Crafts for VBS~OutBack Adventure!

For us, VBS (we call it SummerQuest) has come and gone. Ours was the first week in June. It was a great week for us! Our theme was chosen from Lifeway's Boomerang Express.

For the past 3 years (I think) I have been craft director. A 'mega church' does not always mean 'mega budget' and we do have a few $$ to spend and we like to look for items that the children will enjoy making and not be trashed as soon as they walk out the door. SummerQuest is also for 1st - 6th grade. And additional challenge to find the right craft for the older children/tweens. And we had plenty of them this year!

Kits from the Craft houses are great, but expensive. Some children can complete them in 5 minutes and you still have to entertain them for 15 + minutes. If we find a craft that works, we will use it 2-3 years in a row. Some crafts we alternate. Some we try to work with the theme.

Lifeway had a great idea with the Praise Bells. We did use that one for both the 1st & 2nd graders this year.

Aborigine Praise Bells

We chose one craft per grade and a filler if needed.
To make this craft last 2 - 25 minutes tracks
we had them paint the outside of the pots the first day.

The next time their grade came to the craft track, we had them add the ribbon and bells.

We used primary colors. The Aborgine Praise Bells turned out very nice.
I think few found their way to the trash.
Also a little tip, we tried to make sure everyone wrote their name & Bible Study Room # on the INSIDE of the pot just in case the mom wanted to display or keep it for a keepsake.

This turned out to be a very nice inexpensive craft. Hobby Lobby had the pots on sale for 1/2 and I ordered 500 of them to cover 2 grades and VBS for a mission action project that our church does in North Birmingham. We had plenty of money left to spend on ribbon including enough to cover the N.B'ham project. We used twine for the jingle bells. If we were to do something similar again, we would use a yarn or a softer string.

