One Week - Two Boards

Last week was a pretty busy week with the completing of the elements needed for and installation of one bulletin board and then the cutting of items and installation of another bulletin board. These boards are "living" boards with information being added each month for the one board and info on the other after a poll is taken. I wanted to wait to post until more info was added but I just couldn't wait. 

This first board was completed for a fellow church. 

The sermon series is regarding discipleship with the theme "Who's at Your Table?" When the message series was first presented to me, I had a whole other avenue of thought for this board. My original plan was to make it look like you were entering into a dining room seeing a set table and place cards but the theme and the concept just weren't meshing. So, I did the thing I always do when I am conflicted on a bulletin board. I went to talk it out with my creative friend and cohort, Debbie. From our conversation, a whole new idea, this idea evolved.

The premise is that you are looking at an event planner's notebook. After all, the decision of who sits at what table for an event are usually mapped out by the event planner with the help of the event's host. I used a large black piece of foam board for the outer portion of the binder and a matte finished piece of white foam board for the information pages. To make the binder look authentic, I added a silver strip of paper and pliable wire shaped into loops to imitate the three ring area of the binder. 

The page in the binder is a table seating floor plan. This was all done by free hand. I traced with pencil a circle cutting ring for the tables and a smaller circle for the chairs then went over the pencil with a ultra fine black Sharpie marker. I also measured out a rectangular head table at which I placed the Holy Spirit, Father and Son. 

The tables are being used to record the fellowship events the church will be having monthly. There are 12 tables for the 12 months. So far they have had one event - Ziti Spectacular, Spectacular and  their next event is going to be Soup 'n Bowl Sunday. These I wrote out in red so they would pop off the page. Events will be added to the appropriate table as they are announced. On the opposite side of the binder, I placed the theme which was cut using my Cricut cutter. I also printed out the church's logo on silver paper and wrote in silver Sharpie "Property of". 

The other two pages are "event" pages that have not made it into the binder. The top page is being used for the currently planned event. Computer printed "titles" are going to be generated by the Pastor and hung using repositionable stickers tabs in the appropriate areas of event, date and time.  The open area of the page will have sign up sheets (also hung by repostitionable sticker tabs) for the items that are needed to be brought for the fellowship. The page peeking out behind will list the next planned event and the date. A pen is going to be hung by these pages to be used for the sign up sheets.

Beside the missing titles showing the current and upcoming event information, I'm working on place cards with the names of 12 church families that still need to be attached to the board. I decided on 12 families taking into account the 12 disciples. Yes, I do a lot of symbolism when it comes to the boards I create. When I add the place cards, I will take another picture and post it so you can see a more completed version of this board.

The other board I completed was for the 4th grade teacher at the kid's school. The board is located outside his classroom and is decorated on a rotation basis with 2 other teachers.

I did this board in two parts. This was part one.

I put up a dark royal blue paper as the background. The snowman was made for a previous board I did for my church. He was a lot of work so when the board came down I kept the snowman for future use and here he is! The "snow" batting was also used on another board and repurposed here. The yard stick I've used for crafting projects and recently replaced it with a metal one that can withstand the "use" I put yard sticks through. 

So you get the idea that the board is snow themed but what is the main theme, well here it is - How much snow by March?

I used two styles of snowflakes to decorate the board. The first are the hot glue snowflakes I made and used on a previous church bulletin board. Then, I had cut with my Cricut cutter snowflakes both large and small in a shimmer blue and white card stock. I was so please with the look the snowflakes added to the board.

Now this board is not quite done. The fourth grade teacher is having each student in the elementary classes write down their guess of how much snow will fall on precut snowballs. We will then stack each classes snowballs in a triangular form along the snow line. When the snowball poll has been completed, I will take another picture of the board to show it in its completed form. 

It was a busy week but a very successful one in the area of bulletin boards. Now on to the next one!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Its Iconic

As most of you know, I not only create bulletin boards for my church but another local church. The Pastor will usually send me a graphic that leads me in the direction of how the board should look. Of course, there is always the understanding that I may not be able to reproduce it exactly and variations may occur. 

Here is a picture of one the two graphics he forwarded to be considered for reproduction in bulletin board form.

As soon as I saw this graphic, I knew I wanted to try and reproduce it even though it is out of my creative comfort zone. Of course, I took the pic to review with my friend, Debbie, who always helps me talk through how I can make the possibility given come to completion.

