From the beginning, the Lord has blessed me with this ministry to serve Him and you.
Below are my offerings for the '09 theme. I strive to show you easy-to make decorations and keep the costs as low as possible.
The goal is to create something memorable for the child who sees it.
We want him to connect what he sees and hears to the fun he has at Vacation Bible School, and know it was really all about Jesus.
And if I don't bring you a laugh or at least a smile along the way, I haven't fully done my job! 
Love, Bobbie
"Boomerang Express" Vacation Bible School Decorating Help
| Decorating Ideas & How-To's | Resource Links | V-M@il! | Help for Any VBS Theme |
Boomerang Express"It all comes back to Jesus"
"Hop on board! Take a thrilling ride across the Land Down Under with LifeWay's Boomerang Express! As kids wind their way across Australia, they'll discover the vastness of God's love, and they'll learn that no matter where they go or what they do in life -- it all comes back to Jesus."
Motto: Follow! Worship! Live through Him!
Scripture: "God's love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent His One and Only Son into the world
so that we might live through Him." (1 John 4:9, HCSB)
Decorating Ideas and How-To's
Bobbie's Mini-Blog 
August 27 -- I slept 'til noon today! And I've been lounging ever since.
How are y'all doing with your decorations? I'm thinking about the Great Barrier Reef. Do y'all like to have aspects of one theme so similar to the previous theme? I mean, there was a reef in "Outrigger Island" and yes, that means sometimes you can re-use decorations. I guess I want everything to be completely different. I'm just goofy that way.
Folks in the Gulf -- please keep tabs on Hurricane Gustav.
Okay, VBS people, let's go... Aussie
Craft Review
With an eye on doing something around the Great Barrier Reef, I bought this yarn and pom kit for $1.99 at A.C. Moore. It's sure to be available elsewhere. This little kit to make a clownfish is composed of three tied bundles of orange yarn (about 3" pieces), and two tied bundles of a mix of black and white yarn. The fins and tail are made of "foamie," with the black tips to be glued onto the pale orange. And large white and small black poms make the eyes.
I put this thing together and did a horrible job! I can't believe how sloppy I was with the tacky glue, and I can't tell you how awkward it is to hold the yarn bundles together with that glue. I've got the most mis-shapen clownfish ever made, and no, I'm not going to show you a picture of it. 
But the point is this -- you can easily purchase one kit and duplicate the components. Facing facts, we know we can't afford to spend $2 on each fish we'd like for each child. But we can cut yarn and hold it together with a small rubber band, and we can cut fins from card stock and Sharpie-on the black tips. Just a thought. 
Sydney Sails
The exterior architecture of the Sydney Opera House is one-of-a-kind, and looks to me like a collection fo sails sans masts and booms.
Here's how you can bring this unique shape to your VBS decorating with two sheets of card stock. I recommend making this project with regular copy paper first to get the feel of how it goes together.
- To make the small table-model/centerpiece, print a small sail and a large sail.
- Cut away the outside line of the shapes.
- Fold on the line along the tabbed edge, and snip the individual tabs apart.
- Apply a line of glue onto the tabbed piece, and position the non-tabbed piece over it. Weight the joint until dry. If the joint has a little excess paper showing, snip it off with scissors. If a bit of printline is showing, touch it up with Wite-Out.
- Fold up the tabs at the bottom of each sail.
- Now play with a base of cardboard or foamcore, about 10" by 10". Practice placing your sails back-to-back, using the bottom tabs to keep them positioned with tape. The tabs are intended to be straight across from each other on the base. Placement of the tabs determines the shape of the sails.
- When you've found the posititoning that you like, mark small lines on your base to indicate the location of the fold of the tab.
- Use a small knife to slice through the base at the lines you've marked. Now you have slots for your tabs, nice and clean.
- Now trim your base to the size you like and decorate it if you want to. Consider a piece of scrapbooking paper; find it in craft stores, 12" x 12", most pieces under $1.00. You'll need to slice through the paper from the underside of the base to reveal your tab slots.
- Insert the tabs into the base and secure onto the back side with tape. Practice with scraps of card stock to make a fill-in triangle between the sails.
Keifer
the
Koala
We certainly need the presence of a koala in our decorating, and koalas are associated with eucalyptus leaves, of which there are many varieties. Above left is the type I found in a 16-ounce bunch at Michael's; the price was $9.99 and I only bought that much because I had a half-off coupon. (Smaller 4-ounce bundles were less than $3.00.) With no luck in finding a toy koala locally, I tried amazon.com. I got this little guy for $6.24, and his face looked awfully familiar... Reminded me of Grandpa Munster!
I couldn't figure out how to make a eucalyptus tree with a branch for Keifer to sit on while he munches leaves, so I've settled on placing him in a nice portable basket. Here you see Keifer and his nephew Kilroy, surrounded by the leaves they love! I printed an Australian flag onto card stock, taped it onto a wooden skewer, and pushed it into the branches for a finishing touch.
