You're a great pseudo-momma! You will love it! And blessings on this crazy thing called life. So thankful that you have a positive spin on all that happens in life. I LOVE you! 🙂
FYI Regarding tax deductions: Not only do you need your list, but you need a price by each item from the IRS accepted value lists. This can be from Goodwill or Salvation Army . Attach whichever source you use to your lists. Without doing this important step, pray you are never audited. Been there, done that. So Louise, your ticker below doesn't allow me to do what I need to so, I'll choose anon. I am sure you know who.
Great blog! Do you have any tips and hints
for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m
a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform
like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out
there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thanks!
Borrowed Blessings {Kara}
Hi! Thanks for visiting. I don’t currently have any posts about blogging… I started out on Blogger and transitioned to WordPress. I would definitely recommend starting with WordPress {from personal experience of the pain of switching over}. Good luck! 🙂
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my blog so i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to improve my web
site!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
Borrowed Blessings {Kara}
Thanks for visiting! I hope you find some design inspiration – Pinterest is always a great option for more ideas too.
How do we commercially license our artwork to ourselves? If we trace it or make it in our silhouette design studio, do we have to register our artwork before we use/sell it?
Borrowed Blessings {Kara}
Hey Ashley! My understanding… if you create the artwork yourself, you don’t need a license because you own it. You can sell/give away anything you create however you wish. Tracing someone else’s artwork isn’t creating your own work though. If you’re tracing someone else’s work, you have to contact the creator for permission to use commercially. Thanks for stopping by!
love the tutorial. it makes sense now! I have a question though. If you wanted to leave the wood unpainted, do you poly the wood first? Thanks!
Borrowed Blessings {Kara}
Hi Denise! Thank you! If you wanted to leave the wood unpainted you could poly or leave it unfinished, depending on the look you’re going for. In place of the first coat of paint with the stencil, you can use Mod Podge to seal the edges of the design {that way the paint doesn’t bleed/seep under the edge}.
We have been on 1 Carnival cruise together and it was on the Dream. We left from New Orleans…it was 7 days to Honduras, Belize, & Cozumel. We went the first week if November when there weren’t a lot of children/teenagers. We are a fairly young couple with young children and this was our anniversary, and “relief” time so we chose that week on purpose. We kept hearing complaints from other guests that there wasn’t much to do, like the cruise director had failed in the “party” area, but we found the ship to be lively and fun. We are not huge party animals anyway and enjoyed the activities provided. That said, the ship is probably more “hopping” depending on the time you go and who is there. Still, I don’t think you can go wrong. We had bad weather and everything and it was still a very enjoyable time and I would go back in a heartbeat!
Thanks for your input Ginger! It sounds like you had a great time. We’re not big party people either, so a “lively” ship for us would probably be boring to some! Haha
Tifanie’s complaint was my husband’s too. I wentered in expecting 6 hours here, 8 hours there, etc., so I really wasn’t disappointed and didn’t feel cheated. The excursions (if you choose to do those) really make you feel like you have done and seen a lot. Then after those are over, you generally still have time to look around the ports on your own.
We loved our cruise last year and we are planning another. One thing we learned was with the excursions to book through carnival and not online. Go to as many shows as possible they are a lot of fun! We were on the Triumph and it is an older ship, but we had a lot of fun. Shopping is great on the ship! They have beautiful jewelry on the ship, so if you want some pretty diamonds save up!
Thanks Kayla! When you say not online, do you mean you waited until you were on the cruise to book at the excursions desk… or did you just call Carnival ahead of time to book?
Ginger
I know this wasn’t my question, but I would like to know the benefits of this as well. I booked our excursions early on the Carnival website for fear they would sell out…and I believe 2 of them actually did. We wouldn’t have been able to do them had we waited.
Kara, I agree with LeAnne! This is a great resource and we appreciate your hard work. I also have a small, home based travel business and this is a great tool.
You are also wise to plan this far in advance. You will get more excited as you continue to read and research, but it will be so much fun. Remember to plan for travel insurance. I consider it a MUST. Most never have to use it, but just like any other insurance, “don’t leave home without it”. A single, small incident could more than pay for the small expense.
It looks like you may be in Arkansas. Consider Galveston or New Orleans for your cruise so you can drive. You save the airfare and its not a bad drive. Plus, you can spend a day before or after enjoying the local attractions of either.
I live in Nashville now but grew up in Jackson, MS. with my sis living in NOLA for a while. Great place to visit.
We serve as Santa in The Woodlands TX, (N. Houston) and I’ve gotten familiar with the area. Houston/Galveston has a lot to offer as well.
Get your TA to provide info on NOLA and Galveston cruise packages for overnight stays. My clients drive in, stay a night and park free at the hotel.
Let me know if we can offer more assistance,
Yes, Carnival does have a Spirit ship {it’s the only one not included in the spreadsheet}. Carnival does not have the information on their website for Spirit like it does the rest of their ships.
Durward "Santa" Blanks
Kara,
I like TravelInsured or Allianz. There are several others. These provide better coverage at less expense than the Carnival option. The cost for a $5000 total trip (2 people) can range from $100-$400, depending on the company and they depth of coverage. Just be careful and compare (from what I see you will do your due diligence) I like the “cancel for any reason” option just in case something comes up and you can’t make the trip.
You can go to InsureMyTrip.com and compare the companies. If you’re using a Travel Agent, please go through the agent. We don’t actually make that much per trip and the referral fees from the companies do help.
We have been on 5 Carnival cruises on 5 different ships and have loved them all. The first 2 were booked with a travel agent but the last 3 have been with Carnival Personal Vacation Planners. The last one was Neil Rothstein (1-800-819-3+02 Ext 82384) and he was very helpful with information and answering our questions. I Think the travel insurance Durward was talking about can be added when you book your cruise. We always do the insurance and prepaid gratuities so when we sail everything is already paid for. We live in WV but have sailed from Jacksonville, FL, Charleston, SC, Port Canaveral, FL and Ft Lauderdale, FL.
We are going on our 18th Carnival cruise in February. We love their cruises. They are exactly what we like. We’re in our early sixties and we can do as much or as little as we want when we want. We’ve done a number of shore excursions and some cruises we haven’t done any but we always have fun. We’ve sailed on all different classes/sizes and we’ve loved them all. Have fun on your cruise.
Kathy – Thanks for your input! Wow, 18 cruises!? That’s incredible! One of my favorite things about a cruise is that you can do as much or as little as you want each day.
If you never been on a cruise. Pick Pride Ship, ten day cruise! It looks like Italy inside of ship! Smaller ships, less waiting time getting in shows, short lines to food, get on and off ship faster! You will get to know people easier! Pride has lots of choice of places to eat, lots of bars! It’s the way to go!
Thanks for your suggestions Candy! I’ll have to check out the Pride longer cruise. We’re definitely open to 10 days! {Well, I am… pretty sure I can talk the hubby into that! Haha}
We started out on RCL. We had fun but decided to try other cruise lines. After switching to CCL, we have completed 35 now with 2 more booked. We just have more fun on Carnival. We are in our late 70s, don’t drink or gamble, we just have fun. My advice to you~be flexible. You are on a moving vessel, things can happen that are not under the control of the ship. You will have the time of your life. You can be as active or inactive as you choose. It is the only way we travel now. We try to get in 3-4 cruises a year. Have fun!
Thank you Kara. I printed your chart for future reference. It is amazing!! My 60 year old husband is literally addicted to cruising and loves the planning of it all almost as much as the cruise! We have been on several ships, itineraries, etc., and I’d have to agree with you that doing as much or as little as we choose is one of the things we love about cruising. We book our cruises with a Carnival vacation planner, including insurance for the trip, and then use their website for anything else that needs booking, especially excursions. We will be sailing on the Valor out of Cape Canaveral on January 30th, which will be our first cruise as Carnival’s VIFP Club platinum members. I recommend joining the VIFP Club as soon as you book your first cruise. We started cruising Carnival 7 years ago and never dreamed we’d cruise enough days to reach this status 🙂 Now we will have priority boarding and a limited amount of free laundry service!! Again, thank you Kara for your hard work and I hope you enjoy cruising as much as I do!!!
Though I haven’t taken the time to look this over I am amazed at all the time this must have taken. We will be taken our 9th cruise in February. Two have been with Royal Carribean the rest with carnival. We try different ships and ports every year. We love Carnival the people who work on the ships go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need and have a good time. We have never had a bad cruise and everyone is so friendly. Have fun and I look forward to reading your charts.
Blessings,
Paula
My boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise in February 2016 out of Galveston. We’ll be on the Triumph, sailing to the Caribbean and Mexico. We’re super excited.
I have several friends that have been guiding us and providing tips. I’m just looking forward to the new experiences and for our excursions (that we’ve already booked).
I have known Aly since she lived here in Clarksville, Tn. I just wish I had her knowledge about social media. This is really great, free information. Not only is she extremely talented in refurbishing and creating, she is equally talented in decorating and crafting. She is full of inspiration, so whenever you can get information such as this, take HEED! And congrats Aly on your article!
Hey Laurie! I need to add notes to the spreadsheet so it’s easier to interpret… CS is for items that were listed as “Coming Soon” on the Carnival website. Carnival did not provide an estimated date of when the items would be finished.
As a travel agent and agency owner, I can truly appreciate your hard work and advice.
Travel agents do all this for clients, too. Please don’t forget about us! This is our life and passion, because certainly the pay isn’t great! 😉
I recommend using travel agents to do legwork especially for those who haven’t the time or patience. We work on commission which cruise lines pay us — it does not cost more to use a TA (you may come across a TA who has a service fee <== and the TA will explain how that works). Using the cruise line directly (phone or Internet) simply allows the cruise line to keep commission as profit. TAs have just as much leverage as a cruise line PVP because we have BDMs (Business Development Managers) with every cruise line who carry a ton of weight within the company. They can pull rabbits out of hats for us!
Thanks for the feedback LeAnne! I’m typically someone who does everything myself, but cruises are one area where I will use a TA… as long as I’m getting comparable deals to booking directly. So far in all my research, the prices are identical most places, but there are definite differences in the perks. For instance, booking direct with Carnival right now includes $50 on board credit, but one travel agent I talked to is giving $175 on board credit! Even if I’m using a travel agent, I’m “that one customer” that still has to do 874 hours of my own research… but I sure do appreciate the expertise of a travel agent to help me navigate the process and decide between things {like one ship or stateroom over another}. Thanks for all you do to help newbie and veteran travelers!
I really like your info, especially the excel spreadsheet. My husband usually does all the research. I think he would really like the excel spreadsheet.
We’ll go on any cruise ship as long as they’re going where we want to go. It’s time for us to see other places we haven’t seen before.
Hi Kara,
We have been on 15 Carnival cruises and will be going in March on a back-to-back on the Carmival Breeze. For us Carnival gives us the great food choices, entertainment, and the adult area that we love. Booking tours is a must through the shore excursions desk, as they know about rules in the country as well as our safety. The itineraries are great and if you choose not to get off then you can investigate the ship with not many others on board. I too am a planner so we have booked on the new Carnival Vista for next March and also a New Years cruise for 2017-18 and the Magic. I hope you have a wonderful experience and it is what you make it, people that are “board” didn’t get out and make it a wonderful trip to remember!!!
