Plastic Camera Makeover DIY

hi there! i am excited to share with you a new project i made this week. it's scary doing DIYs for the first time (sometimes it can be a disaster in the experimenting stages!) but this one worked out even better than i'd imagined. here's my idea for giving your cute plastic 'toy' cameras a makeover....

i've been collecting plastic cameras for a few years now. Holga, Polaroid, Lomo and Diana are just a few of the 'toy' cameras that have become so popular for their unpredictable and perfectly imperfect photos. recently i decided to start collection blue cameras because i want to do a home decor display with them when they aren't in use.

i decided to try to paint a few of my plastic cameras that i already owned to match my new collection. here's the 'BEFORE' photo:

the Holga was a gift (so sweet) and the lomo super sampler is a recent eBay purchase. i scored a great deal because the camera was used and in pretty bad cosmetic shape (although it still works perfectly!).

choosing the right paint is the most important part of this DIY. i used indoor/outdoor craft paint. it is very inexpensive and can be purchased at most craft stores. here are some brands that i've tried....

choose the colors you fancy the most and grab a few small paint brushes if you don't already have some.

it took me about three coats of paint (dying completely between each coat) to put a 'base color' on my cameras. i used a tiny brush to do the edging on the Holga (i always prefer to use a small brush over taping edges off, but that would work too). Next, I added the flower design (and my name... i couldn't resist!) to the Holga and a cute little heart to the Lomo. i gave them 24 hours to dry, just to be safe! :)

Hope you enjoyed this! It's a really fun DIY and a great way to makeover items you already own!
XOXO. elsie

Comments

this is so awesome!!

Posted by: Lauren | January 11, 2010 at 07:15 PM

rad! now . . if someone would gift mea holga so i could get started haha!

Posted by: Jeremy | January 11, 2010 at 07:16 PM

super cool!!
xo.

Posted by: tiffany. | January 11, 2010 at 07:18 PM

wow. they are AMAZING!

Posted by: emmaline | January 11, 2010 at 07:19 PM

Sooo cute! I have a fish eye at home that is dying to be yellow and grey!

Posted by: spencer | January 11, 2010 at 07:27 PM

these are awesome!

I got my first plastic toy camera when I was 16..about 8 years ago and have loved them ever since. I love that they are so accessible these days and I don't have to buy them from Russia and China! and I loooveee the idea of refurb them :)

yay

Posted by: Mai | January 11, 2010 at 07:28 PM

So cute! great idea Elsie.

Posted by: Kristin | January 11, 2010 at 07:31 PM

That is AMAZING! You are such a fantastic artist. Love this!

Posted by: Krysten | January 11, 2010 at 07:31 PM

Oh wow, that's super cute! I've always wanted a Holga and they do look pretty ugly, but this just makes them look cute! :)

http://candidnoir.blogspot.com

Posted by: Jazmyn Alexandria | January 11, 2010 at 07:31 PM

Gorgeous!

Posted by: Lex | January 11, 2010 at 07:41 PM

oh wow! this is similar to my sx-70 polaroid camera makeover on design*sponge last week :) so fun. yay for cute cameras!