Leftover stems of eucalyptus leaves can be used in vases of varying heights, or placed on windowsills, similar to the way we use evergreen branches at Christmas time.
By the way, a koala is not a true bear. It's a marsupial, like kangaroos and wombats.
Kangaroos
From the Texas State Library, here's a pattern for a simple kangaroo craft or decoration.
"Cut out a mother kangaroo, baby kangaroo, and the pouch... glue the pouch onto the mother kangaroo’s abdomen, leaving the top open... slip the joey (baby kangaroo) into and out of the pouch."
Make it any size you like, and either paint or use felt to give your 'roo some dimension. I left mine plain, and took a scrap bit of card stock, about 2" wide, folded up one end, and glued it to the back of the 'roo.
It stands up nicely!
Here's a kangaroo silhouette for a stand-up prop or signage.
Or use as is for small cut-outs, name tags, etc.
You can get two nice-sized 'roos from a standard 9" x 12" piece of felt.
Click this image to yield a copy-paper-sized enlargement.
The Necessary Room
You can promote your VBS presentation ahead of time in a subtle but fun way by making signs for the restroom doors.
American signs read "Men" and "Women," but the Aussies use "Blokes" and "Sheilas."
Show Your Colors!
Green and yellow are Australia's national colors. A number of their sports teams use them for uniforms, and they serve as general "party" colors. So let's run with that! Crepe-paper streamers are dirt cheap and found in any party department. Also look for paper garland, balloons, pennants, and tissue balls in green and yellow. Paper plates, napkins, plastic forks/spoons and cups can be had in these colors. VBS is certainly a party, right?
The striped fabric (above right) will become window/doorway swags or bunting. These two colors together in a church setting will surely be noticeable! To break up that stripe a bit, we can sprinkle kangaroo and boomerang cut-outs from vivid green and yellow construction papers or felt, and pin them to the fabric.
If spirals are a part of your desired atmosphere, here are a couple of freebies to run through your printer. With yellow and green copy paper you can make all you want for next to nothing! Just print and cut on the line. Reinforce the smallest points at the tops of the spirals with a little square of masking tape, and it's ready for a thumbtack or a paper-punch hole for a string hanger. When displayed, they're about 18" high.
Look what I found at our local "dollar" store in July! For my dollar, I got a package of three green spirals, with -- believe it or don't -- little cut-outs of Mexican snowmen with musical instruments dangling from the bottom. We can easily snip those cuties off, and add a boomerang instead.
Emus on the Horizon
Here's fabric from a WalMart "get-rid-of-it" shelf. At just $1 per yard, I bought plenty. First I thought of making a kangaroo with it, and then I found this picture of an emu. How can this fuzzy fiber become a huge bird? I'm not sure yet, but I believe some blue insulating styrofoam will come into play, as well as some really sturdy cardboard.
"The Lord is My Rock"
Ayers Rock is roughly in the center of the Australian continent. I intend to cut 1/2" blue insulating styrofoam in the shape of that rock, and drape this fabric over it. This shimmery cloth was $1 per yard on a WalMart "get-rid-of-it" shelf, and I have 4 yards.
I think this prop should have a sign reading "The Lord is My Rock" from Psalm 18:2. You can make a nifty metal-look plaque with a foil cookie sheet (I found a package of 2 for $1.88 at WalMart) and this template. I know what you're saying... "But Miss Bobbie, the lettering is backward!" Yes it is, on purpose. Stay with me a moment! Print my template -- it will fit on a sheet of copy paper and will be a good size for your plaque. Now let me show you how to make it.
You need a somewhat padded work surface, such as an ironing board or a folded towel. Center the print-out on the foil sheet, using masking tape to hold it in place. Then use an ordinary ball-point pen, and trace over the lettering. Turn it over. Now that lettering is raised like a real plaque!
Next, trim away the outer rim of the cookie sheet, carefully -- the cut edges are sharp! -- and then cut along the edges of the print-out. Use a black Sharpie to make your lettering stand out. Remove the print-out and draw a 1/2" line within the perimeter of your now 8-1/2" by 11" plaque. This line is easy reference for your next step of covering that exterior edge with black electrical tape.
To add rigidity, I cut blue insulating styrofoam the same size, covered its edges with black electrical tape, and used tacky glue to hold the foil to the foam.
Lastly, I added 4 screws to the corners for a finished look. Mom and Ken were impressed --
what do you think?
Aboriginal Art
If you check the fabrics on the Resource Links page, you'll see that the "Abos" of Australia have a distinctive way of expressing themselves. Their prints are like nothing I've ever seen. The closest to them that I could find were these batiks, and the designs are growing on me. I've made some hang-anywhere flags from the material, shown here on a tension rod. These flags can offer a splash of color wherever it's needed. While mine are sewn, you can simply cut yours with pinking shears and run a line of tacky glue on the back to form the rod pocket. You could also run some cord through them to mount absolutely anywhere.
Their Very Own
Australian aborigines make up less that 1% of the entire continent's poulation. But they have their own flag!