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Love Group, you hit a lot of my thoughts on the nose! I have used group for several years but have never followed it completely. I feel their crafts and science gizmos are costly. I don’t put mixed ages together and our pre schoolers are involved just like everyone else. Never have followed there snack directions or suggestions. But love the music! Stories, mascots and all the tips! Yep I’m a groupie!
Thanks so much for these ideas! I completely agree with you on the gizmos and major lack of craft activities. Kids love crafts and I cant imagine running this portion of our VBS only geared up with the activities they currently have listed. Your ideas are SO helpful! Thank you!
Thanks for the suggestion of US Toy. We purchased the derby hats for the Spelunker Helmets. They only had light blue and maroon left but we will make it work.
Thank you so much for your ideas . Can’t begin to tell you how I have struggled with craft ideas for this VBS Cave Quest. You are a life save. Bless you.
Wow. Your Cave Quest ideas are awesome!!! Our VBS director has asked me to be over our crafts this year and your ideas have been really helpful!! Thank you so much!
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Wow! Such good ideas! Our church goes to Belize to help with a VBS for 300 to 350 kids each night!! Frugal is what I am looking for. Thanks for the ideas, I love the macaroni necklaces.
Absolutely! 🙂 The filled in letters are Chelsea Market (on PicMonkey). The outlined letters are KG Shake It Off Outline (downloaded from 1001fonts and used on PicMonkey).
How much gak does the recipe with 2 4 oz bottles make? We usually have about 25 kids in a group (5 crews with 5 kids each). I want to be sure that there is enough for each child to take some home. I think we will have to make it ahead of time.
Totally agree on all of your comments, Kara. Thank you SO MUCH for your help with other crafts! (Those Bible Buddy dog tags sure are preeeetty, though. 😉 )
I agree with some of the stuff you say, and I have to say that what I love about Group is that we can customize it so easily. Our church does use the mixed age crews, but we mix in the pre-schoolers with our older kids so that each of our crews has kids ages 4-12. I have to admit, I was a skeptic until last year we had a surprise 3 year old that ended up in my crew for the last 3 days (I’m assistant director and I love leading a crew) and my whole crew, otherwise aged 5-11 rallied around helping her and leading her and behaved SO MUCH BETTER than they had the rest of the week. It was amazing.
We also do the science-y gizmos, mostly because for some reason, even though I LOVE crafts, most of the kids that come to our regular Sunday School and Children’s Bible Study completely HATE crafts, and the science-y gizmos are generally well liked.
That being said, every year we go through and pull out a lot of stuff- we don’t do the crew making snacks (it’s just too busy and too much complaining about missing games), we don’t do the huddle-and-prayer for the crew leaders at opening (there’s just not enough time, and we need the crew leaders in the room to help control the kids!) we always use our own church mission instead of Operation Kid-to-Kid so that the children’s mission aligns with what the church is doing, and we always find more frugal ways to decorate.
The ‘easy’ VBS from Group works best for us, and I really love it. Used to, we did the holy land adventures and with a relatively small church (our normal VBS is about 20-30 kids, though this year we’re looking at about 50) it was simply impossible to make the ‘marketplace’ workable. I love the bible buddies, though, and although I wasn’t a big fan at first, I’ve come to like KidVid as well.
How do you print the puzzle without the “Borrowed Blessings” header at the top? It is only printing the top half of the puzzle because of the header taking up too much space.
Hey Erin! If you click on each puzzle and it gets larger {the page that still shows Borrowed Blessings large at the top}, right click the puzzle and choose “Save As”. This will save the puzzle on your computer. Then you can go to where you saved it on the computer {Desktop, Documents, etc}, right click and choose print. It seems like a lot of steps but that will format it correctly and you can choose the printing size! 🙂 Let me know if you need any more help. Thanks! Kara
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I’m really excited about the new Maker Fun Factory too. Only… I wish the Bible Buddies weren’t bugs/animals. Couldn’t they have robots and other objects for the Bible Buddies?
I agree that it would be cute – but I like the idea that they’re things that are REAL that God has created (even though they’re talking in the cartoons!). It ties it in to His Creation more. The line between fiction & non-fiction is really only able to be made in mid-elementary, so having these concrete examples are developmentally appropriate.
I am interested in you filling out the information for me and ordering prints. I am having trouble making things on my computer. Thanks. Let me know what I need to do.
Hi Kara. I’m a VBS director using Group for the first time with the Maker Fun Factory theme this year. I love your cost effective ideas here. I have several questions for you and was trying to see what is the best way to contact you.
These are great! I’m a first-time VBS coordinator and I so appreciate these great ideas!
What about cost-effective snacks? I have been looking at the price per child for the Maker Fun Factory snack suggestions and it gets pricey, too. Any suggestions?
Thanks for this post! I’ve also used ends of soap to mark on the paper. I’m going to use a bright blue table cloth marked with white soap lines for the photo op. Then when the children stand in front of it it’ll look like there was a blue print made for their creation. I’ve used soap ends to mark plastic table cloths many times and they don’t tend to smear and yet when you make a mistake, you can just wipe it off with a damp cloth.
Hello and thanks for a all the research you have done. I am in Northern Nevada and are looking for another church that will be offering Maker Fun Factory after ours so I could give our decorations too. It’s almost Easter and I have most all the stage props made. I don’t want to trash them when we are done. I want others to enjoy them. Currently we are set to have our vbs in the middle of June 2017. If you now of a church that could use them please contact me. Thanks and blessings Cathy
Hi Cathy! I’ll forward this along to the other VBS directors I work with!
Cathy
Thanks, and I found a church in North Reno that is hosting Maker Fun Factory 2 weeks after us. They would love to have my decorations. Thank you, and love you blog.
What awesome ideas! I have been researching alternatives to Group as well.
Have found prices cheaper at Cokesbury, with your help we will be able to lower
our budget even more. Thanks for your Help!
I love your work! I recently got started doing VBS on mission teams. There is a huge shortage of VBS material in Spanish. Have you ever considered doing your work in Spanish as well as English?
Hi, Elaine! Thanks for visiting. I only speak English… but if you know someone who is fluent (or if you are) and want to send me translations, I can make these posters in Spanish! Thanks, Kara
This was great! I am a first time VBS coordinator and I love finding a good deal!! ThNkbyou for the great ideas! Praying your VBS is awesome and filled with Gods presence. ?
Thank you for sharing your great money saving ideas for VBS and for sharing the graphics you created. Spending can get out of hand really quickly if not careful. We should all be good stewards.
This is a great idea! Last year, for cave quest, we did one hallway with black lights and had lots of glow-in-the dark stuff. It was one of the favorite areas among the kids! I am thinking of doing that again this year and these would be perfect. I will use a marker that will glow in the dark. Thanks for the great idea!
I love your post too! I’m in charge of imagination/craft station and I like including some old-school type crafts each year. I am always looking for fun and affordable cross craft ideas for Day 4. I love the idea of mosaic/spare parts cross. Where do you get your wooden crosses? What size approx?
Thanks!
Hi Ellen! We use a variety of things to hang our decor at church, depending which space we’re in. If I’m in a room where staples are allowed in the wall, those are really the cheapest/easiest option. If you’re trying to avoid staples, we use:
Painter’s Tape – http://amzn.to/2rvSXCv
Mavalus Tape – http://amzn.to/2rQgDV7
3M Poster Strips – http://amzn.to/2rD0Dou
Thank you so much, Kara. Great info here! I love the flakes and the crosses. Do you think the flakes are ok size-wise for preschoolers? Are they smaller than Group’s gears? I’m smacking my forehead here, because we were googling for cheap plastic gears like crazy…and all this time, they were out there, but were called flakes!! Thanks for somehow unearthing the flakes.
Chrissy, You’re most welcome! The Amazon options are smaller than the Group brand, but our preschoolers (3-5 years old) were able to use the Amazon flakes.
Hi Kara, wow, this could be a big money-saver! We don’t have carpet in some areas of our church where we’d like to use floor decals. We have linoleum-type tile. Do you think that carpet protector would stick to that kind of flooring?
I’m trying to download the coloring pages and find that after day 2 they won’t print correctly. They have some pixelating stuff over the right hand of the page. Can you please help me with this?
Sorry about that! If the templates won’t work for you, you can print the tags the following way:
-Save the single image from this post (right click the picture of the name tag and choose “save as” or “save image as”).
-Open the image on your computer and print (right click and choose “print” or just push ctrl+p on your keyboard).
-The pop up screen will let you choose what size to print the template. I chose wallet, which prints 9 on a sheet. You can change the number of times you want it to print at the bottom (so if you choose wallet with 9 per sheet, you want to change this number to 9).
Do you have the lesson from Cave Quest? Our church was given the material, but when I looked at the Bible Story part, the last pages of the first night story were missing. If you have them, would you be willing to share? I have pages 5-8.
We did the same with white sharpies and they turned out fantastic! It was the best $3 I have ever spent! This was a wonderful idea, covered a ton of space and gave a huge impact! Can’t wait to see what you come up with for next year’s theme!
I am confused.
You are starting w a square, not a circle.
And you can’t use the same instructions as the giant gear decorations bc of the difference in size.
??
Sorry if the instructions weren’t clear – I’ve updated them with more detail! You will cut the 12″ squares into circles before cutting the gear spokes. You’ll have to make the spokes smaller than with the giant gears. I free handed each set so that I had some different sizes, but you could easily make a pattern so they’re all the same size! Hope this helps.
Sorry about that! If the templates won’t work for you, you can print the tags the following way:
-Save the single image from this post (right click the picture of the name tag and choose “save as” or “save image as”).
-Open the image on your computer and print (right click and choose “print” or just push ctrl+p on your keyboard).
-The pop up screen will let you choose what size to print the template. I chose wallet, which prints 9 on a sheet. You can change the number of times you want it to print at the bottom (so if you choose wallet with 9 per sheet, you want to change this number to 9).
I’m doing the KidVid Station, but we are going to change it to more of a STEAM station, because the videos aren’t that great, and our kids will already get the discussion part in the story section. Any additional ideas for STEAM? A bunch of these will work for that too. Thanks so much for all these resources!
If you save the single image that’s in the post (right click it and choose “save image as”), you can print it any size you want. Once you have it saved, open it on your computer and choose print, then it’ll offer you size options on the right side of the pop up screen. ?
Hi and thank you for the templates. Is there a way to get the template to reflex vertically? I have Inserts that have two across and four down. same size but the cut is vertical / portrait rather than horizontal / landscape. thanks.
If you save the single image that’s in the post (right click it and choose “save image as”), you can insert it in Word any number of times on a page. 🙂
Thanks for the great ideas! We had a hard time finding white markers that would work on paper but we found the white tracing pencils in the sewing dept work really well and they are cheap!
These are great!
