Parenting Guru: DIY Camera Bag for the Mom Who Clicks!

I am one of those moms who clicks, and I mean clicks with my camera all of the time. I'm actually a professional photographer, but I started out as a mom with a camera and a mission who was always trying to capture great shots of my three daughters.

One of the things I have discovered is a love for bags. Not just any bag, but a bag with a purpose. And lots of style. That's the issue with camera bags, they tend to be big and bulky and look like backpacks that you take along with you on your camping trip. No way do I want to be seen with one of those.

So my wonderful business partner found out how to make your own styling camera bag inexpensively and fast! We discovered this after dishing out hundreds of dollars for a styling camera bag (which we do love), but could have saved us a small fortune. Now, for under $35 you can make a nice bag for the paparazzi-mommy in your life.

What you need:

  1. A Large over-sized handbag. A nice, styling diaper bag works well also. Rectangular or square shaped bags work best.

  2. 1/2" to 1" foam (about 1 yard worth)

  3. Hot glue gun with lots of glue sticks

  4. Scraps of fabric to line the foam inserts (or purchase nice fabric that matches the bag you will use)

  5. Velcro tape (optional)

  6. Scissors, marker, pins

Instructions:

  1. Measure the bottom of the bag, length and width. Then measure and cut the same size foam. Take a marker and write "bottom" on it so you don't forget what piece of foam this is for.

  2. Measure the long sides of the bag. Then measure and cut two identical size pieces of foam for these two sides. Mark these pieces "sides".

  3. Your should now have 3 pieces of foam. They should be cut in rectangles or squares (no need to round the corners of the foam when cutting).

  4. Get your glue gun plugged in and ready to go.

  5. Next, lay each foam piece on the fabric one at time. Cut the fabric to cover the entire piece of foam as if you were wrapping it like a gift. Leave enough to extra fabric to overlap the foam the same way you would for wrapping a present. [Note, if you want to have nicely finished fabric, be sure to leave plenty of extra fabric when cutting then turn in the fabric about 1/4' around the sides and hot glue that like a hem so the ends do not fray.]

  6. Use pins as necessary to hold the fabric in place as you wrap the foam.

  7. Hot glue and start adhering the glue on the underside of the fabric so it doesn't show when you adhere it. In other words, wherever you would put the tape on a gift box use the hot glue gun on the opposite side like an envelope instead.

  8. Repeat this for each piece of foam.

  9. Once this is done, insert these pieces in the bag. You can use Velcro tape if you prefer to hold the foam pieces in place. I found this wasn't necessary, the foam seems to stay in place without it.

  10. OPTIONAL. If you want to have dividers, measure appropriately and repeat steps 5 to 7. Use Velcro tape to hold inserts in place.

  11. Now you can insert the foam pieces into the bag. Voila! You now have padded protection for your camera, lenses and other paraphernalia.

So check it out, it's easy, it's fast, and it's fun!

When Tina's not busy clicking away, she manages her parenting blog Parent Grapevine and photography blog, Moms Who Click.