How to Make a Tissue Paper Backdrop for Photos or Parties

DIY | Featured DIY | Fun + Games | Photobooth Backdrops | Video

Here’s a DIY photo backdrop that packs a major punch and can be used again and again! Create this tissue paper backdrop for your next party or photo project.

How to Make a Tissue Paper Photo Backdrop for Parties

A decade ago, we became known around these parts for our photo backdrops. Over the years, we’ve made dozens of them!

Maybe you remember a few of our greatest hits, like the streamer backdrop, the carnival ticket backdrop, or the flower wall that was so popular.

Here are a few more of our most popular posts ever:

Psst — before you dive in, be sure to sign up below for my VIP group so that I can send more of my very best ideas straight to ya!

The most IMportant Piece of Any Photo backdrop

The most important component of this project is this photo backdrop frame, which is such a great tool to have in your arsenal.

We use ours all the time in the studio, for so many various backdrops and projects. A great little investment for under $50!

You can use it for photo backdrops, for hanging items, for studio shoots, for parties, and so much more. Highly recommend.

(Since you’re here, wanna see our most popular photo backdrop of all time?)

Moving the Tissue Paper Backdrop

A few notes. We’ve gotten lots of questions about moving the backdrop.

I think it would probably be the easiest to make this project in the location where it will ultimately be displayed.

That being said, if you absolutely need to create this tissue paper backdrop offsite, this is probably the best way to do it:

Create the backdrop as described below.
Then, cut the chicken wire free from the frame and gently roll it up with the tissue facing the center of the roll.
Cover it with a sheet or a tarp for transportation, and then once at the location, reattach it to the frame with zip ties. You’ll most likely lose some pieces of tissue paper along the way, but they’ll be simple enough to stuff back in.

Supplies You’ll Need

Materials

How to Make a Tissue Paper Backdrop for Parties

Make Time: 3 Hours

Start by cutting your tissue paper. We used 6 packages of tissue paper that each had 48 sheets, 20×30 inches. We cut each sheet into quarters.
Set up your photo backdrop so that it’s at least 8 feet tall and 7 feet wide. Cut your chicken wire to your desired size (our backdrop was 7 feet by 5 feet). Attach the chicken wire to the frame with zip ties, placing a zip tie every foot or two along all edges.
Decide the color arrangement that you’d like for your tissue paper. We did an ombré arrangement, but the sky’s the limit, so use your imagination! Plan accordingly depending on where you would like each color. Start stuffing your tissue! We found it easiest to grab the tissue in the middle of the piece, pinch/twist in the middle, and stuff that into the chicken wire. Once the piece is firmly tucked into one of the holes in the chicken wire, fluff up the outer pieces of the tissue paper so that they’re full and ruffly.
Continue stuffing! As you work, it helps a lot to step back and look at the backdrop as a whole to get some perspective. Let that guide your color decisions, and keep stepping back every so often to make sure it’s taking shape in the way that you want it to. Keep stuffing tissue until it’s completely full!

Will It Last?

And there you go: how to make a tissue paper backdrop for parties! We’ve had dozens of people try this project, and it turns out great every time!

When we made this tissue paper backdrop, it stood sturdy for days without falling apart. Be sure to stuff your tissue paper into the chicken wire so that it’s very secure if you plan to have a high-traffic photo area in front of it.

If you try it, be sure to send us a photo of your creation to [email protected]. And for more of our photo backdrop ideas, head right over here! xoxo

Tissue Paper Photo Backdrop

Yield: Tissue Paper Photo Backdrop

Active Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

Estimated Cost: $70

Here's a DIY photo backdrop that packs a major punch and can be used again and again! Create this tissue paper backdrop for your next party or photo project.

Materials

Tissue paper
Photo backdrop frame
Zip ties
Chicken wire

Tools

Scissors
Wire cutters

Instructions

Start by cutting your tissue paper. We used 6 packages of tissue paper that each had 48 sheets, 20×30 inches. We cut each sheet into quarters.
Set up your photo backdrop so that it's at least 8 feet tall and 7 feet wide. Cut your chicken wire to your desired size (our backdrop was 7 feet by 5 feet). Attach the chicken wire to the frame with zip ties, placing a zip tie every foot or two along all edges.
Decide the color arrangement that you'd like for your tissue paper. We did an ombré arrangement, but the sky's the limit, so use your imagination! Plan accordingly depending on where you would like each color. Start stuffing your tissue! We found it easiest to grab the tissue in the middle of the piece, pinch/twist in the middle, and stuff that into the chicken wire. Once the piece is firmly tucked into one of the holes in the chicken wire, fluff up the outer pieces of the tissue paper so that they're full and ruffly.
Continue stuffing! As you work, it helps a lot to step back and look at the backdrop as a whole to get some perspective. Let that guide your color decisions, and keep stepping back every so often to make sure it's taking shape in the way that you want it to. Keep stuffing tissue until it's completely full!

Notes

A few notes. We've gotten lots of questions about moving the backdrop.