Tomorrow I will post about our Kocoa the Koala Bear Witnessing Puppet the 3rd graders made.

~~~Banner~~~

Edited to say I just redid my blog for the 4th! I like it!

I just realized I still have my Easter banner up. I think I need to work on a new one in the next few days.....

Outdoor Wednesday-Daylilies

Good Morning! I hope that everyone is having a great day today. Welcome to Outdoor Wednesday hosted by our sweet Susan from A Southern Daydreamer. I took these photos of daylilies a little over a week ago while vacationing in Williamsburg, VA. They are planted in the garden right behind Raleigh's Tavern Bakery. I love to go there to eat a Ginger Cake and drink some Apple Cider. Yum! What a treat!

The sun is hot, but the beauty of Photoshop is, you can adjust that. :D

As you look at the photos, observe all the different prospectives the daylilies were photographed.

Look Around to see what other elements you can include...

Don't forget the other side of the garden. You can get a different prospective of light.

Y'all know, I love those close ups and micros...

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to post a comment.

Thank you Susan for hosting Outdoor Wednesday. To participate in Outdoor Wednesday or to see more Outdoor Wednesday posts, please stop by Susan's blog~ A Southern Daydreamer.

Hugs & God Bless,
Missy

Happy Birthday Pink Saturday!

Congratulations Beverly for hosting one year of Pink Saturday! You have done a great job with Pink Saturday and the few times I have gotten to participate, I have really enjoyed it. Thank you for inviting me to the Pink Party!!!

Everyone is singing and dancing! Beautiful in Pink!

Tea served from a beautiful Pink Tea Service!

Pink Party Favors!

And even Minnie came! All dressed in Pink of course!

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy 1^st Birthday Pink Saturday!!! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to post a comment.

To enjoy more Pink Saturday posts, go to Beverly's Blog at How Sweet the Sound.

Neighborhood Walk-A-Bout

For Outdoor Wednesday, I wanted to share with you some photos I took on a walk Memorial Day Morning. It was cool, humid, and in between showers. Lovely walk.

Thank you to Susan from A Southern Daydreamer for hosting Outdoor Wednesday every week.

I first made a few photos of flowers in my yard...

Lovely Star Gazers. I just love these lilys. I must plant more this fall.

It was raining when we woke up this morning. I love the water droplets that the rain left all over the flowers.

A pretty snap dragon looking flower that I planted from seed for my grandma. She lived with my mom and was not able to plant her garden the last year she was alive. DH and I were engaged at the time. We planted her garden for her. She asked me to plant these flower seeds for her. She died a few months later. My mom later had me bring some of the plants to my house. They come back every year. I have no idea what they are called and have not had any luck finding out.

Anyone else know? They are pretty. They bloom in the spring and in the fall. Reseed and seem to be either a biannual or a perennial. They replant well. Rarely bloom in the heat of mid summer. But as the temps warm in the spring or cool in the late summer/early fall, they begin to bloom again.

Now for the walk....

Don't you just love Magnolias? I do.
And here in the Deep South, the trees are full of their blooms.

I love the center of this one.

Pink Lemonade Honeysuckle is a popular site around mail boxes. I have never tasted the nectar of the blooms. I wonder if they taste as good as the regular wild Honeysuckle?

I just love Hydrangeas, don't you? I have tried growing them many times, but the voles (a mouse looking critter) and moles keep eating the roots. So I have found it is cheaper to enjoy the neighbors.

And back home again in my own yard...

I do not remember what this is called. I mail ordered it at least 16 years ago. The name is in one of my garden journals, that is when I kept garden journals.... The root goes to China. I love the flower. Very hardy perennial.

I hope you enjoyed my walk. To participate in Outdoor Wednesday or to see more Outdoor Wednesday posts go to Susan's blog A Southern DayDreamer.

3 Blind Mice

I sure have missed blogging! Now that things have temporary slowed down, I will be back to posting a few times a week. :-)

I wanted to participate in Diane's (A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words) 2nd Time Around Tuesday today. Thank you Diane for hosting!

I have been wanting to share these little fellers with y'all for a long time.

My MIL got them in a Christmas Gift from her Bridge Club gift swap or secrete pal or something like that. LOL! She hated them! This was before DH and I married and DH thought they were cute so MIL gave them to him. He put them on top of the door in our (his) kitchen. I thought they were adorable and after we married, kept them there.

To participate or to enjoy more Second Time Around Treasures go to Diane's site A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words. Thanks again Diane for hosting!

Foodie Friday-Grilling Time!

Welcome to Foodie Friday! I am cheating a little bit, as this is a repeat post, but with summer around the corner! And grilling season is here! Well in the deep south-we grill all year 'round. ;-)

Thank you Gollum of Designs by Gollum for hosting.

I thought it would be fun to share a grilled meal with y'all. It gets hot and humid here in the deep south and I just hate to heat up my kitchen. And I love healthy, low calorie meals!

The Menu (To feed 2 adults, 1 child and enough left over for one lunch the next day)

• 2 Tuna Steaks
• 1 lb Fresh Tiny Asparagus (on sale at the local market this week!)
• 2 Medium Sweet Potatoes

You will also need Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Lemon Juice & Greek Seasonings. And of course, a grill and a Microwave.

Marinade the Tuna in Olive Oil (1-2 Tablespoons), Juice of one Lemon and Greek Seasonings.

Microwave Sweet Potatoes for 3 minutes, slice about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick and set aside. This will enable the potatoes to cook quicker on the grill and they will be ready to take up at the same time the meat and asparagus are ready to take up.

Wash Asparagus and pat dry.

Place the Sweet Potato and Asparagus on the grill, brush with Olive Oil, sprinkle with Sea Salt and Greek Seasonings.

Add your Tuna to the Grill. If you have never Grilled Tuna before, Grill it just like you do Beef Steak. We cook ours done, but like it moist, tender and flaky.

Make sure you turn your vegetables frequently.

Plate it up and
Enjoy!!!

To see more lovely foods and meals or to participate, go to Designs by Gollum .