DIY 50th Birthday Ideas: Selfie Frame & Numbers

If you have been to the blog before, or just know me personally, you know that I LOVE birthdays. And since celebrating a 50th Birthday is a such a special milestone in our lives (especially for us women), it is an event that deserves some extra attention – right??! So I took the Sweet 16 gold glitter yard signs that I made for my daughter’s bday (see down below in tips), and tweaked them a little to make 50th birthday selfie props. And why? Well, because I just happened to have 2 of my dearest friends turning Fabulous and 50 this year – and we ALL deserve a little gold glam on our special day! Here is DIY 50th Birthday Ideas: Selfie Frame & Numbers.

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DIY 50th Birthday Ideas: Selfie Frame & Numbers

I purchased most of my goodies from Hobby Lobby, Target, and Home Depot.

SUPPLIES:

(2) Foam boards – 20″ x 30″ (1- for frame, 1- for numbers)
Box Cutter/Utility Knife (or Electric Knife)
Ruler
Pencil & Black Marker
Tape Measure
Gold Spray Paint
Gold Glitter Spray Paint
Plastic drop cloth
Cardboard Boxes or blocks (when spray painting)
(1) Bag Large White Pom Poms
Glue gun and glue sticks
Silver Glitter Adhesive Letters
*Wooden Dowel (optional)
*Duct Tape or Clear Packing Tape (optional)
*Celebrate sunglasses (optional)

Finished Sizes:

Numbers (19 1/2 inches tall)
Zero (opening in middle is 13 1/2″ x 10″)
Frame (28″ x 20″, opening in middle is 22″ x 14″)

Just a little FYI:

I found my foam boards at Target, and they were 28″ x 20″. But I went ahead and linked to a larger size just to give you more room for the numbers, frame, and openings.

DIY 50th Birthday Ideas: Selfie Frame & Numbers

5 TIPS:

I just wanted to go over a couple of tips before we get started:

You can use these props for any other birthday year (21st, 30th, 40th, 60th, 70th, etc.).
Use the same tutorial for sorority letters, school team events, etc.
You can reuse them for all of your friends!
These would be fun for a party photo booth, or in front of a backdrop or background.
You can make them larger – just use bigger foam boards – and make yard signs like I did.

Click here for the yard sign version.

Ok – let’s get to the 5 steps for making the selfie frame and numbers!

DIY 50th Birthday Ideas: Selfie Frame & Numbers

5 Steps:

#1: Trace Numbers & Frame

#2: Cut Out Numbers & Frame

#3: Spray Paint Gold & Gold Glitter

#4: Glue Pom Poms

#5: Decorate Frame

(Optional: Tape Wooden Dowel for selfie stick)

STEP 1: Trace Numbers and Frame

The first thing you will want to do is trace out your 5-0 and your frame, onto the foam boards.

Numbers:

I just sketched mine by hand so that both numbers would fit – longways.

And you can tell that my zero might have gotten squashed a little bit – haha!!

So I recommend starting with your zero first, then sketching the five afterwards.

Frame:

For the frame you will just make hash markings with your pencil at 3 inch intervals, and then connect the markings into one long line.

I used this method with the hash marks just to keep the line somewhat straight.

Here is a picture of how I marked the corners.

Basically, just put 2 rulers together at 3 inches each to find your corner point. The blue line (pictured below) is just to show you what the corner will look like when it is done.

TIP: If you are using a larger foam board, just change out the dimensions to fit what works best for you.

Just don’t forget to leave enough room in the middle to fit several people INSIDE of the frame.

And here’s another picture just so you can see it in a wider version.

I’m a visual person, so sometimes it helps to see things at all angles – lol!!

STEP 2: Cut Out Numbers & Frame

Now it’s time to cut out your numbers and frame.

I decided to use the utility knife on this project versus the electric knife that I used for the Yard Signs just so I could compare them.

The pros: this method was easier because you didn’t have to worry about the electrical cord, and it didn’t hurt my hand as much.
The cons: it was harder to cut “exact” curves, and didn’t look as nice. There were also more small fragments that were left, so I had to go back and “clean them up” to make them look more professional.

Either way – PLEASE be careful because these blades ARE EXTREMELY SHARP!!!!

Numbers:

You can see the fragments here, but it could be this particular foam board too I guess?

TIP: Anyway – just be careful to gently push out the center of the zero so that up don’t accidentally bend the number itself.

Frame:

Same tip here – gently push out the middle opening of the frame.

As you can tell, they are not as straight and sharp as the Yard signs.

But thankfully, the pom poms will be added and you can “hide” or cover some of those not-so-best-cuts – LOL!!

STEP 3: Spray Paint Gold & Gold Glitter

Next you’re ready to spray paint your numbers and frame with gold metallic paint, and then gold glitter paint.

FYI: This part is different than the Yard Signs. I did not use the sprinkle glitter on this project because the glitter got a little messy on the yard signs, and I didn’t want it to fall off onto someone’s clothing.

So you will spray the gold paint onto the numbers and frame, and let dry for about 30 minutes – 1 hour. Do not spray too much or it will cause the foam board to bubble!!

With the gold paint.

With the glitter paint – and this paint did actually spray glitter on, and not just glitter glaze.

Let the glitter paint dry about 30 minutes – 1 hour also.

STEP 4: Glue Pom Poms

Now it’s time to hot glue your white pom poms onto the sides of the numbers and frame.

TIP: It’s a good idea to do a practice run of “spacing” on these pom poms just to get an idea of how many you’ll need, and to help “hide” some of those not-so-good cuts (that I mentioned earlier).

Numbers:

The 5 really needed more help – LOL – so all of my pom poms weren’t spaced out exactly like I would have wanted. But hey – it’s all good!

Once you like the spacing, go ahead and hot glue your pom poms on.

Frame:

STEP 5: Decorate Frame

(and optional selfie stick to numbers)

You’re almost there!!

Now it’s time to add fun 50th birthday phrases, quotes, or wishes to your frame.

I used silver glitter adhesive alphabet letters and numbers so that I could just stick them right onto the frame…BUT they did not stick well because of the glitter paint.

So I ended up using hot glue, and they worked fine.

TIP: Make sure you buy or make letters/numbers that fit your frame width. Remember how we measured 3 inches for the frame? You will need them to fit, so that’s why I chose the 2″ alphabet letters.