Mosaic Crosses~VBS Craft

Our 4th grade craft was an Australian Mosaic Cross. My heart was set on Didgeridoos, but my sources for bamboo kept falling through. And what happened to all that bamboo at the $$$ Tree? Last year they had them by the cases. I never could find them this year. They never did get it at the Old Time Pottery Barn either.

One of the ladies who helped me with the selection of the crafts found the wooden crosses and plastic mosaics online.

$5.99 for 12 at S&S Worldwide.

The mosaics were also $5.99 a bag and there were about 1500 pieces per bag. We had tons left over. Some children did not use as many as we thought they would or completely cover the wood with the mosics.

Day one, the crosses were sanded and painted. This took ALL of the time allowed for the track.

Some children were creative with their painting. :D

On day 2 they apply a generous amount of glue and the mosaics.

While the glue is still wet, have an adult instructor apply the mystery part of the craft (sand). We are not allowed to have sand in the church. So.... this had to be closely guarded and secretive.

If you will notice in one of the above photos, the cross has a hole in the top. This is so you can hang it if you like. If the child wants to hang it in a window or as an ornament, they can paint the back. This is a good time to flip the cross over and paint the back. The sand should keep it from sticking to anything. We used fishing line to hang the crosses with.

Another option we gave the children is to use a 1 1/2 inch magnet on the back. If they choose this, have them place a mosaic over the hole so it will not be visible from the front.

The cost on this craft was about .65 cents per child. And another craft that will be a nice keepsake. We will do this cross craft again. And suitable for different age groups.

Down Under Puppet Craft

Kocoa the Koala

Several years ago, Pack-o-Fun magazine had a little teddy bear puppet named Traveling Jack. I have been wanting to use him in SummerQuest for a long time. He was on a track a few years ago, but materials did not work out. So he did not get made.

Using the Traveling Jack pattern as a guide, I modified it into a Koala bear to go along with our SummerQuest (VBS) theme. Really turned out cute. The craft takes about 40 minutes to complete using sewing glue and taking the time to write out a testimony or a witnessing story.

We selected this craft for the 3rd graders. Right at the top of the age for making puppets. However, the idea behind this craft was more than a craft to take home, but a tool for a child to share their testimony and to witness to others.

Some of the children wanted to sew their Koala bears.

Even the boys!!!

OK if you need a week long craft. In our case, each grade only came in for 25 minutes 2 days during the week. Some did sew theirs. I think a lot of teachers helped. You can also use sharpies to add color and facial features.

Make the top on day one and glue the bottom on the second day. The sewing glue is often thick. We have to pour it out on a plate and spread it with a flat toothpick. If it is too thick or lumpy, add a tad of water. But it holds when dry.

Some of the children even added clothing and baby pouches to their Koalas. The loved writing out their testimonies and those who did not know the Lord as Savior, shared that as well. Opened up the door for witnessing and praying for that child.

This is an afforadable craft. If you purchase your felt by the yard and use a coupon (Hancock's, Hobby Lobby, Joann's...) you can get the cost to around 60 cents or so a child. 1 and 1/3 yard of felt will give you about 18 puppets.

For 2nd and 3rd graders, puppets are a great craft. A new pattern can be drafted every year to go with what ever VBS theme you have. Sharpies, colored felt pieces, even sewing can be used in the construction. It just depends on how much time you have.

Some of you have yet to have your VBS. If you are using Lifeway's Boomerang Express Theme and are interested in the instructions and pattern, email me through my profile and I will be glad to email it to you.

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.