How do I access the file for the template you created? I do not see it. I tried clicking on the pictures but they just enlarged. The highlighted links didn’t connect to the layout template unless I missed one. Thanks! Great job!
You are truly a blessing! I swear when I first got the kit I spoke with our director and told her we could make these ourselves and I was trying to figure out how to do it. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Thank you for the video! I am excited to see if you do a post on alternative ideas for the Imagination Station this year. I used your ideas last year and they worked out great and saved us money! It’s always great to see what you are doing with the program!
I’m so glad I found your blog through Pinterest! We used Gospel Light curriculum for years and it is scary choosing something new. We have been leaning toward Shipwrecked and you have reassured me that it can be modified for what we do at our church. Thanks!
Hi Erica! I’ll have to search around a bit… I also try to stick to more generic (water, clouds, etc) that we can use every year! We sometimes use flat sheets from Walmart as well. They’re cheap and work well. You can even tie dye them for more color variation.
I love this. Thank you. I was also thinking about a cave on the island. I’m borrowing ideas from Cave Quest, just adding some leaves and maybe a fire. KidVid is sometimes a challenge for us to get the room dark, but stay in theme.
Do you have any suggestions on how to search for alternatives to the Hopper Stopper? I haven’t gotten my kit yet to take a look at it, but it just seems kind of hokey.
Awesome post! I am not seeing the supply list for the beads for the younger age groups though. Is it here and I’m just not seeing it? As always, thanks for the great idea!
Hi Marianne! I actually split the post into two parts because it got so long with both bracelets on one post! Part two will be posted in the next few days! 🙂
Oh my goodness! Thank you! I am loving your blog! This is my first year leading VBS and honestly, I’m feeling overwhelmed! Your information is SO helpful! The video was very informative and now, I can say, I’m feeling a bit excited to begin planning! Thank you again!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart – you’re too sweet! Feedback like this is exactly what keeps me going! It can be exhausting to try and document all our VBS projects, but it’s beyond worth it knowing that others can benefit. I’m so excited that YOU’RE excited! VBS is the only time I experience the joy and anticipation I felt as a child waiting for Christmas… I hope everyone can feel that joy and excitement!
I just found your blog so much useful infor. I am organizing our shipwrecked vbs this year. As I have been searching for ideas for name tags I came up with the idea of the roll of name tags from Oriental trading 100 per roll for $4,99 and we are going to use leis as our lanyards also on Oriental trading 100 ct for $12.99. we will tie the tag to the lei with a piece of string or maybe a small ring. I think they will be super cute!
Hi Julie, I make all the name tags for our VBS too. Something that I started doing a while ago, I put a copy of the schedule on the back of the staff name tags. That way they always know what time the next rotation is and where to go. My helpers like not having to carry extra stuff around. They can concentrate on the kids.
I really like your PDF and all your other ideas too!
The keyring is in case you’d rather make keychains than bracelets. If you’re making bracelets, you don’t need keyrings! I’ll have to hunt down my pictures… I took the supplies over to church. 🙂
Do you think it would be cheaper to buy some brown foam and cut the pieces out yourself? Then do you think a plane rubber band would do the same thing as the piece they include? I am trying to figure out if this is a feasible and cheaper way to go about this project.
Tammy, I’m not sure if regular thickness craft foam would be thick enough. I’ve seen people cut cardboard and cover it in duct tape (I think I saw tutorials for that on Pinterest). If you’re looking for an alternative, check out the DIY Sponge Sailboats I posted. They’re much less expensive. 🙂
I see that it’s been a while since you posted this; however, I’d like to know if there have been any issues with the tabletop? Such as, stain “peeling” or the topcoat of polycrylic coming off due to not adhering to the stain, since one is oil- & the other is water-based?
Hi Linda! We are still using the table daily. There are a few spots that I’ve dinged up (like when I sat a plywood box on the table – ha!). It still looks great, but definitely isn’t perfect. 🙂 I’d post a photo, but like most people’s dining room tables, it’s currently holding our mail and various other random items!
Thanks for the idea Kathy! Since our banner has a blue background with white dates, I don’t think that would work for us. It would work for a white banner with colored dates though (I think). 🙂
Just wondering how many kids you usually have at your VBS? And do you follow what the program says and group kids of all ages together or so you group by age groups?
The needles you said to get are much to small to thread with the string you said to get. I cannot even thread it using a magnifying glass. The thread is to thick or the eye of the needle is to small…whichever. These are extremely tiny. Did you ever make up one of these decoder bracelets with the items you suggested buying?
C – I’m sorry this isn’t working for you! I did make one of these… although I used thread we had on hand (I thought it was the same thread I linked to but the package was missing so it may have been slightly different). Did you try a thinner thread?
Do you have alternative ideas for Day 4 with the Ready Rescuer Kits? I like the idea, but wondered if you had other thoughts. I couldn’t find it on your website.
For the 4th day I decided to do the thing where the marker guy dances off the plate. However, we are printing and laminating crosses for everyone and giving them each a dry erase marker. They then draw Jesus on their own cross, slowly pour water on it and He dances off the cross.
I did a bracelet activity for Valentine’s day and found online that tying a floss threader (our older daughter’s use them to floss w/braces and they can be found alongside where toothpaste/floss are sold) to the cording helped a lot with smaller hands threading the beads on. We’re doing the decoder bracelets for VBS and I’m going to get some floss threaders also.
Since day 4 is usually Jesus’ death and resurrection, we typically do a cross craft. This year we’re making cross suncatchers and taking them to the local nursing home patients. Here’s the details on our suncatcher crosses: http://borrowedblessings.net/vbs-crafts-suncatchers/
I’m having trouble printing. It’s printing to the right of the page and cutting about 1/3 of it off. I’ve tried changing a few setting but I’m not successful.
They are beautiful and I’m really hoping to use them.
Karen – Did you save them to your computer before printing? If you right click and choose “save image as”, then print it from your downloads, then it should let you choose what size to print it.
Thanks for all the great ideas. We are going to make decoder necklaces or bracelets with pony beads and sections of colorful straws. I wasn’t able to find anything affordable at the craft stores or online. Since the beads are bigger, unless the word is short, it is going to need to be a necklace. I don’t think the kids will mind at all.
I have tried to get on this site and all I get is a some kind of virus warning about invading my pc and gaining information or something. I did not wait to read it. So please check your site out to see what is going on. I tried my laptop and desk computer and got the same message. I have an anti virus program on both.
I was wanting to print out some verses for Maker factory vbs.
I’m so sorry you’re having trouble! I actually just switched malware protection providers. I pay a premium for full service protection on my website and all information contained therein. Please know that safety is my priority, even though it adds a hefty expense. I sent your message on to my security company. They have just run a full scan of the site and it has returned as clean. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can be of further assistance. Thanks for your patience!
We did a pie-in-the-face since our kids reached our missions goal, so we skipped the exploding paint. I’ve seen that some people are using Elephant Toothpaste as an alternative, but I’ve never tried that.
Hello! My church has vbs on July 15th. We would love to have the BE Still logo as shown above on the green shirt if possible. I will need 90 shirts. Will you please let me know if this time line is possible. I know it’s short notice and a lot of shirts.
Adult
1-xs
3- small
27-med
15- L
15-XL
12-2XL
1-3XL
3-4XL
Brooke, Thanks for reaching out! Normally I could probably get a rush order done for you, but we’re spending time with family next week, so I won’t be available. Sorry! I’d love to work with you in the future. Best of luck with your VBS!
Thank you so much for your shared VBS ideas. ‘You’re instructions are so easy to follow. Will be making hundred of vines. God Bless! Gladys, Sacred Heart Church, Monroe, NY
If you do not purchase the bible buddies sold by Group, but instead print and laminate your own, will your kids be able to use their bible buddies with Group’s app?
Nope, our kids have never used the app so we’re not worried about that. For the cost savings, it’s worth the sacrifice for us. We pay about 25 cents per kid for our bible buddies, compared to Group’s $2.39 per kid.
No, I didn’t use Microsoft Word to create this (I used a graphic design program). The font that I used for our church VBS info is called Glacial Indifference.
Your table looks great. I am considering using polyshades on a dining table top and chalk painting the legs. Could you share how you got the surface so smooth? Did you brush or roll? I did a coffee table with polyshades and had a hard time getting a smooth surface. Thank you for any advice you can give. I want the surface to be smooth and durable.
Hi, we are doing VBS In The Wild this year, I love this backdrop and tree. Do you have any instructions on how to build the tree or where to get the backdrop? Thanks!
Age groups: Our church has a large program, especially for the elementary aged students. We have the preschoolers come in the morning and run our main elementary age group in the evening. This has allowed us to maximize our limited space while still serving the population we’ve got.
Snacks: Our stations run about 20 minutes plus 5 minutes for transitions. Both of our age groups run snack time as part of games. We gave up on a single snack time for all awhile ago. It’s way too crowded and loud in our fellowship hall; we just outgrew it. So, now we serve something simple in the evening for the elementary kids: ice pops (the cheap ones in the plastic wrapper). Needless to say, we also have trashcans outside at Games. The preschoolers do about 10 minutes of games outside, then come in for the last 10 minutes to have snack. They do the cutesy snacks, usually a knock-off Pintrest idea.
Bible Buddies: Thanks for the ideas and images! I’m going to share them with our Education Director. Last year the price just jumped too much for us to justify purchasing them from Group. She found some knock-offs that had real animals on them, but they just didn’t seem to have the same keepsake value. The new design for Roar isn’t going to be one that we invest in either. Thanks for sharing your designs!
I’m confused how to order the key tags. I download the picture, which I did. What then? Do you prepare the key tags? How do the holes get in them so they can go onto the carabiner?
There are several companies that print these key tags. If you google custom key tags, you should get lots of results. The printing company will print them with the hole already punched if you order them that way. 🙂
Some of my ideas relate to a specific night (like the wobbly eggs) and others could be used any night (like the shaker instruments). Let me know if you have any more questions!
Can you clarify which side of the egg to glue the stone too. First it says “wide side” then it say “top side”. Maybe I’m confused but isn’t the wide side of the egg the bottom? Thanks so much! I so appreciate your ideas as they are a lifesaver on our budget!
Hi! I’m just finding this post as we’re using an old VBS (Babylon). Would love to make these for our week! I’ve created the verses, but can’t figure out how to put 4 on one print! What did you use to create them?
If I remember correctly, Ramsey is a big horn sheep, Ava is a hawk, Sierra is a cougar, Finn is a rainbow trout and Lawrence Elk is not a Champagne Music Maker but, well, an elk.
Sorry it wasn’t clear! You won’t have to open them at all – there will just be a stack of vines cut. We just stapled them at the top using 1-2 staples per vine. You can attach them with tape if you’d rather!
Hi, my name is Aline I’am this year the leader of the children ministry in a church in Florida.