My goal was to make the main element look like a slab of stone with the icons etched in the stone. Now, I've become pretty proficient in cutting items from foam board. However, I also know foam board is not really paintable as it likes to warp during the drying process. It wasn't until I took a trip to Hobby Lobby that I found how to resolve this "problem". There I found large sheets of picture mat board. I purchased two pieces in a sand color. 

Then, the icon process began. 

First, I sketched the 3 icons from the graphic and an additional icon (not pictured) in the form of a cloud on to sketch paper.

Then using a utility knife,  I cut out the "templates" that would be traced onto the mat board pieces.

After measuring and tracing the icons onto the mat board, I used a utility knife to cut out the icons. 

I also cut out the word "The Journey" using letters I cut with my Cricut cutter and I traced onto the mat board.

Over the next few days, I applied stone texture spray onto the board. I used 1 1/2 cans for the base. Then, I used a light gray and pebble stone colored acrylic paint to add some shading to the edges. Once the shaded areas were dry, I sprayed the entire mat board with the remaining stone spray to soften the shading a touch. I also, put a black luster card stock behind each icon and the words to give it the look that they were etched into the stone. Finally, using my Cricut cutter I cut out the title words "Exodus God's Story Continues".

Last Thursday, I installed the board at the church. It was placed off center and on the right side of the board I attempted to do an accordion fold with the background paper to give it a little texture.

The board will be up until the end of November, so the Pastor is going to apply (via ink pad) some sandal "footprints" in some of open the blue space.
This was a first attempt at "mimicking" a slab of stone. There are several things I would do differently. I would back the mat board with foam board to give it some more dimension. I would also give the sides a rugged cut to give that "look" of a stone that has been quarried.
All in all though I am pleased with the outcome.
As always, thanks for stopping by!

Delivery Day

Today was delivery day for the message/information bulletin board.  

I was please to be able to deliver it and see it put in its "home". For the time being, white paper was placed on the tiles where messages will be displayed.

There was another task for me to complete at the church and that was the application of a wall decal which the Pastor and I created. There is an amazing website Wall Praise where you can order premade or create your own wall decals. The Pastor chose the verse to be used and we worked together on the fonts and sizing of the decal. 

This is my second time putting up one of their decals, so it went pretty smoothly. It is located in the main foyer just outside of the sanctuary. In the picture above, the doors to the sanctuary are closed when opened the right door is against this wall, so the decal was placed in the middle point between the sanctuary door and office door on the right.  

What is nice about the decal is that your eye is first drawn toward the emphasised words "near God, Lord God, and Your works". The decal is subtle but definitely pops. 

All in all we are pleased with the outcome of both items.  

Mosaic Information/Message Board

Today, I spent a good part of the day working on an "information/ message" bulletin board for one of the churches I work for. 

To make the board a little more interesting, I decided to create the look of a stained glass window but in tile form making it more of mosaic.  

First, I stapled down a layer of black bulletin board paper. This will mimicking the lead you would find on a stained glass window. I tried to staple it so that the color tiles will cover them giving it a very clean look.

Next, I laid out the main feature of the board which is a cross. I wanted this to stand out, so I adhered the red card stock on small pieces of foam board. I did take the time to paint the edges of the foam board so no white would be seen, making it more seamless. 

This is how the cross looks adhered to the board. I used 3M foam tape to put it on the board. This creates a little more "lift". One important step when working with foam board is stapling under your element. If you don't do this, the background paper will get weighed down by the foam board and pull away from the board. 

The final and most consuming part of this board was cutting the pieces of colored card stock to complete the Mosaic style. First, I determined the size and location of the tiles that would be used to display information/messages. I'll be using 3M re positional dots on these "tiles" so information can be displayed and changed regularly. Although time consuming, it is important to make sure you have good flow of the colors being used. It is difficult to tell from the picture but the card stock does have a shimmer to it adding an extra element to the board.

This is how the board looks with all the card stock set in place. You will notice that in the lower right hand corner the church logo has been printed on a piece of the card stock. Tomorrow I will be adhering the card stock to the black background paper using 3M Super 77 (my favorite adhesive).  In order to make it more secure, I will do some stapling under the colored tiles. 

I will be delivering this board on Friday and will share a picture of it taken in its new "home".