It's easy to follow the graphic image above and make one. Mine is made from flame-retardant industrial canvas, because it's what I have access to. It's 36" by 24", and the yellow circle is 12" in diameter. I finished it off with a black polypropylene webbing header, and black-finish brass grommets. There isn't another one like it! Maybe a geography teacher would like to have it when VBS is over.
Make yours from posterboard, or paint fabric, or even sew one like I did. Hang it from its upper edge or staple its left side to a dowel rod; now you've got a stick flag! Put a message in that big yellow circle. Possibilities.
Bug Off!
Here's an unexpected discovery: The Gnat Hat is as simple as a bucket hat with corks dangling from string around the brim. It is claimed that this hat, when worn ouside, creates its own swatting motion with the movement of your head, thus keeping the bugs away.
I purchased a black bucket hat (a variety of colors were offered) at Michael's for just $1.00. In the craft department of the same store I bought a package of 12 corks for $1.99. I'll be making this hat and testing it deeper into the summer -- after dusk when the gnats come out.
Boomerangs
For decorating, I'd like to see some huge boomerangs on the walls. I'll be making mine with with the ubiquitous 1/2" blue insulating styrofoam. At left is a printable pattern you can use for hand-sized boomerangs or enlarging . These could be painted in any colors, and I know my readers are creative!
For a craft, my pattern could be printed on card stock, and cut out ahead of time. Give the kids some crayons or markers and let them decorate boomerangs to take home.
But this handy shape is can serve us in other ways. 'Rangs can be hung from the ceiling, a doorway, a light fixture. They can be the signs on a directional signpost. They can be solid-color cut-outs for random placement in windows, on curtains, over doorways. They can be name tags, tickets, invitations. They can be cut from wood and strung on fishline as quiet wind chimes. Versatile!
Down-Under Trivia
- Errol Flynn -- actor
- Evonne Goolagong -- Aboriginal tennis player
- Mel Gibson -- actor, film producer
- Nicole Kidman -- actress
- Olivia Newton-John -- singer, actress
- Paul Hogan -- actor ("Crocodile Dundee")
- Peter Finch -- actor
- Steve Irwin -- the "Crocodile Hunter"
Danger! Danger?
These are actual road signs made and used in Australia! Click on any of them below and print out on regular paper or card stock. They'll be about 7-1/2" square. Or use the print to enlarge in your projector, and make some fill-the-wall signs using orange posterboard and a black marker.
"Play Your Didgeridoo, Blue..."
This aborginal instrument can be made in different ways. The real ones are sometimes made from eucalyptus logs that have been hollowed out by termites. 
Others are made from bamboo. I shall attempt to make one from PVC pipe, painting it a solid dark brown, then adding some abo-style art in the way of a lot of painted dots.
Hear a Didgeridoo
Make a PVC Didgeridoo
Aussie Signage
Here's an option for signs that puts Australia in the forefront. When you click on this image, you'll get an Aussie outline that you can print out full size on ordinary copy paper or card stock. Check your office-supply store for coloured papers, too! The shape of our theme country allows lots of room for lettering. You can also use the print-out in your projector to enlarge the outline to any size.
LifeWay Site Rotations
Worship Rally Central
Bible Study Outback
Music Opera House
Missions Harbor
Crafts Crossing
Recreation Rock
G'Day Café
Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
I'm going to make a poster of these song lyrics, just for fun! Listen to this classic tune here.
SPOKEN: There's an old Australian stockman lying, dying. He gets himself up
onto one elbow and 'e turns to his mates, who are all gathered around and 'e says:
Watch me wallabies feed, mate, Watch me wallabies feed,
CHORUS:
Tie me kangaroo down, sport, Tie me kangaroo down
Keep me cockatoo cool, Curl, Keep me cockatoo cool
'n' take me koala back, Jack, Take me koala back
Let me abos go loose, Lew, Let me abos go loose
And mind me platypus duck, Bill, Mind me platypus duck
Play your didgeridoo, Blue, Play your didgeridoo
Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred, Tan me hide when I'm dead...
So we tanned his hide when he died, Clyde, And that's it hangin' on the shed!!
Tie me kangaroo down, sport, Tie me kangaroo down
Tie me kangaroo down, sport, Tie me kangaroo down
They're a dangerous breed, mate, So watch me wallabies feed
Altogether now!
Tie me kangaroo down, sport, Tie me kangaroo down
Ah, don't go acting the fool, Curl, Just keep me cockatoo cool
Altogether now! (CHORUS)
He lives somewhere out on the track, Mac, So take me koala back
Altogether now! (CHORUS)
They're of no further use, Lew, So let me abos go loose
Altogether now! (CHORUS)
Ah, don't let 'im go running amok, Bill, Just mind me platypus duck
Altogether now! (CHORUS)
Ah, like, keep playin' 'til I shoot thru, Blue, Play your didgeridoo
Altogether now! (CHORUS)
Altogether now!
| Decorating Ideas & How-To's | Resource Links | V-M@il! | Help for Any VBS Theme |
I'm here to serve! Your sister in Christ, Bobbie