Since we are very low in budget, we will have Cave Quest- VBS this year, any one knows where we can barrow some decor?
rellay appreciate
God bless
Roar VBS: Imagination Station Gizmo Alternatives
You give alternate gizmos but don’t give your thought behind how they apply and are alternates. Most are common sense but for days 3 & 4 I don’t understand how what you choose is an alternate. Thanks. I use your website every year for alternate suggestions.
This seems great. Since I am doing a making instrument project for my intro to music class in college, I hope that this would work out for my project. I am also wondering, does it make like different sounds while hitting different sections of the board?
I love this idea & also the idea of re-usable ones (though maybe for a later, less germy time 🙂 ) Could you please tell me if you re-fill the bags with different activities each week or do the activities remain the same for several weeks before being changed up? Thanks!
Our church’s reusable busy bags each have different activities (so kids can easily have different items every week). The disposable ones I would suggest changing out at least a few of the materials (even just a fun new sticker sheet each week), or make up a variety of bags with different contents so kids can choose what looks exciting to them each week.
Am I missing the Download button? These look great and I appreciate the time you took to find them, but I can’t find where to download them. Thank you.
You're a great pseudo-momma! You will love it! And blessings on this crazy thing called life. So thankful that you have a positive spin on all that happens in life. I LOVE you! 🙂
Aw thank you for your always insightful words Jos! Love and admire you in your mommyhood {and life in general}!
I love finding out about Pinterest Fails. Makes me feel better about my pinterest fails (don't EVER ask me about the Monkey Balls – EVER).
I nominated you for Leibster award. 😉 Oh, and I love you!
http://joyfulinchaos.blogspot.com/2013/03/leibster.html
I. Love. You. That is all. 🙂
Aww shucks thanks dear! Love you too! 🙂
Thank you, Kara! Hope all your readers will visit "Mom with a gun."
KARA LOUISE!!!!! TO GOODWILL?????? REALLY?????
FYI Regarding tax deductions: Not only do you need your list, but you need a price by each item from the IRS accepted value lists. This can be from Goodwill or Salvation Army . Attach whichever source you use to your lists. Without doing this important step, pray you are never audited. Been there, done that. So Louise, your ticker below doesn't allow me to do what I need to so, I'll choose anon. I am sure you know who.
Great blog! Do you have any tips and hints
for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m
a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform
like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out
there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thanks!
Hi! Thanks for visiting. I don’t currently have any posts about blogging… I started out on Blogger and transitioned to WordPress. I would definitely recommend starting with WordPress {from personal experience of the pain of switching over}. Good luck! 🙂
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my blog so i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to improve my web
site!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
Thanks for visiting! I hope you find some design inspiration – Pinterest is always a great option for more ideas too.
yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one today.|
Thanks Denny!
I love the look!!! Are you going to put a shelf beneath the cabinets like in the Pinterest picture? I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Thanks Michelle! Yes, we’ll have a shelf below the cabinets. I’ve never been one for the open shelf/cabinet look, but I love this one! 🙂
Everyone loves what you guys are up too. Such clever work and exposure!
Keep up the great works guys I’ve you guys to our blogroll.
Thank you!
How do we commercially license our artwork to ourselves? If we trace it or make it in our silhouette design studio, do we have to register our artwork before we use/sell it?
Hey Ashley! My understanding… if you create the artwork yourself, you don’t need a license because you own it. You can sell/give away anything you create however you wish. Tracing someone else’s artwork isn’t creating your own work though. If you’re tracing someone else’s work, you have to contact the creator for permission to use commercially. Thanks for stopping by!
love the tutorial. it makes sense now! I have a question though. If you wanted to leave the wood unpainted, do you poly the wood first? Thanks!
Hi Denise! Thank you! If you wanted to leave the wood unpainted you could poly or leave it unfinished, depending on the look you’re going for. In place of the first coat of paint with the stencil, you can use Mod Podge to seal the edges of the design {that way the paint doesn’t bleed/seep under the edge}.
We have been on 1 Carnival cruise together and it was on the Dream. We left from New Orleans…it was 7 days to Honduras, Belize, & Cozumel. We went the first week if November when there weren’t a lot of children/teenagers. We are a fairly young couple with young children and this was our anniversary, and “relief” time so we chose that week on purpose. We kept hearing complaints from other guests that there wasn’t much to do, like the cruise director had failed in the “party” area, but we found the ship to be lively and fun. We are not huge party animals anyway and enjoyed the activities provided. That said, the ship is probably more “hopping” depending on the time you go and who is there. Still, I don’t think you can go wrong. We had bad weather and everything and it was still a very enjoyable time and I would go back in a heartbeat!
Thanks for your input Ginger! It sounds like you had a great time. We’re not big party people either, so a “lively” ship for us would probably be boring to some! Haha
We love everything about carnival cruises except no getting to stay longer at the ports.
Thanks Tiff! I am SO READY to set sail! 🙂
This is a fantastic resource!!
(I own a travel agency, and you have done a tremendous amount of work! All my travel agents thank you!)
LeAnne – You are most welcome! Feel free to share with agents and clients.
Tifanie’s complaint was my husband’s too. I wentered in expecting 6 hours here, 8 hours there, etc., so I really wasn’t disappointed and didn’t feel cheated. The excursions (if you choose to do those) really make you feel like you have done and seen a lot. Then after those are over, you generally still have time to look around the ports on your own.
Sounds great! Thanks for the info Ginger.
We loved our cruise last year and we are planning another. One thing we learned was with the excursions to book through carnival and not online. Go to as many shows as possible they are a lot of fun! We were on the Triumph and it is an older ship, but we had a lot of fun. Shopping is great on the ship! They have beautiful jewelry on the ship, so if you want some pretty diamonds save up!
Thanks Kayla! When you say not online, do you mean you waited until you were on the cruise to book at the excursions desk… or did you just call Carnival ahead of time to book?
I know this wasn’t my question, but I would like to know the benefits of this as well. I booked our excursions early on the Carnival website for fear they would sell out…and I believe 2 of them actually did. We wouldn’t have been able to do them had we waited.
Glad you got your excursions! I’d be concerned on missing out too {the whole neurotic planner in me…}. 🙂
Kara, I agree with LeAnne! This is a great resource and we appreciate your hard work. I also have a small, home based travel business and this is a great tool.
You are also wise to plan this far in advance. You will get more excited as you continue to read and research, but it will be so much fun. Remember to plan for travel insurance. I consider it a MUST. Most never have to use it, but just like any other insurance, “don’t leave home without it”. A single, small incident could more than pay for the small expense.
It looks like you may be in Arkansas. Consider Galveston or New Orleans for your cruise so you can drive. You save the airfare and its not a bad drive. Plus, you can spend a day before or after enjoying the local attractions of either.
I live in Nashville now but grew up in Jackson, MS. with my sis living in NOLA for a while. Great place to visit.
We serve as Santa in The Woodlands TX, (N. Houston) and I’ve gotten familiar with the area. Houston/Galveston has a lot to offer as well.
Get your TA to provide info on NOLA and Galveston cruise packages for overnight stays. My clients drive in, stay a night and park free at the hotel.
Let me know if we can offer more assistance,
Blessings,
Thanks for your input Durward! We actually live in southern Indiana. Do you suggest a certain travel insurance company? Thanks!
Doesn’t Carnival have a ship named Spirit?
Yes, Carnival does have a Spirit ship {it’s the only one not included in the spreadsheet}. Carnival does not have the information on their website for Spirit like it does the rest of their ships.
Kara,
I like TravelInsured or Allianz. There are several others. These provide better coverage at less expense than the Carnival option. The cost for a $5000 total trip (2 people) can range from $100-$400, depending on the company and they depth of coverage. Just be careful and compare (from what I see you will do your due diligence) I like the “cancel for any reason” option just in case something comes up and you can’t make the trip.
You can go to InsureMyTrip.com and compare the companies. If you’re using a Travel Agent, please go through the agent. We don’t actually make that much per trip and the referral fees from the companies do help.
Thanks Durward! That is such good information to have.
We have been on 5 Carnival cruises on 5 different ships and have loved them all. The first 2 were booked with a travel agent but the last 3 have been with Carnival Personal Vacation Planners. The last one was Neil Rothstein (1-800-819-3+02 Ext 82384) and he was very helpful with information and answering our questions. I Think the travel insurance Durward was talking about can be added when you book your cruise. We always do the insurance and prepaid gratuities so when we sail everything is already paid for. We live in WV but have sailed from Jacksonville, FL, Charleston, SC, Port Canaveral, FL and Ft Lauderdale, FL.
Thanks Phyllis!
We are going on our 18th Carnival cruise in February. We love their cruises. They are exactly what we like. We’re in our early sixties and we can do as much or as little as we want when we want. We’ve done a number of shore excursions and some cruises we haven’t done any but we always have fun. We’ve sailed on all different classes/sizes and we’ve loved them all. Have fun on your cruise.
Kathy – Thanks for your input! Wow, 18 cruises!? That’s incredible! One of my favorite things about a cruise is that you can do as much or as little as you want each day.
If you never been on a cruise. Pick Pride Ship, ten day cruise! It looks like Italy inside of ship! Smaller ships, less waiting time getting in shows, short lines to food, get on and off ship faster! You will get to know people easier! Pride has lots of choice of places to eat, lots of bars! It’s the way to go!
Thanks for your suggestions Candy! I’ll have to check out the Pride longer cruise. We’re definitely open to 10 days! {Well, I am… pretty sure I can talk the hubby into that! Haha}
We started out on RCL. We had fun but decided to try other cruise lines. After switching to CCL, we have completed 35 now with 2 more booked. We just have more fun on Carnival. We are in our late 70s, don’t drink or gamble, we just have fun. My advice to you~be flexible. You are on a moving vessel, things can happen that are not under the control of the ship. You will have the time of your life. You can be as active or inactive as you choose. It is the only way we travel now. We try to get in 3-4 cruises a year. Have fun!
Joan – How fun! I love that you go on several a year… cruising is such a neat way to vacation! Thanks for your advice.
Thank you Kara. I printed your chart for future reference. It is amazing!! My 60 year old husband is literally addicted to cruising and loves the planning of it all almost as much as the cruise! We have been on several ships, itineraries, etc., and I’d have to agree with you that doing as much or as little as we choose is one of the things we love about cruising. We book our cruises with a Carnival vacation planner, including insurance for the trip, and then use their website for anything else that needs booking, especially excursions. We will be sailing on the Valor out of Cape Canaveral on January 30th, which will be our first cruise as Carnival’s VIFP Club platinum members. I recommend joining the VIFP Club as soon as you book your first cruise. We started cruising Carnival 7 years ago and never dreamed we’d cruise enough days to reach this status 🙂 Now we will have priority boarding and a limited amount of free laundry service!! Again, thank you Kara for your hard work and I hope you enjoy cruising as much as I do!!!
Thanks so much Kathleen! Enjoy your cruise… just a few more weeks! 🙂
Though I haven’t taken the time to look this over I am amazed at all the time this must have taken. We will be taken our 9th cruise in February. Two have been with Royal Carribean the rest with carnival. We try different ships and ports every year. We love Carnival the people who work on the ships go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need and have a good time. We have never had a bad cruise and everyone is so friendly. Have fun and I look forward to reading your charts.
