Backdrops

[Whitney]

Hi everybody! I am one of the VBS directors for my church and I was just wondering what kind of material all of you use to paint your backdrops on. We have discussed using cardboard, poster board, sheets, butcher paper. What works the best for you guys? Thanks. :)

[nana]

Hi Whitney,
We have painted on paper and on sheets, and we think the sheets are best. They fold and store nicely until you need them, and I think they are inexpensive considering the area they cover. Of course, everyone has their own idea, but this is what we have done for several years now and I wouldn't change. Good luck with your VBS, we started last night and everyone is having a ball, even the adult helpers and teachers!
Nana

[jruckman]

Hello, Whitney.
For murals we used to always use sheets of butcher paper taped together, but finally figured out that starting with a big sheet (instead of taping together) eliminated a tedious step. We've tried bed sheets, but the paint (we use mostly tempra except for special effects) soaked through and was messy. This year we tried vinyl-backed paper painter's cloths (available at Wal-Mart for about $5 as I recall) and really liked that. It's really light weight, which makes it easier to hang, and the vinyl backing cut down on the mess during painting. The paper held the color well.

We use cardboard for the smaller cut-out pieces, such as the carousel animals this year. Our local appliance store delivers refrigerator boxes to us. We cut the boxes to use the non-printed inside surfaces, prime with a white paint so that the tempra colors are more vivid, and then project the designs onto to them to trace and paint. We used to use butcher paper for those smaller decorations too, but like the sturdy durability of the cardboard. (not to mention that the cardboard is free!)
Good luck to you.
Janet

[kimbak]

We painted our backdrop for the first time this year. I bought King size bed sheets at the thrift store, they seemed brand new. Our main backdrop is 15' wide so I had to sew 2 of them together. They worked just fine, although they do soak up alot of the paint. We just used regular housepaint black, white, red, blue & yellow and mixed colors to make whatever color we needed.