How to Make Large Props with a Projector

I’ve been asked several times how to make large props with a projector… read on for our tips! I’ve used this method to create large props from paper, foam board and large sheets of cardboard!

This post may contain affiliate links.  You pay the same price for any linked items and I earn a small commission on each sale, which helps to offset the costs of maintaining Borrowed Blessings.  Thank you for your support!  All retail prices are current as of time of writing, but keep in mind that prices often fluctuate.

Supplies

• Projector & computer
• Large roll of paper
• Optional: Sheets of foam board or cardboard (or any other material you’d like to cut your shapes out of)
• Marker
• Painter’s tape
• Scissors

Instructions

• Find an image on your computer that you want to create as a prop. I typically search for silhouettes of whatever prop I want (ie for an elephant, I search elephant silhouette). We’ll save these images and trace them onto large paper to create props. Make sure you’re using images legally! Save the image(s) to your computer.
• Connect your computer to your projector. I use the computer & projector in the kid’s area of our church.

• Open the first image you want to trace.
• Cut a large sheet of paper from your roll (even if you eventually want to cut the shape out of cardboard, it’s easier to trace it on paper first). For these safari animals, I cut an 8′ long piece of paper (that’s the widest sheet that will fit on our projector wall at once).
• Hang the sheet of paper on your wall using painter’s tape.

• Zoom in on your image until it’s the size you want your prop to be. (If the image is tall and skinny, like our giraffe, it may be easier to trace if you rotate the image 90 degrees.)

• Trace the outline of the image using a marker. (I use a washable marker, not permanent markers, to make sure it doesn’t bleed through the paper and mark on our walls!) Some of our sheets of paper fit multiple animals at once.

• Once you have the entire outline traced, remove the paper from the wall.
• Repeat the process for as many props/animals as you’d like.
• If you’d like the props to be cut out of another material (foam, cardboard, wood, etc), use the traced paper as a template to cut the shapes out of the other material.
• Cut out props/animals using scissors. If you’re worried about marker lines showing on your paper, flip the paper over to hang it.

Follow Borrowed Blessings for more VBS resources & ideas!