Disclosure: I received free product as compensation for sharing about Wallternatives, but I only write about products that I feel I can honestly recommend to my readers. This post also includes affiliate links. Find my full disclosure policy here.
We are gearing up for an epic Stars Wars birthday party in just a few weeks.
Jackson and his best friend will be celebrating together, and they’ve dreamed up a production that would inspire George Lucas! Since we don’t have movie millions to spend, we’re getting creative and going the DIY route with the party. And I can’t wait to share with you all these fun Star Wars birthday party ideas we have.
Starting with this one…
for a Star Wars photo booth that we made with scrap plywood, paint and some awesome vinyl decals from Wallternatives.
We started out with a large scrap of plywood leftover from the cornice in my home office and craft room makeover. (If I was buying or cutting plywood to make a backdrop, I would have chosen a piece slightly wider than ours. But we wanted to use what we had on hand, and it’s big enough for the kids.)
I painted the plywood with a couple of coats of DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint in Carbon.
Once the paint was fully dry, we randomly applied the yellow star decals to the board.
We used one set of the Stars Vinyl Pattern Pack from Wallternatives’ dorm decor collection. The set, which which is available in 21 different colors, included 70 stars — more than enough for our photo backdrop.
Since the stars were small, we were able to just peel and stick them. For larger vinyl decals, though, you’ll want to follow these instructions for how to apply them. (Check out my chalkboard menu post for more tips for applying vinyl.)
If you’re applying vinyl to a freshly painted wall or surface, you should wait at least two weeks for the paint to fully cure. If you live in a cold, wet or humid environment, you may want to wait as long as four weeks before applying.
Jackson and our neighbors had fun posing in front of the Star Wars backdrop and hamming it up for the camera!
I think young Anakin is trying to choke me!
She may be the sassiest Darth Vader I’ve ever seen!
The kids look great posing agains the star-covered backdrop with their Star Wars props.
But I wanted to bring a little movie magic to their photos. So, I created a series of photo overlays so I can send each kid at the party a custom movie poster along with our thank you notes.
I’m including links to these free downloadable overlays that you can add to your photos in PicMonkey or using software like Photoshop. Just scroll down.
I have versions for 4X6, 5X7 and 8X10 photos. Just click on the links below.
4X6 Star Wars Photo Overlay – Logo on Bottom
4X6 Star Wars Photo Overlay – Logo on Top
5X7 Star Wars Photo Overlay – Logo on Bottom
5X7 Star Wars Photo Overlay – Logo on Top
8X10 Star Wars Photo Overlay – Logo on Bottom
8X10 Star Wars Photo Overlay – Logo on Top
May the Force be with you!
Felicia Kemp
Just wanted to let you know I loved this post so much I decided to purchase the same stars- at ~$12 I thought they were reasonable. Reviewing my order, the shipping was “-” but after purchase it was ~$6 for the shipping!Half the price of the product! Just wanted to give you and your readers a head’s up.
Atta Girl Amy
Thanks for letting me know, Felicia. If I remember correctly, those vinyl decals ship in a mailing tube, so I bet that’s the reason for the $6 charge. Even so, the company definitely should have let you know the shipping charges ahead of time. I hope that’s was a glitch in their system and not how things normally work with them. I’ll check with my contacts and pass along your feedback. Despite the high shipping costs, I hope your photo backdrop turned out well.
Lindsay @ Frenchie
These are so awesome, we’ve got some Star Wars lovers in this house and they’d totally dig a Star Wars party!
Dee @CupcakesandCrowbars
This looks like a GREAT party! And I LOVE Wallternatives!
Atta Girl Amy
Aren’t they great? I can’t wait to try some of the removable wallpaper.
Kaysi Gardner
This is AWESOME!!!! My boys would love this!! Thanks for sharing this awesome idea
Mrs Major Hoff
I know some boys that will love this! Thanks for the idea!
laura @eye candy creative studio
this is amazing & what a genius idea! Can’t wait to see this party! =)
lisa at Mabey She made It
what a fun idea!
Heidi @ Happiness is Homemade
It looks great, Amy! What a fantastic idea!
jillene@inkhappi
How fun is this?!! Darling photos!
Steph @ Crafting in the Rain
So cool Amy! I love everything about this, and I hope my son loves Star Wars 🙂
Ashley @ My Craftily Ever After
that is seriously amazing! will you come plan my next birthday party?