Make your Own Projector with a Smartphone and Box!

A quick tutorial on how to make your own projector to create large images with. Simply use a box, a smartphone, and cut out image!

Have you ever wanted to make a large cut-out but are not the best artist? I came across this problem when I was decorating our school for a Dr. Seuss family night.

I absolutely love all the whimsical Dr. Seuss characters and I really wanted some big poster cut-outs of them on the wall as decorations but I also needed to stay on a small budget.

I found out how to make a simple DIY projector box and I went to town creating cute Dr. Seuss characters.

This is one of the cute Horton signs for the Dr. Seuss themed bingo night, so I thought I’d show you a quick tutorial on how to make your own projector to create large images! It’s nothing fancy, just a box and a cell phone.

How to Make Your Own Projector

I’ve used this DIY projector box for quite a few projects when I needed bigger images than I can get out of my printer.

I cut out the image I wanted with my Cricut Explore. You could also cut out a picture that you printed from online or from a magazine. You really just need the silhouette of the image.

For this project, I was cutting out larger letters and numbers to hang on curtains for a red carpet themed graduation party.

I used a small box and cut off one end. I then placed the image inside a clear sheet protector and taped it on the box so it hinges open.

Find a bright flashlight app on your smartphone and place it in the box with the light facing out. Tape the sheet protector so it doesn’t move.

Having to make your own projector is high-tech, right?? It even gets so much more complicated!

This is my fancy DIY image projector facing the wall with a piece of poster board taped up. You can move the chair in and out to get the image bigger or smaller.

Then just trace around it with a pencil. It’s a very rough outline of the image you want but it works!

Making a Large Dr. Seuss Decoration

For Horton, after I traced him out using the projector, I pulled up a picture of it and free-handed it from there. I just used a black sharpie to outline everything before I cut him out.

I painted the tree pink, the eyes white and then drew the pupils on with the sharpie again. He came out pretty cute!

I did the same thing with the Lorax but I was not as happy with my painting skills on that one:(

Click here to check out the rest of the Dr. Seuss decorations. I used a similar method when I used a projector to make a large United States string art wall decor.

If you’d like to save this DIY projector box tutorial for later, simply hover over the top left of the image below and PIN It now!