In the past month, we’ve been doing large scale backdrops. Why? Because the wedding industry is trying to sell you on a million little handcrafted decorations, and I’m pretty sure you have a job. Like, a full time job, where they don’t let you use glue sticks. But I’m also pretty sure you want something stylish and affordable for your wedding… ideally that doesn’t come in 150 teensy parts.
To help solve this problem, we flew out APW’s very own wedding designer Michelle Edgemont from Brooklyn, and cooked up some go big or go home projects for you. First, we gave you this bright no sew wedding backdrop. Then, the surreal cloud backdrop (also known as the most magical thing we’ve ever made). Next? We did this amazingly simple hexagon box installation. Today, we thought we’d end with something a little geek chic, and not too crafty—the floppy disk heart.
Now, we’re not going to get all donut cake on you. Obviously you make this buy buying floppy disks, and sticking them to the wall. But we learned a few things along the way that are worth passing along. (And not just that Maddie is too young to remember what real floppy disks looked like, back in the days that we called these suckers hard disks.)
- Floppy disks are not free. It seems like they should be, since they are relatively useless in our new digital age. But they still cost cash money, and the size of your installation is going to have a direct correlation to your costs. If you have the time, eBay has better prices and inventory than Amazon.
- That said, go big. I liked our heart, but part of me wanted our heart to be the biggest heart ever. But then we ran out of floppy disks. (You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need. Etc.)
- There are now limited colors of floppy disks available. And since these are not, apparently, being marketed to us, they come in multi-color packs. I really think they should come in packs of neon pink and glitter, but nobody asked me. So, if you’re buying a set but only want to use the four neon pink disks, you’re going to run up your costs pretty quickly.
- There are all white and all black packets of floppy disks, and I think a black, or black and white heart would be bang-up.
HACK:If you don’t have permission to affix things to the walls of your venue, but you are in love with this project, there is a hack! You can buy a Pipe and Drape Backdrop ($139). Then create this installation on a piece foam core, which you can affix to your Pipe and Drape Backdrop with Gorilla Tape. You WILL need a vehicle large enough to transport your foam core. All that said—this is a pretty easy hack, and it would look pretty damn rad.
SUPPLIES:
- Neon Floppy Disks: Around 150 for a similar sized installation.
- Poster Putty: Eight packs.
- (Free) Heart Blueprint, if you want to copy ours exactly
COST ESTIMATE: $175 (or more, depending on inventory and if you want to get really specific on colors).
TIME ESTIMATE: Installation will take about an hour.
Let’s say you want to add a little geekery to your wedding, but aren’t ready to act out a scene from Star Wars. Or perhaps you’re just really into the 80’s (in which case, may we suggest hunting eBay for this Chanel cassette clutch to go with your outfit?) Or maybe your geometry skills are better than your art skills and you just want a cool backdrop that doesn’t require any drawing, painting or papier-mâché (we feel that.) If any of the above are the case, then this floppy disk heart is your jam. If you want to create something other than a heart, the sky is your limit, and it will look all 8-bit awesome. 1UP to anyone who re-purposes it in their home and sends us a picture!