Blessings,
Paula
Thanks so much Paula!
My boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise in February 2016 out of Galveston. We’ll be on the Triumph, sailing to the Caribbean and Mexico. We’re super excited.
I have several friends that have been guiding us and providing tips. I’m just looking forward to the new experiences and for our excursions (that we’ve already booked).
That sounds so fun! Happy cruising! 🙂
I have known Aly since she lived here in Clarksville, Tn. I just wish I had her knowledge about social media. This is really great, free information. Not only is she extremely talented in refurbishing and creating, she is equally talented in decorating and crafting. She is full of inspiration, so whenever you can get information such as this, take HEED! And congrats Aly on your article!
Thanks for visiting Diana! Aly sure is a great source of advice.
Does anyone know what “CS” stands for? I’m interested in the Magic but a lot of items state CS
Hey Laurie! I need to add notes to the spreadsheet so it’s easier to interpret… CS is for items that were listed as “Coming Soon” on the Carnival website. Carnival did not provide an estimated date of when the items would be finished.
As a travel agent and agency owner, I can truly appreciate your hard work and advice.
Travel agents do all this for clients, too. Please don’t forget about us! This is our life and passion, because certainly the pay isn’t great! 😉
I recommend using travel agents to do legwork especially for those who haven’t the time or patience. We work on commission which cruise lines pay us — it does not cost more to use a TA (you may come across a TA who has a service fee <== and the TA will explain how that works). Using the cruise line directly (phone or Internet) simply allows the cruise line to keep commission as profit. TAs have just as much leverage as a cruise line PVP because we have BDMs (Business Development Managers) with every cruise line who carry a ton of weight within the company. They can pull rabbits out of hats for us!
Thanks for the feedback LeAnne! I’m typically someone who does everything myself, but cruises are one area where I will use a TA… as long as I’m getting comparable deals to booking directly. So far in all my research, the prices are identical most places, but there are definite differences in the perks. For instance, booking direct with Carnival right now includes $50 on board credit, but one travel agent I talked to is giving $175 on board credit! Even if I’m using a travel agent, I’m “that one customer” that still has to do 874 hours of my own research… but I sure do appreciate the expertise of a travel agent to help me navigate the process and decide between things {like one ship or stateroom over another}. Thanks for all you do to help newbie and veteran travelers!
I really like your info, especially the excel spreadsheet. My husband usually does all the research. I think he would really like the excel spreadsheet.
We’ll go on any cruise ship as long as they’re going where we want to go. It’s time for us to see other places we haven’t seen before.
Thanks for the feedback Toni! Happy travels 🙂
Hi Kara,
We have been on 15 Carnival cruises and will be going in March on a back-to-back on the Carmival Breeze. For us Carnival gives us the great food choices, entertainment, and the adult area that we love. Booking tours is a must through the shore excursions desk, as they know about rules in the country as well as our safety. The itineraries are great and if you choose not to get off then you can investigate the ship with not many others on board. I too am a planner so we have booked on the new Carnival Vista for next March and also a New Years cruise for 2017-18 and the Magic. I hope you have a wonderful experience and it is what you make it, people that are “board” didn’t get out and make it a wonderful trip to remember!!!
Thanks for your input Lynn! Happy cruising!
You have here a great site. Very good information.
Thanks Dave!
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You’re welcome!
Hello, I read your blogs like every week. Your story-telling style is witty, keep up the good work!
thank you for compiling this! My husband always asks about spa details and blue iguana! Now I have an easy go to guide! Happy Cruising.
You’re welcome Linda! So glad it’ll be helpful for you!
Love Group, you hit a lot of my thoughts on the nose! I have used group for several years but have never followed it completely. I feel their crafts and science gizmos are costly. I don’t put mixed ages together and our pre schoolers are involved just like everyone else. Never have followed there snack directions or suggestions. But love the music! Stories, mascots and all the tips! Yep I’m a groupie!
Thanks Stephanie!
Thanks so much for these ideas! I completely agree with you on the gizmos and major lack of craft activities. Kids love crafts and I cant imagine running this portion of our VBS only geared up with the activities they currently have listed. Your ideas are SO helpful! Thank you!
You’re welcome Valerie! I feel the same way! 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion of US Toy. We purchased the derby hats for the Spelunker Helmets. They only had light blue and maroon left but we will make it work.
You’re welcome! The kids will definitely think the helmets are fun in any color {our kids would anyway}.
Thank you so much for your ideas . Can’t begin to tell you how I have struggled with craft ideas for this VBS Cave Quest. You are a life save. Bless you.
You’re welcome Roxanne! 🙂 Glad they could help!
I can’t see the VBS postcard. What do I need to do? Thanks!
There should be an image of the postcard that shows up. I can email it to you if you send me your email. 🙂
Thank you. It shows up on my phone but not computer. Weird. Thank you for making my life easier!
Hmm… strange! You are most welcome! Glad to help. 🙂
Wow. Your Cave Quest ideas are awesome!!! Our VBS director has asked me to be over our crafts this year and your ideas have been really helpful!! Thank you so much!
Thanks Shelly! Glad I could help! Crafts are so much fun! 🙂
An interesting article there buddy ! Thanks for write-up .
great points elegantly stated. were you an english major?
Ha! No, I was actually a religious studies major!
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Wow! Such good ideas! Our church goes to Belize to help with a VBS for 300 to 350 kids each night!! Frugal is what I am looking for. Thanks for the ideas, I love the macaroni necklaces.
Thanks for visiting Denise! Belize sounds incredible – way to share the love of Jesus with those kiddos!
Would you be willing to share what font you used to create your activity sheets? Thank you.
Absolutely! 🙂 The filled in letters are Chelsea Market (on PicMonkey). The outlined letters are KG Shake It Off Outline (downloaded from 1001fonts and used on PicMonkey).
Thank you for the wonderful ideas! You made my VBS planning so much easier and a lot more economical. You are a blessing!!
You are most welcome! Have a fun VBS! 🙂
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up and the rest of the website is very good.|
How much gak does the recipe with 2 4 oz bottles make? We usually have about 25 kids in a group (5 crews with 5 kids each). I want to be sure that there is enough for each child to take some home. I think we will have to make it ahead of time.
Susan, I haven’t tried that recipe so I’m not sure on the yield. Sorry!
Totally agree on all of your comments, Kara. Thank you SO MUCH for your help with other crafts! (Those Bible Buddy dog tags sure are preeeetty, though. 😉 )
You’re welcome Lisa! 🙂
I agree with some of the stuff you say, and I have to say that what I love about Group is that we can customize it so easily. Our church does use the mixed age crews, but we mix in the pre-schoolers with our older kids so that each of our crews has kids ages 4-12. I have to admit, I was a skeptic until last year we had a surprise 3 year old that ended up in my crew for the last 3 days (I’m assistant director and I love leading a crew) and my whole crew, otherwise aged 5-11 rallied around helping her and leading her and behaved SO MUCH BETTER than they had the rest of the week. It was amazing.
We also do the science-y gizmos, mostly because for some reason, even though I LOVE crafts, most of the kids that come to our regular Sunday School and Children’s Bible Study completely HATE crafts, and the science-y gizmos are generally well liked.
That being said, every year we go through and pull out a lot of stuff- we don’t do the crew making snacks (it’s just too busy and too much complaining about missing games), we don’t do the huddle-and-prayer for the crew leaders at opening (there’s just not enough time, and we need the crew leaders in the room to help control the kids!) we always use our own church mission instead of Operation Kid-to-Kid so that the children’s mission aligns with what the church is doing, and we always find more frugal ways to decorate.
The ‘easy’ VBS from Group works best for us, and I really love it. Used to, we did the holy land adventures and with a relatively small church (our normal VBS is about 20-30 kids, though this year we’re looking at about 50) it was simply impossible to make the ‘marketplace’ workable. I love the bible buddies, though, and although I wasn’t a big fan at first, I’ve come to like KidVid as well.
Thanks for all your input Victoria! It is so neat to see the Group program work for so many different church sizes and types of VBS! 🙂
Love the cave snakes! How did you attach the TP rolls together?
How do you print the puzzle without the “Borrowed Blessings” header at the top? It is only printing the top half of the puzzle because of the header taking up too much space.
Hey Erin! If you click on each puzzle and it gets larger {the page that still shows Borrowed Blessings large at the top}, right click the puzzle and choose “Save As”. This will save the puzzle on your computer. Then you can go to where you saved it on the computer {Desktop, Documents, etc}, right click and choose print. It seems like a lot of steps but that will format it correctly and you can choose the printing size! 🙂 Let me know if you need any more help. Thanks! Kara
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I’m really excited about the new Maker Fun Factory too. Only… I wish the Bible Buddies weren’t bugs/animals. Couldn’t they have robots and other objects for the Bible Buddies?
That’s a super cute idea! 🙂
I agree that it would be cute – but I like the idea that they’re things that are REAL that God has created (even though they’re talking in the cartoons!). It ties it in to His Creation more. The line between fiction & non-fiction is really only able to be made in mid-elementary, so having these concrete examples are developmentally appropriate.
These postcards are amazing!!! Thank you for sharing!!
You’re welcome Karen! 🙂
Do you have an email address ? I’d like to ask a few questions please.
Shelly, I sent you an email. Thanks! Kara
Could you please tell me how to print a blank puzzle template? I would like to do a puzzle for a different version of Proverbs 3:5. Thank you!
Hi Christine! Here are the blank templates: http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/Web/faces_jigsaws/support/Support_05.5_make.htm
They are PDF files of all different sizes, so you can choose whichever works for your group. Thanks!
I am interested in you filling out the information for me and ordering prints. I am having trouble making things on my computer. Thanks. Let me know what I need to do.
Jeanie – Please send me an email! I’d be happy to customize this for you. kara.edens.magner@gmail.com
Do you have one without the Maker Fun Factory? We are doing Gadgets & Gizmos which has the same theme.
Debbie – I can personalize this for you! Please email me – kara.edens.magner@gmail.com
Hi Kara. I’m a VBS director using Group for the first time with the Maker Fun Factory theme this year. I love your cost effective ideas here. I have several questions for you and was trying to see what is the best way to contact you.
Shan – Feel free to email me! I’d love to help. kara.edens.magner@gmail.com
Great ideas!
Thanks Ruth! It takes a village. 🙂
These are great! I’m a first-time VBS coordinator and I so appreciate these great ideas!
What about cost-effective snacks? I have been looking at the price per child for the Maker Fun Factory snack suggestions and it gets pricey, too. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
I can’t seem to find the file for the nametags
Beverley – Here are the name tag templates: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/name-tag-templates.html
Looking forward to some of your ideas on crafts and activities for my little 3-4 year olds.
Thanks for this post! I’ve also used ends of soap to mark on the paper. I’m going to use a bright blue table cloth marked with white soap lines for the photo op. Then when the children stand in front of it it’ll look like there was a blue print made for their creation. I’ve used soap ends to mark plastic table cloths many times and they don’t tend to smear and yet when you make a mistake, you can just wipe it off with a damp cloth.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve never heard of using soap ends to write with – what a great idea!
