Our Final Decorations

[MStraub]

I wanted to post some pictures of how our Son Rock decorations turned out...as I have utilized a few of the ideas in the forums to our advantage. I wish I had visited sooner, as I did not discover them until later...but at least I can get a jump on some ideas and information sharing for next year.

Overall, our VBS was a success. We have a smaller church than most, probably with about 30-35 kids in regular services...but was able to double that for VBS with about 65-70 each night. Our church normally had minimal decorating in years past and I thought it left some room for improvement. Wiht the effort put forth this year...the church members, kids, volunteers, etc...all got more involved and seemed to have a great time...just a quick testament on how decorations can help set the mood and inspire others.

I used a variety of materials: purchased, salvaged and donated...I can provide details if anyone wants as to what I did or how I did something if you want, just did not want to bore anyone with a lengthy post.

Thanks to everyone that posted their ideas...was a great help.

[kidstime805]

These look great! Very inspiring. Our VBS starts next week and this gives us some cool ideas. Thanks for posting!

[MStraub]

Sorry about a 2nd message, but left a couple pictures out that I tried adding the first time...this is the kitchen area, aka - Hungry Bear Lodge.

[TrinityJen]

Great Pictures - Yes we want details more and more details!

[flutist14_99]

Yes, please more details! I also attend a smaller church and it is so good to another small church also put's effort into the decorations!
Couple questions...
1) How did you do the fireplace?
2) I like your offering goal post. What did you use to show the kids where they were on the marker?

[MStraub]

I tend to ramble, so I apologize in advance for not being brief...

The fireplace was one box, around 5' tall and 4' wide and about 12" deep.

1. Cut 2 horizontal slits in it: One about 10-12 inches from the top and the same in the bottom (leaving around 8-10 inches on either side)
2. Cut a vertical slit down the middle, connecting the two horizontal slits (looks like a sideways capital H)
3. Fold the resulting flaps in and secure them (I actually used zip ties after i figured out that duct tape would not hold)
4. I painted the top portion (everything above the top horizontal cut) brown to resemble a wooden mantle (add darker lines to a lighter base to get a more realistic wooden finish)
5. The bottom portion was painted gray
6. The middle portion and flaps, I painted a base gray to resemble morter and then different color rocks (mixing gray, black and browns for difference colors) to resemble the stone fireplace.
7. I painted the inside black.
8. The fake logs are carpet rolls cut up, painted brown with black accents / lines.
9. The flames were just foam board painted different shades of red, orange and yellow (if you are using craft paint, foam board is great...paint goes on well and it dries so quick you can do multiple coats / colors in just a few minutes)


The mission / offerering goal post was a carpet roll I was able to get for free from a local carpet store (about 15 feet tall). I just painted it brown. The base was a recycled project from last year...a 4x4 post on a base, but you can also secure it by putting it in a 5 gallon bucket and using concrete. For the markers, I cut out pcs of cardboard (6x18), painted them brown and then added the $. To track their progress, I cut out a skunk from foam board, painted it and attached it to the poll at the week's total offering (I secured it well, but made it so that i could lean it over and move the skunk up the poll).

For the skunk and the other animals (and the fire pattern), i used the woodworkign designs from one of the websites posted on the forums (the winfield collection).

The thing that made the offering / poll so important to the kids is that if they met their goal, they were allowed to throw pies in the faces of either me (the attached picture in the middle), my wife (VBS Director this year) or our Youth minister...they did meet their goal!






Yes, please more details! I also attend a smaller church and it is so good to another small church also put's effort into the decorations!
Couple questions...
1) How did you do the fireplace?
2) I like your offering goal post. What did you use to show the kids where they were on the marker?

[flutist14_99]

Excellent and great instructions!

[stamptabulous]

MStraub,

How did you make the stone wall on the opening set? It looks so real!
Also, in the photo of the fireplace, how did you do the wall covering?

Thanks in advance!
Laurie

[MStraub]

Good questions...you actually pegged the only 2 items I did not make myself...the stone wall is a real wall that is in front of the church's baptistry, just worked well with the theme.

The wall covering was one of the few things I actually purchased. I was going to try to create this on my own based on the instructions in the book, but when I went to our local art / teacher supply store (called Lattas here), they had a roll that was 50' x 4' tall of it for under $20...saved a lot of time. One time saver...I used masking tape to secure it to a wall. If you try to hide the tape on the back of the paper, etc...it will take a while...so i decided to just tape the top and then go back with a 6" slice of brown butcher paper to use as a border / trim piece.

The kitchen area is typically not decorated...i decided to this year because its the one time the kids are sitting and gives them time to look around. They ended up liking the fireplace, wall hangings (mounts made of foam board which my kids have in their room now), large sign (one girl actually took it home to hang it in her room) and outhouse (which I used to cover the trashcan...the kids were actually excited to throw their trash away).

Matt







MStraub,

How did you make the stone wall on the opening set? It looks so real!
Also, in the photo of the fireplace, how did you do the wall covering?

Thanks in advance!
Laurie

[Tlynne]

MStraub,
Love the fireplace. very creative. I am planning on doing this for our Hungry Bear Lodge as well. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Tess

[faith]

Absolutely love it! Great 3-D affects.