Rocky Railway VBS: Decorating Preview

Choo choo! I won’t start building our Rocky Railway VBS decor for MONTHS but I really like to know the basic idea so I can brainstorm now. Check out the decorating preview photos from Group Publishing below…

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I’ll add notes with the decor items you can start looking for now. Add a comment if you see more items we should watch for on sale! Here are some of the items that are used several items throughout the decorating preview photos:
–Brown kraft paper roll
–Gray/brown spray paint
–Blue cellophane
-Large sheets of foam
–Wood print plastic (Oriental Trading has an option too)
–Wood print paper
–Skinny Christmas trees
–Stone print plastic (alternative: Cobblestone print plastic)
-Crew mats (gray fleece blankets or tarps)
-Cardboard boxes
–Blue plastic tablecover or blue large paper roll
–Red plastic tablecover or red large paper roll

A quick note about plastic tablecover vs large paper rolls: Both are wallcoverings that are affordable for most churches. Plastic is easier to drape over different surfaces, but the plastic is also see through (especially lighter shades). If you’re going to use plastic tablecover, I’d advise using a darker shade – I’ve linked darker shades above.

Keep in mind that companies like Oriental Trading will release items tailored to Rocky Railway, but those won’t be available until Spring 2020.

Main Set Room (for Opening & Closing): crew signs on silver and black poles (I’ll design some crew signs closer to next summer), large Rocky Railway sign, main stage (see more photos below)

Main Set: Large train (see detail below), ticket depot (see detail below), bible buddies on foam board, large Rocky Railway logo, large backdrop from Group, large rocks and waterfall (you’ll need brown kraft paper, blue cellophane, brown/gray spray paint, add a water light for some fun texture), smoke machine, trees (grab your Christmas trees!), greenery, rocks (paper bags, brown/gray spray paint), yellow trees (birch?)

Train (on stage): the rocks on the sides will need kraft paper and brown/gray spray paint (kids can help crumple the paper to achieve the textured look!), the train looks like it’s made from large sheets of foam, paint and pvc pipe

Stairwell: looks like lots more brown kraft paper here, cardboard boxes covered with stone print plastic and some skinny trees

Caboose: I’m sure the red plastic will be available through Group. You could create the same look with large red paper and draw black lines on it (or just use plain red plastic and skip the black lines). It looks like the bible buddies are featured here on pieces of black posterboard.

Depot (on stage): I think this is made from large sheets of foam (accented with real lights). You could also make your registration area a “ticket booth” instead of putting it on stage.

Depot Boardwalk (on stage): It looks like the wood texture has been carved into large sheets of foam. There are several areas with luggage stacked as filler items, so I’m going to keep my eyes open at yard sales and secondhand shops for cheap luggage!

Display: backdrop hung on pipe and drape system, Christmas trees, rocks, luggage (it looks like the luggage is made from cardboard boxes covered in brown kraft paper and accented with black paper – black duct tape would be faster though)

Train Seats: These LOOK like they’re just cardboard, which means our kiddos would sit on them and break them on Day 1. Ha! You could use real seats or make cardboard ones as they’ve done here. They’ve created fake windows using posters. There’s a block plastic backdrop at the back of the room.

River: brown kraft paper spray painted with gray & brown, blue cellophane, rocks made from large sheets of foam

Entryway: skinny Christmas trees, rocks made from kraft paper, benches, Railroad Crossing signs (posts look like carpet tubes covered in black paper)

Tunnel: This looks like a great way to block an area you don’t want kids going… or you could make the tunnel so kids can walk through it to get to a station! The area looks like it’s made from stone pattern plastic roll, black plastic, a light for the front of the train, blue plastic or blue paper for the walls, a plastic backdrop with trees, train tracks (strips of cardboard covered in wood print and strips of cardboard spray painted black).

Water Tower: This looks like it might be a repurposed hut from Roar VBS covered in wood print plastic.

KidVid Cinema: a whole lotta wood print plastic, luggage stack (see detail below), crew mats (cheap fleece blankets or tarps work well)

Luggage: wood print plastic (you can also purchase wood print paper rolls), vintage luggage, wood crates, wood train whistle, small luggage made from a paper bag or box covered with kraft paper and black paper or black duct tape

Imagination Station: walls covered with patterned plastic, black dropcloth plastic on the ceiling, crew mats, control center (see detail below). This silver sequin backdrop might work for the scene setter.

Imagination Station Detail: The control center includes repurposed materials like a peanut butter jar lid spray painted silver, as well as silver duct and silver duct tape

Preschool Hallway: blue plastic or blue paper rolls, tree/forest plastic backdrop, train tracks on floor, train built from cardboard boxes covered in colored paper, paper plates added for wheels.

What projects are you eyeing or brainstorming from these inspirational photos?!

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