Love this idea! I have been teaching VBS Crafts for more years than I care to share (40) LOL! Awesome Awesome Awesome IDEA! Thanks for sharing!
I learned about soap marking from a class I took on sewing. 🙂
Hello and thanks for a all the research you have done. I am in Northern Nevada and are looking for another church that will be offering Maker Fun Factory after ours so I could give our decorations too. It’s almost Easter and I have most all the stage props made. I don’t want to trash them when we are done. I want others to enjoy them. Currently we are set to have our vbs in the middle of June 2017. If you now of a church that could use them please contact me. Thanks and blessings Cathy
Hi Cathy! I’ll forward this along to the other VBS directors I work with!
Thanks, and I found a church in North Reno that is hosting Maker Fun Factory 2 weeks after us. They would love to have my decorations. Thank you, and love you blog.
Thanks for all of the ideas! Is there a link to print the Bible Buddies you created?
Hi Kay! You can find bible buddies here: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/diy-bible-verse-buddies.html
What awesome ideas! I have been researching alternatives to Group as well.
Have found prices cheaper at Cokesbury, with your help we will be able to lower
our budget even more. Thanks for your Help!
Thanks Fran! Glad to help. Best of luck with your VBS program!
Is there a template or printable of the Maker Fun Factory Nametags?
Beverley – The name tags are here: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/name-tag-templates.html
Thanks! Kara
Kara, did you know of Shindigz.com it’s a party store online, they have mini Rubic’s cubes $3.45 for 6
cathy
Hi!
I love your work! I recently got started doing VBS on mission teams. There is a huge shortage of VBS material in Spanish. Have you ever considered doing your work in Spanish as well as English?
Blessings
Elaine
Hi, Elaine! Thanks for visiting. I only speak English… but if you know someone who is fluent (or if you are) and want to send me translations, I can make these posters in Spanish! Thanks, Kara
This was great! I am a first time VBS coordinator and I love finding a good deal!! ThNkbyou for the great ideas! Praying your VBS is awesome and filled with Gods presence. ?
Thank you Jessica! Best wishes for your VBS as well!
Thank you for sharing your great money saving ideas for VBS and for sharing the graphics you created. Spending can get out of hand really quickly if not careful. We should all be good stewards.
You’re welcome Tina! You are so right that spending gets out of hand quickly. Best of luck with your VBS!
Thanks for all the tip for saving $$$$
How do I download the nametag?
Here are the nametag templates: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/name-tag-templates.html.
Hello! I love this post! I’m am trying to find your link to the printable Bible Buddie Tags that can be printed onto cardstock. Thanks!
Thanks Nancie! The bible buddy tags can be found here: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/diy-bible-verse-buddies.html
The links aren’t working for me. Can I access these template another way?
Thanks
Jesse,
Please send me an email and I’ll send you the templates! kara.edens.magner@gmail.com
can you tell us how you did the blue prints??
Hi Jan! The blueprint instructions are here: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/make-blueprints-for-under-a-dollar.html
This is a great idea! Last year, for cave quest, we did one hallway with black lights and had lots of glow-in-the dark stuff. It was one of the favorite areas among the kids! I am thinking of doing that again this year and these would be perfect. I will use a marker that will glow in the dark. Thanks for the great idea!
Thanks for your feedback & ideas Ashley!
How do you make your own Bible Buddies?
Lauren,
You can download the bible buddies here: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/03/diy-bible-verse-buddies.html.
After you download, you can order them to be printed from a photo shop (like Amazon Prints) or you can print them yourself on card stock paper. I ordered mine from Amazon Prints, then cut, laminated and hole punched them.
Hello! Did you make your bible buddies double sided?
No, ours are single-sided this year. You could easily make them double sided if you wanted to though!
I love your post too! I’m in charge of imagination/craft station and I like including some old-school type crafts each year. I am always looking for fun and affordable cross craft ideas for Day 4. I love the idea of mosaic/spare parts cross. Where do you get your wooden crosses? What size approx?
Thanks!
Hi Jana! I got our wooden crosses at Hobby Lobby! They’re part of the Playside Creations brand and run on sale 30% off fairly often.
These are the ones we’re using: http://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Kids-Crafts-Activities/Classroom-Supplies/Wood-Crosses-with-Hearts/p/80745278
These are cute as well (and a little less expensive): http://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Kids-Crafts-Activities/Classroom-Supplies/Small-Celtic-Wood-Crosses/p/80745364
can you send me access to this template?
thank you in advance
modafish@gmail.com
Sorry about that! I’ve updated the links and will email you a copy.
Awesome! Thank you for sharing.
Hey!! Wondering if you could make the Bible buddies in KJV??
So cute! Thank you.
Are you doing anything different from the Day 1 No Hum Drum? If so, I’d love to see it.
Lidia,
I’m not sure yet! Have you had any great ideas? 🙂
Kara
Any ideas on how to save money on the G.U.T.S.Y. bears?
Hi Amy!
Our preschool kids are doing the GUTSY Bears, but a homemade version that our quilter ladies sewed (just fleece fabric cut in a bear shape and sewed. Our elementary kids are doing tin can robots instead of GUTSY Bears. Here are some more options: http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/04/master-list-craft-ideas-maker-fun-factory.html
Thanks,
Kara
Hi! We are using OCC as our mission focus this year for VBS. I would LOVE to see the robot that is built from shoebox items!
Thank you for all your hard work for the Lord. Using your Bible verses for VBS God Bless
You’re welcome Renee!
Will you tell me how you plan to decorate your Bible Discovery room?
I used dark blue $1 plastic tablecloth and silver metallic sharpie to make lines. It worked well for nearly no cost
Nice idea! I love that the tarps are reusable, but the blue tablecloth is another fun idea!
Can you please share what type of tape you used to hang these on the wall?
Hi Ellen! We use a variety of things to hang our decor at church, depending which space we’re in. If I’m in a room where staples are allowed in the wall, those are really the cheapest/easiest option. If you’re trying to avoid staples, we use:
Painter’s Tape – http://amzn.to/2rvSXCv
Mavalus Tape – http://amzn.to/2rQgDV7
3M Poster Strips – http://amzn.to/2rD0Dou
Hope this helps! Best of luck.
Thank you so much, Kara. Great info here! I love the flakes and the crosses. Do you think the flakes are ok size-wise for preschoolers? Are they smaller than Group’s gears? I’m smacking my forehead here, because we were googling for cheap plastic gears like crazy…and all this time, they were out there, but were called flakes!! Thanks for somehow unearthing the flakes.
Chrissy, You’re most welcome! The Amazon options are smaller than the Group brand, but our preschoolers (3-5 years old) were able to use the Amazon flakes.
Hi Kara, wow, this could be a big money-saver! We don’t have carpet in some areas of our church where we’d like to use floor decals. We have linoleum-type tile. Do you think that carpet protector would stick to that kind of flooring?
Chrissy, I haven’t tried it on linoleum, but we used it on concrete and it worked!
I’m trying to download the coloring pages and find that after day 2 they won’t print correctly. They have some pixelating stuff over the right hand of the page. Can you please help me with this?
I would also love to have these templates via email. Thanks so much!
Sorry about that! If the templates won’t work for you, you can print the tags the following way:
-Save the single image from this post (right click the picture of the name tag and choose “save as” or “save image as”).
-Open the image on your computer and print (right click and choose “print” or just push ctrl+p on your keyboard).
-The pop up screen will let you choose what size to print the template. I chose wallet, which prints 9 on a sheet. You can change the number of times you want it to print at the bottom (so if you choose wallet with 9 per sheet, you want to change this number to 9).
Hope this helps!
Kara
Do you have the lesson from Cave Quest? Our church was given the material, but when I looked at the Bible Story part, the last pages of the first night story were missing. If you have them, would you be willing to share? I have pages 5-8.
Deborah – Sorry I’m just now seeing this! Do you still need the missing pages?
I love all of these ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Any ideas for an alternative craft instead of the gutsy bear for day 1 imagination station?
We did tin can robots on day 1. They were adorable! 🙂
I’ve never heard of clear self-adhesive carpet protector. Where do I find it?
Sharon, Most home improvement stores carry it. I purchased ours at Menard’s on sale for about $5 per roll. It’s in the carpet/flooring section.
We did the same with white sharpies and they turned out fantastic! It was the best $3 I have ever spent! This was a wonderful idea, covered a ton of space and gave a huge impact! Can’t wait to see what you come up with for next year’s theme!
Thanks Christy! Glad it worked well for you! It was definitely one of the easier large space backdrops we’ve done!
I am confused.
You are starting w a square, not a circle.
And you can’t use the same instructions as the giant gear decorations bc of the difference in size.
??
Hi Rachel!
Sorry if the instructions weren’t clear – I’ve updated them with more detail! You will cut the 12″ squares into circles before cutting the gear spokes. You’ll have to make the spokes smaller than with the giant gears. I free handed each set so that I had some different sizes, but you could easily make a pattern so they’re all the same size! Hope this helps.
Kara
I can’t get the templates to work. I really like these name tags.
Sorry about that! If the templates won’t work for you, you can print the tags the following way:
-Save the single image from this post (right click the picture of the name tag and choose “save as” or “save image as”).
-Open the image on your computer and print (right click and choose “print” or just push ctrl+p on your keyboard).
-The pop up screen will let you choose what size to print the template. I chose wallet, which prints 9 on a sheet. You can change the number of times you want it to print at the bottom (so if you choose wallet with 9 per sheet, you want to change this number to 9).
Hope this helps!
Kara
ok so this might sound like a stupid question but you get to keep the products after reviewing right…..just making sure
Hi Salaam!
Yes you do. Unfortunately Amazon has changed their policies so reviewing products for a discount/free is no longer allowed.
I’m doing the KidVid Station, but we are going to change it to more of a STEAM station, because the videos aren’t that great, and our kids will already get the discussion part in the story section. Any additional ideas for STEAM? A bunch of these will work for that too. Thanks so much for all these resources!
Is there anyway you can make the crew tag template a bit bigger? Thanks for making these available.
If you save the single image that’s in the post (right click it and choose “save image as”), you can print it any size you want. Once you have it saved, open it on your computer and choose print, then it’ll offer you size options on the right side of the pop up screen. ?
Thanks, you’re a blessing!
Hi and thank you for the templates. Is there a way to get the template to reflex vertically? I have Inserts that have two across and four down. same size but the cut is vertical / portrait rather than horizontal / landscape. thanks.
If you save the single image that’s in the post (right click it and choose “save image as”), you can insert it in Word any number of times on a page. 🙂
Thanks for the great ideas! We had a hard time finding white markers that would work on paper but we found the white tracing pencils in the sewing dept work really well and they are cheap!
