DIY Waterfall Stage Decor

Many VBS themes lend themselves well to having a waterfall on stage.  Last summer, we built an inexpensive (and easy) waterfall on stage for Shipwrecked VBS.  Follow the a step-by-step instructions below to create your own simple waterfall!  I’ve also included a video of us making our waterfall.

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Supplies:
-Cardboard boxes (several heights, but about the same width)
Clear packing tape
Staple gun
Silver metallic foil wrapping paper
Blue cellophane (it’s okay to have multiple shades of blue)
Kraft bulletin board paper
Water ripple light

I didn’t realize my phone shifted while we were working and it got behind a plant – sorry about that!  Keep watching to the end for a close up of the layers as well as a view of the waterfall with our water light turned on!

Instructions
1. Line up cardboard boxes with each other, shortest to tallest.  Our largest box was too wide, so we actually cut it open and reshaped it to the same width as the smaller boxes.  Use packing tape to tape the boxes together.  

2. Starting at the highest box, roll metallic foil wrapping paper over the top of all the boxes.  It’s okay if you have extra on the floor at the bottom as a pool!  I started our wrapping paper in the baptismal (taped it to the inside of the pool with packing tape), then taped and stapled it to the boxes just enough to hold it in place while I worked.

3. Repeat the process in step 2 using the blue cellophane.  It’s okay if you have multiple shades of blue!  Once you reach the floor, crumple the cellophane to give it some depth.

4. Tear 6-8 foot long strips of kraft bulletin board paper.  Crumple them into balls, then uncrumple the ball (leaving the paper somewhat crumpled so it has depth).  

5. Using a staple gun and packaging tape, attach the kraft bulletin board paper to the sides of the cardboard boxes and down to the floor around the edge of your “pool”.  It looks much more finished if you roll the edges of the kraft paper over the edges of the wrapping paper & cellophane.  (The end of the video shows a close up of this.)

6. Once you have everything in place, you might want to go back and add more staples to secure everything in place!

7. Optional (but really makes the waterfall come alive): Sit a water ripple light a few feet in front of the waterfall on the floor, pointed at the blue cellophane.

We found the silver foil wrapping paper at Dollar Tree and got some of the blue cellophane there as well (we had a few rolls of cellophane in the supply closet).  I believe we used 5-6 rolls each of the silver foil paper and blue cellophane.

I am a long-time Vacation Bible School lover.  I’ve lead in several capacities throughout the VBS world and am currently our church’s VBS director.  It is a joy for me to be able to share VBS ideas and resources with others!  I will continue to share VBS ideas here.  Follow the blog to see more of our ideas and planning!  Please let me know if there are any specific VBS items or ideas you need help with!

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