Crafts

The most important part of VBS is to point Wave Riders to Jesus. Everything we say, make, & do should reflect Him. The Craft Cabana isn’t a place to forget about our mission.
· Ask children to recap their bible study and practice verse together.
· Talk about kids’ concerns & questions.
· Learn names and use them.
· Promote cooperation by sharing supplies; sometimes it’s good to not have enough.

Wave 1 – Truth: God Is Real!
Remind children as they use the sand for vase, or talk about water for the other crafts: Matthew 7:26-But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?” Job 38:8 or “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?” Job 38:16
Painting Sea Vase
I’m not sure why we’re supposed to paint the inside and then use sand on the brown. You can’t see it from the outside! Painting on the outside works fine if you want to use sand. If you skip the sand go ahead and paint the inside.
I’m always worried about using anything glass.
Sharpies work great, even on painted surface.
Aloha Apparel (T-shirt)
Guildcraft has pre-printed Truth T’s for about $3.65ea. - www.GuildcraftInc.com
Option: Iron on or trace pattern with pencil for kids to color.
Don’t forget the cardboard inside!
Beachcomber Eyeglasses holder
Lifeway’s kit worked very well.
Some wooden bead holes are small. Don’t forget to check.
You could get nylon cord and melt the ends with a flame so students don’t have to hassle with unraveling.

Wave 2 – Truth: Jesus is God’s Son!
Celebration ornament
Glass??? Are they serious? Plastic is the only option in my opinion.
Tropical Tile Trivet
The math doesn’t work out. 16 don’t fit on a 4” block if you want to have spaces in between.
Surfboard Sound Machine
I don’t care for Lifeway’s kit, but I don’t really care for this craft at all L
Hard for kid hands to hold together while taping. I envision this as a teacher does all the work while the kid watches type craft.
Not much room left to decorate.
Wave 3 – Truth: Jesus is the Only Way!
Truth Key Ring
Cut cords longer than 16”.
I love the idea of double stringing each bead. Why haven’t I remembered to do this the last 3 years?
Make sure your beads openings are large enough to string both strands. Get a cord that won’t unravel much. Not jute.
Gecko Bible Verse Holder
Ha! The wiggle eyes that came with the Lifeway kit are magnetic, so when I stuck the magnet on the back they don’t wiggle anymore J
I prefer the self stick wiggle eyes, but the smallest ones I found are 7mm, and might be a bit too large.
Please don’t buy any wooden spoons. We have a huge box of them at KBC that we’ll never use up!
I hate gluing chenille stems. They never stick! I just taped them on with masking tape strips.
I found about 3000 round magnets at Value Village. They’re not self-stick, but I’m just going to hot glue them real quick as the kids make them.
Don’t forget to pre-print bible verses for the youngest children to hang on the tail. Older kids can write their own verses. This will help them remember.
Trade Windsock
Ask for ribbon donations at church.
To go really cheap, use construction paper and crepe paper streamers that you probably already have at church. Just color on it with markers.

Wave 4 – Truth: The Bible is God’s Word!
Scribe’s Message Carrier
Crayons work best. I tried markers and stamp pads, and they’re both too messy.
Cover the end with wax paper or something similar so the things you put inside don’t stick to the tape. I covered mine with 2 pieces of masking tape sticky sides together. This was a little to bulky.
Here’s what I did: Start on bottom: Don’t cover the bottom yet. Stick pieces of tape about 3” up the bottom of tube. Punch 1/8” hole about 1.5” up from bottom. Thread long jute through hole, and tie a knot so when you pull it will be inside. Continue covering tube, bottom too. After tube is covered with tape, color with crayon. Then, wrap jute around tube punch 2 holes directly across the tube from each other near the top and thread through one of the holes. Leave a long string for a handle and thread through the other hole. Tie knot. This eliminates the need to glue the jute on the masking tape and crayon, which are both difficult to glue on. Not to mention messy J
Palm Portfolio
I can’t find just brown poms anywhere. You either have to buy a bunch of assorted colors, or order from an art catalog.
I’m not a big fan of foam crafts. I’d just use paper; it’s cheaper.
Outrigger pencil pouch
Lifeway’s kit worked well, but I could’ve used a longer string.
I did a blanket stitch instead of a whipstitch.
I’m not sure how they got the knot on the inside at the end, at least with the plastic lacing.

Wave 5 – Truth: My Actions Show What I Believe!
Kokua Kit
I thought this was kind-of cheesy as-is.
It’s also fairly spendy to buy that many sandwich containers. Unless you ask for donations.
You could show the kids how to make boxes out of cardstock, or just ask for donations of lots of mini boxes (jewelry size would be good.)
I’m not sure alcohol swabs are a good thing to put in there. What are they going to do with those? What about little candies, a piece of gauze… Use your imagination.
Hang Ten Frame
I found some washable Crayola Gel FX Markers a couple years ago that don’t bleed on wood. Every other marker I tried bleeds at least a little. Especially permanent markers.
I tried stamping with my pigment based stamp pads. This worked great; there was no bleeding. I’m not sure how the regular ink based would do.
Sea Turtle Memo Holder
I learned by trial and ERROR that double stick tape doesn’t hold foam very well 
Super glue did though. As did silicon glue. It’s very thick, so the pieces don’t slide around so much like with Elmer’s glue.