Need ideas for preschool room decorations! Simple and cheap. And did I mention quick and easy. Thanks
Hi! I’ve searched for your cut file for the closet divider template in your post and I’m not able to locate it. Can you send by email? Lisa
Lisa, Sorry I just found your comment! Here is a direct link to the template: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10fg5nO9LRX-rjIKgq5DdddSIIj6TRjWU
Blessings,
Kara
These are great!
How do I access the file for the template you created? I do not see it. I tried clicking on the pictures but they just enlarged. The highlighted links didn’t connect to the layout template unless I missed one. Thanks! Great job!
Nikki – Sorry I just found your comment! Here is the template: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10fg5nO9LRX-rjIKgq5DdddSIIj6TRjWU.
Blessings!
Kara
You are truly a blessing! I swear when I first got the kit I spoke with our director and told her we could make these ourselves and I was trying to figure out how to do it. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Your Cave Quest VBS Ultimate Starter Kit comes filled with everything you need to start planning a truly memorable 2016 vacation Bible school.
I love your closet dividers! I can’t seem to find your downloadable template. Would you be willing to share?
Thank you
Sorry about that! I fixed the link. You can download the template here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10fg5nO9LRX-rjIKgq5DdddSIIj6TRjWU
Thank you for the video! I am excited to see if you do a post on alternative ideas for the Imagination Station this year. I used your ideas last year and they worked out great and saved us money! It’s always great to see what you are doing with the program!
Thanks Marianne! I will absolutely be sharing craft ideas. I’m working on testers now. 🙂
I’m so glad I found your blog through Pinterest! We used Gospel Light curriculum for years and it is scary choosing something new. We have been leaning toward Shipwrecked and you have reassured me that it can be modified for what we do at our church. Thanks!
Oh thank you so much Aimee! You are too sweet! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Do you have any links for other large fabric backdrops? I do love Groups but I do like something more generic as well!!
Thank you!
Hi Erica! I’ll have to search around a bit… I also try to stick to more generic (water, clouds, etc) that we can use every year! We sometimes use flat sheets from Walmart as well. They’re cheap and work well. You can even tie dye them for more color variation.
I love this. Thank you. I was also thinking about a cave on the island. I’m borrowing ideas from Cave Quest, just adding some leaves and maybe a fire. KidVid is sometimes a challenge for us to get the room dark, but stay in theme.
You’re welcome Kat! 🙂
Kara,
Thanks so much for the mention and for sharing about our company! Praying you have a great VBS!
Laura @ Concordia Supply
Laura,
Thanks for offering coupons to help churches with our VBS programs! 🙂
Kara
Do you have any suggestions on how to search for alternatives to the Hopper Stopper? I haven’t gotten my kit yet to take a look at it, but it just seems kind of hokey.
Kara,
Thank you for spreading the word about our VBS coupons; we love helping VBS directors save money on their supplies! Hope your planning is going well!
Laura @ Concordia Supply
Awesome post! I am not seeing the supply list for the beads for the younger age groups though. Is it here and I’m just not seeing it? As always, thanks for the great idea!
Hi Marianne! I actually split the post into two parts because it got so long with both bracelets on one post! Part two will be posted in the next few days! 🙂
Do you personalize with the church’s name?
Martha – I can personalize with a church name!
We are using the Flyers of Hope from Guildcraft – https://www.guildcraftinc.com/crafts/pc/Flyers-Of-Hope-195p2578.htm
Thanks for sharing Melanie!
Oh my goodness! Thank you! I am loving your blog! This is my first year leading VBS and honestly, I’m feeling overwhelmed! Your information is SO helpful! The video was very informative and now, I can say, I’m feeling a bit excited to begin planning! Thank you again!
Lisa-
Thank you from the bottom of my heart – you’re too sweet! Feedback like this is exactly what keeps me going! It can be exhausting to try and document all our VBS projects, but it’s beyond worth it knowing that others can benefit. I’m so excited that YOU’RE excited! VBS is the only time I experience the joy and anticipation I felt as a child waiting for Christmas… I hope everyone can feel that joy and excitement!
Where can I buy the plush bible buddies.
Myra – There are links in the article above. Each of the green descriptions below the photos are links to the plush bible buddies! 🙂
Any ideas on an alternate for Imagination Station Day 4 Ready Rescuer?
Beverley – We typically do a cross craft on Thursday because Thursday’s story is Jesus dying on the cross.
Here’s a few cross options:
http://borrowedblessings.net/2017/04/wooden-cross-craft-vacation-bible-school-ideas.html
http://borrowedblessings.net/2016/03/stained-glass-art.html
The canvas painting would be a great option, too! Here it is: http://borrowedblessings.net/2018/03/rescued-jesus-canvas-painting-shipwrecked-imagination-station-alternative-day-2.html.
I just found your blog so much useful infor. I am organizing our shipwrecked vbs this year. As I have been searching for ideas for name tags I came up with the idea of the roll of name tags from Oriental trading 100 per roll for $4,99 and we are going to use leis as our lanyards also on Oriental trading 100 ct for $12.99. we will tie the tag to the lei with a piece of string or maybe a small ring. I think they will be super cute!
I love the idea of incorporating leis! Thanks for sharing!
Do you have the PDF of this with multiple name tags on a sheet? I would love to use this 🙂
Julie-
I’ve created PDFs and added them to the post above! 🙂
Hi Julie, I make all the name tags for our VBS too. Something that I started doing a while ago, I put a copy of the schedule on the back of the staff name tags. That way they always know what time the next rotation is and where to go. My helpers like not having to carry extra stuff around. They can concentrate on the kids.
I really like your PDF and all your other ideas too!
Great idea! In the past, I’ve put an invitation for visiting kids to return to our church.
Did you make bookmarks with the Shipwrecked Bible Buddies and verses?
I have not made bookmarks. Are you in the Shipwrecked facbook group? I know someone there shared bookmark templates!
Is there a minimum we would have to order? Also, about how long would they take to arrive?
Paula,
I typically print at least 10 shirts at a time, but if you need less we can chat. Turnaround is about 3 weeks.
Kara
What do you use the keyrings for? Do you have a picture of the finished product? Thanks!
The keyring is in case you’d rather make keychains than bracelets. If you’re making bracelets, you don’t need keyrings! I’ll have to hunt down my pictures… I took the supplies over to church. 🙂
Do you think it would be cheaper to buy some brown foam and cut the pieces out yourself? Then do you think a plane rubber band would do the same thing as the piece they include? I am trying to figure out if this is a feasible and cheaper way to go about this project.
Tammy, I’m not sure if regular thickness craft foam would be thick enough. I’ve seen people cut cardboard and cover it in duct tape (I think I saw tutorials for that on Pinterest). If you’re looking for an alternative, check out the DIY Sponge Sailboats I posted. They’re much less expensive. 🙂
I see that it’s been a while since you posted this; however, I’d like to know if there have been any issues with the tabletop? Such as, stain “peeling” or the topcoat of polycrylic coming off due to not adhering to the stain, since one is oil- & the other is water-based?
Hi Linda! We are still using the table daily. There are a few spots that I’ve dinged up (like when I sat a plywood box on the table – ha!). It still looks great, but definitely isn’t perfect. 🙂 I’d post a photo, but like most people’s dining room tables, it’s currently holding our mail and various other random items!
Try acetone on cotton ball to erase your dates on banner. It worked for me, then I could add new dates with a fat sharpie marker.
Thanks for the idea Kathy! Since our banner has a blue background with white dates, I don’t think that would work for us. It would work for a white banner with colored dates though (I think). 🙂
Do you have any alternate ideas for Day 4 – the Ready Rescuere?
We’re doing the anchor canvas painting that day! 🙂
Just wondering how many kids you usually have at your VBS? And do you follow what the program says and group kids of all ages together or so you group by age groups?
Hi Marianne! We usually have 60-70 kids at VBS. We separate kids by age. We’ve tried the mixed age crews (years ago), but it didn’t work well for us.
The needles you said to get are much to small to thread with the string you said to get. I cannot even thread it using a magnifying glass. The thread is to thick or the eye of the needle is to small…whichever. These are extremely tiny. Did you ever make up one of these decoder bracelets with the items you suggested buying?
C – I’m sorry this isn’t working for you! I did make one of these… although I used thread we had on hand (I thought it was the same thread I linked to but the package was missing so it may have been slightly different). Did you try a thinner thread?
Do you have alternative ideas for Day 4 with the Ready Rescuer Kits? I like the idea, but wondered if you had other thoughts. I couldn’t find it on your website.
Hi Patti! We’re doing the canvas paintings then. A lot of years we do a cross craft on Thursday since the story is Jesus’s death/resurrection.
For the 4th day I decided to do the thing where the marker guy dances off the plate. However, we are printing and laminating crosses for everyone and giving them each a dry erase marker. They then draw Jesus on their own cross, slowly pour water on it and He dances off the cross.
Fun idea, Tammy! Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to send pictures and step-by-step instructions, I’m happy to share with others. 🙂
I did a bracelet activity for Valentine’s day and found online that tying a floss threader (our older daughter’s use them to floss w/braces and they can be found alongside where toothpaste/floss are sold) to the cording helped a lot with smaller hands threading the beads on. We’re doing the decoder bracelets for VBS and I’m going to get some floss threaders also.
Thanks for the tip Patty!
Would you approximate the amounts you listed under cost comparison to be enough for about 100 students?
Patty – I think you could easily make a couple hundred with the supplies listed!
Good write-up. I absolutely appreciate this site. Keep writing!
I need a Crew 7 and Crew 8. Is there a way I can print over the blank sign?
You can add text on the blank one using a program like Canva or PicMonkey.
Thanks
Can you tell me what font you used for these?
Of course! They’re Ambrosine (the words) and Fjalla One (the numbers). I believe both fonts are available for free downloads online.
Do you have an alternate for day 4?
Since day 4 is usually Jesus’ death and resurrection, we typically do a cross craft. This year we’re making cross suncatchers and taking them to the local nursing home patients. Here’s the details on our suncatcher crosses: http://borrowedblessings.net/vbs-crafts-suncatchers/
How Wonderful!!! Thank you so much!!! Blessings:)
Thank you (and you’re welcome)!
I’m having trouble printing. It’s printing to the right of the page and cutting about 1/3 of it off. I’ve tried changing a few setting but I’m not successful.
They are beautiful and I’m really hoping to use them.
Karen – Did you save them to your computer before printing? If you right click and choose “save image as”, then print it from your downloads, then it should let you choose what size to print it.
I was just given this VBS for our church and I don’t have the Bible Activity Pages. Do you happen to have those? Thank you.
This was awesome! It allowed me to modify a couple of items to fit our VBS needs. Thank you so much for posting this!
Do you happen to have Crews 7-20 available anywhere? I need signs for 20 crews:)
I only created through 6, but you’re welcome to use the blank template and make as many as you’d like!
Thanks for all the great ideas. We are going to make decoder necklaces or bracelets with pony beads and sections of colorful straws. I wasn’t able to find anything affordable at the craft stores or online. Since the beads are bigger, unless the word is short, it is going to need to be a necklace. I don’t think the kids will mind at all.
Thanks Norma! I love the straw idea!
