.


29 comments:

  1. I really like the way you set up the sky and grass one. Who would have thunk it! I went back to see the last post...really great job. Super natural and no one would guess they are two different papers. They look continuous! John still looking good over there, too. LOL

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    1. Thanks, Grandmommy! I think I like the cloud paper out of all of them. And, is John going to have to get a restraining order on you, lol.

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  2. This looks awesome! I especially love the grass and cloud photo paper. It seems like a decent deal too. Thanks for the info!

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    1. Tracy, they are definitely worth the price at 1/2 off, lol, but even cheap old me would have to say that for the many uses, they are probably worth full price too.

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  3. Hello from Spain: I love the paper that mimics the grass and sky. I also have a very similar role. The pictures and dioramas are more real. Great purchase. Keep in touch

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    1. Martha, I agree that backgrounds like these give our dioramas a bit more punch and put us that more closer into our doll's worlds.

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  4. Funny how we are on the same page! I have been checking the paper isle and waiting on a good sale. Micheal's in walking distance so I check once a week. Joanne has a good sale going on until the 7th so I will look then. AC Moore is tricky I have to go in really early to REALLY shop. It not that big but it offers more than Micheal's it just seem like everything is cramped in all the nooks and grannies. I really like the tips too.

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    1. Oh yeah, Brini? Joann's is on my walk route but unless I have a coupon I don't even venture over there. I'll have to go check out this sale they are having. My AC Moore feels cramped too! I guess they don't have the square footage of the other stores. I do like that they have different stock, whereas Joanns and Michaels basically carry the same items.

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  5. Genius! I have been eyeballing that cloud paper on-line but was afraid of how it would turn out. Looks awesome! And the grass/sky one! I was just agonizing about backgrounds and now I might finally have a solution. Thanks Muff!

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    1. My pleasure, Vita! I took the risk on the cloud paper because I got it for 55% off. The graphic on the wrapper really makes it look a bit unappealing and kinda derpy. Amazon has bunches of different sizes and more graphics of the Fadeless paper, going up to 50 feet wide starting around $16 and up. You can paper an entire room!

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  6. Fabulous! I love the sky/grass one in particular, but they all look great!

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    1. Hi, jSarie! They are all pretty neat. Cant wait to try some of the others they offer.

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  7. Great ideas Muff! You come up with the most creative stuff! I like your suggestions about putting space between the horizontal and vertical surfaces to avoid shadows and showing where edges meet. You have great lighting for your photos! May I ask what type of bulbs and lamps you use? (I always end up using flash indoors. My room lighting makes everything look too yellow).

    I use scrapbook papers a lot too, but since they're only 12" I need to make some sort of wainscot or chair rail at 6" height (to hide the seam" then use another 12' piece on top. Your large-size papers solve that!

    Another thing I like to use is rolls of Contact Paper and shelf paper from the Dollar Tree. They have a limited selection, but some of the patterns work for 1/6 scale. Also, they have the white or black foamcore boards for $1, and poster boards for 59 cents.

    Bye for now :) Zoila

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    1. Hiya,Zoila and thanks! Another benefit of having space between the foreground and background is that you have room in the back to move the dolls around if you are using a tripod in the front.

      I'm using an Impact Fluorescent Floodlight Kit that I got online from BHPhotoVideo.com. It came with 2 twelve inch reflectors, 1 boom light and 3 umbrellas. I would link you, but I bought it 8 years ago and they don't sell the kit anymore. If you search for Impact brand floodlights you'll see what they have available. The reflectors are pretty good, so I'm only using a 100 watt daylight bulb in each lamp.

      Ah, the old wainscoting trick. The bane of using 12x12 paper is that you HAVE to make those adjustments to get a decent spread.

      Dollar Tree contact paper is the best! True, you don't get the length that's in a regular roll, but hey, that's what you get for a buck. ^_^

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    2. Thanks for the lighting info Muff! Wow! You have a really professional set-up there! It's good to know you're using 100 watt daylight bulbs. I think I'll try those first in some basic desk lamps and I'm sure I'll get better results than I am currently with overhead room lights (too yellow).

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  8. These look awesome, thank you so much for this post! Lovely photos. <3

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  9. I want some! There you go aiding and embedding again;(

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    1. Mustiwait, I just show you what's out there, lol, I didn't tell you to buy it. Just told you that it was super duper awesome... and at a store near you. *angel face*

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  10. Thanks for sharing, Muff. Thanks for modeling, Tatiana!

    I need all the photography tips I can get, lol. And the shopping tips, too!

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    1. Happy to share, D7ana! Tatiana hasn't seen the light of day in a while. She enjoyed being out of the box.

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  11. great ideas:-D and the way you explain and show how to use the papers to make beautiful settings and save money is so clear and wonderful. Too bad you can't teach classes in this stuff, awesome!!!*.*

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    1. Thanks, Nykole. As I learn about stuff myself, I guess my blog becomes an online classroom, lol. We are all teachers in that respect.

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  12. Hey Muff thanks for the photography tips i really need those cause when i take photos there HORRIBLE Anyways these are really nice i gotta go check them hopefully ill find them :)

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    1. Hiya, Jassica Joe and thanks for stopping by! I hope you are able to find the papers.

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  13. Great post. I love those coupon aided prices, too. This reminds me that I have two rolls of cloud paper that I have yet to use. The behind the scenes shot is very informative. I could really use a couple of those beach mats. Thanks!

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    1. Vanessa, the beach mats are pretty nifty. Unlike the paper rolls you don't have to worry about crinkles and they are a lot easier to manage.

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  14. Realistic papers and good prices, any more? Thanks for showing us these ideas :)

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    1. Ana, these are at good prices if you've got a coupon. Full price is okay, I guess, but half off is always better.

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