I have tried to get on this site and all I get is a some kind of virus warning about invading my pc and gaining information or something. I did not wait to read it. So please check your site out to see what is going on. I tried my laptop and desk computer and got the same message. I have an anti virus program on both.
I was wanting to print out some verses for Maker factory vbs.
Joyce,
I’m so sorry you’re having trouble! I actually just switched malware protection providers. I pay a premium for full service protection on my website and all information contained therein. Please know that safety is my priority, even though it adds a hefty expense. I sent your message on to my security company. They have just run a full scan of the site and it has returned as clean. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can be of further assistance. Thanks for your patience!
Hello are those the only 3 proofs for shipwrecked? Or can you do the ship logo?
Jenn, I can do custom designs as well. Feel free to email me: kara.edens.magner@gmail.com.
This post is very helpfil. I can’t find an alternative to the exploding paint. HELP!
Monica,
We did a pie-in-the-face since our kids reached our missions goal, so we skipped the exploding paint. I’ve seen that some people are using Elephant Toothpaste as an alternative, but I’ve never tried that.
This science explosion kit has great reviews too: https://amzn.to/2tcsVGn
Hello! My church has vbs on July 15th. We would love to have the BE Still logo as shown above on the green shirt if possible. I will need 90 shirts. Will you please let me know if this time line is possible. I know it’s short notice and a lot of shirts.
Adult
1-xs
3- small
27-med
15- L
15-XL
12-2XL
1-3XL
3-4XL
Youth
2-YXS
5-YS
4-yM
2-YL
Brooke, Thanks for reaching out! Normally I could probably get a rush order done for you, but we’re spending time with family next week, so I won’t be available. Sorry! I’d love to work with you in the future. Best of luck with your VBS!
Thank you so much for your shared VBS ideas. ‘You’re instructions are so easy to follow. Will be making hundred of vines. God Bless! Gladys, Sacred Heart Church, Monroe, NY
Gladys – Thanks for your comment! I’m so glad to know the site is helpful!
Hi,
I trust this information is helpful. We have about 50 VBS kids. We separate kids by age.
If you do not purchase the bible buddies sold by Group, but instead print and laminate your own, will your kids be able to use their bible buddies with Group’s app?
Nope, our kids have never used the app so we’re not worried about that. For the cost savings, it’s worth the sacrifice for us. We pay about 25 cents per kid for our bible buddies, compared to Group’s $2.39 per kid.
Did you use Microsoft Word and if so, what font did you use?
No, I didn’t use Microsoft Word to create this (I used a graphic design program). The font that I used for our church VBS info is called Glacial Indifference.
ROAr 50 bible buddies
Kathy – Please email me: borrowedblessings.net@gmail.com. Thanks!
can you send me information on these grants? We are a small church and this would be awesome
Peggy,
Here’s the information on the Thrivent Action Teams grant program: https://www.thrivent.com/making-a-difference/living-generously/thrivent-action-teams/
Kara
Thanks for the creative & thoughtful ideas!!
Your table looks great. I am considering using polyshades on a dining table top and chalk painting the legs. Could you share how you got the surface so smooth? Did you brush or roll? I did a coffee table with polyshades and had a hard time getting a smooth surface. Thank you for any advice you can give. I want the surface to be smooth and durable.
How much would you charge for Bible buddies for 30 kids?
Julie,
Please email me (borrowedblessings.net@gmail.com) and I’ll get you a quote!
Thanks,
Kara
I would like to place an order for 50.
Hi, we are doing VBS In The Wild this year, I love this backdrop and tree. Do you have any instructions on how to build the tree or where to get the backdrop? Thanks!
Carol,
The backdrop is sold by Group Publishing: https://www.concordiasupply.com/Fabric-Wall-Hangings-Set-of-3-Roar-VBS?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5Y3kBRDwARIsAEwloL6Hl2OyGy9F0PIeYQHNxx8Z2UNHKQZHpO3X88HNhgNaKARltE8oC8saAmYhEALw_wcB
The tree is also part of Group’s decor… there are instructions for it here: https://vbstools.group.com/easy-vbs-2019/roar-decorating-places-instructions/
Age groups: Our church has a large program, especially for the elementary aged students. We have the preschoolers come in the morning and run our main elementary age group in the evening. This has allowed us to maximize our limited space while still serving the population we’ve got.
Snacks: Our stations run about 20 minutes plus 5 minutes for transitions. Both of our age groups run snack time as part of games. We gave up on a single snack time for all awhile ago. It’s way too crowded and loud in our fellowship hall; we just outgrew it. So, now we serve something simple in the evening for the elementary kids: ice pops (the cheap ones in the plastic wrapper). Needless to say, we also have trashcans outside at Games. The preschoolers do about 10 minutes of games outside, then come in for the last 10 minutes to have snack. They do the cutesy snacks, usually a knock-off Pintrest idea.
Bible Buddies: Thanks for the ideas and images! I’m going to share them with our Education Director. Last year the price just jumped too much for us to justify purchasing them from Group. She found some knock-offs that had real animals on them, but they just didn’t seem to have the same keepsake value. The new design for Roar isn’t going to be one that we invest in either. Thanks for sharing your designs!
Thanks for your thoughts Kristen! I always love hearing how other churches do things.
I’m confused how to order the key tags. I download the picture, which I did. What then? Do you prepare the key tags? How do the holes get in them so they can go onto the carabiner?
Terri,
There are several companies that print these key tags. If you google custom key tags, you should get lots of results. The printing company will print them with the hole already punched if you order them that way. 🙂
Do you have alternatives for all 5 of the Imagination Station gizmos?
Diana,
Some of my ideas relate to a specific night (like the wobbly eggs) and others could be used any night (like the shaker instruments). Let me know if you have any more questions!
Kara
Can you clarify which side of the egg to glue the stone too. First it says “wide side” then it say “top side”. Maybe I’m confused but isn’t the wide side of the egg the bottom? Thanks so much! I so appreciate your ideas as they are a lifesaver on our budget!
Alyssa – Thanks for your question! I added an image to the post with an arrow to the side of the egg that we glue the glass stone in! 🙂
Thank you for these. They are beautiful
You’re welcome!
I tried to click on the image but it didn’t do anything
Tina – Sorry about that! I changed some of the image settings. Please try again. 🙂
Kara
thank you Kara, worked perfect now.
I love your many ideas for VBS. I am Director out here in California. I am trying to download your African Background signs and it is not working.
Sorry about that! I changed some of the image settings. Please try again. 🙂
Kara
This is great! thanks so much for sharing it!!
You’re welcome Andrea! 🙂
Does anyone have any VBS Shipwreck anything from last year that they want to sell or let Palm Springs SDA Church borrow
Are you in the Facebook group for Shipwrecked VBS directors? That’s a great place to find others in your area!
Is there more than one sheet? I only see one although it says “sheets”. 🙂 Just making sure I didn’t miss anything.
Sorry about that Kim! I started working on a second but haven’t finished it… so there’s just one for now. 🙂
Hi! I’m just finding this post as we’re using an old VBS (Babylon). Would love to make these for our week! I’ve created the verses, but can’t figure out how to put 4 on one print! What did you use to create them?
Thanks so much!
Ashley,
I used an online collage maker (like befunky.com) to put 4 on one sheet. 🙂
Kara
No problem……..just wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing anything! 🙂
What type of animal is each day?
If I remember correctly, Ramsey is a big horn sheep, Ava is a hawk, Sierra is a cougar, Finn is a rainbow trout and Lawrence Elk is not a Champagne Music Maker but, well, an elk.
Thanks Bob!
So what do you do after you cut it? How do you open and hang them. It’s not on the instructions
Sorry it wasn’t clear! You won’t have to open them at all – there will just be a stack of vines cut. We just stapled them at the top using 1-2 staples per vine. You can attach them with tape if you’d rather!
Thank you for sharing these awesome Bible Buddies! They are exactly what I was looking for!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Hi, my name is Aline I’am this year the leader of the children ministry in a church in Florida.
Since we are very low in budget, we will have Cave Quest- VBS this year, any one knows where we can barrow some decor?
rellay appreciate
God bless
This is so helpful! Thank you!!
You’re welcome!
Roar VBS: Imagination Station Gizmo Alternatives
You give alternate gizmos but don’t give your thought behind how they apply and are alternates. Most are common sense but for days 3 & 4 I don’t understand how what you choose is an alternate. Thanks. I use your website every year for alternate suggestions.
this is great thanks
You’re welcome!
Does the xylophone actually play notes?
It makes noise… I wouldn’t necessarily call them notes though. 🙂
will not let me save the image of the postcard for some reason…what do i need to do?
This seems great. Since I am doing a making instrument project for my intro to music class in college, I hope that this would work out for my project. I am also wondering, does it make like different sounds while hitting different sections of the board?
I’m sorry – I don’t remember! We used it for Vacation Bible School but didn’t keep it.
What is your preschool schedule?
Will be doing Rocky Railway VBS in June 2020. Need decoration ideas
Exceptional resource. I love these alternatives. They are so much more cost effective. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! We needed this today.
You’re most welcome! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this, I’m trying to do my own at home this year and this was a great resource!
Thank you so much for sharing these ideas. Vbs items are costly & these do help. Thanks again!
I love this idea & also the idea of re-usable ones (though maybe for a later, less germy time 🙂 ) Could you please tell me if you re-fill the bags with different activities each week or do the activities remain the same for several weeks before being changed up? Thanks!
Our church’s reusable busy bags each have different activities (so kids can easily have different items every week). The disposable ones I would suggest changing out at least a few of the materials (even just a fun new sticker sheet each week), or make up a variety of bags with different contents so kids can choose what looks exciting to them each week.
We got to use these to add a note of encouragement to bags of food to donate! Thank you!!
Yay! What a fun idea. Thanks for sharing!
We are using Treasured, and would love to get some ideas including crafts! Thank you!
Do you still have this? I would love to get it. We are doing this VBS this year. Thanks
Hey,
I’m probably overlooking something, but what SIZE styrofoam sheets? Thickness!
Thank you so much and I used some of your links! Very helpful!
You can use any size you want, but most people buy the 4’x8′ foam insulation sheets from home improvement stores.
Do you have a picture of the final product with the tag?
This is so helpful! Thanks so much!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your encouragement. 🙂
This form was fantastic and so helpful! Thank you!
You are so welcome!
LOVE THIS!!! I thank God for His gift of creativity in you!!
Thank you for that encouragement! 🙂
Am I missing the Download button? These look great and I appreciate the time you took to find them, but I can’t find where to download them. Thank you.
If you click each image, you should be able to right click and choose “save image as”. 🙂
Thank you for all your incredible VBS posts! Each one is helping me TONS! I appreciate you sharing this with all of us!!!
Thank you for your encouragement!
when using paper did you use a decopage to make it stiff?
Nope, we just stapled it to the cardboard.
helpful
I really need the treasured sign and some left over posters and stickers if anyone has them… we are doing this theme this year and group is sold out…
Very nice activity!
Anyone have any Treasured decorations they don’t need