Under the Sea Coral Art

To say I love VBS is a bit minor. I mean, I LOVE VBS. I think it is so much fun to decorate, play, teach, sing, and have fun at church. Its definately one of my favorite seasons.

Confession: Its only March and I have already made a few decorations! :)  So, I thought I would do a very first post to show you some really cool, super easy coral I made.

It all starts with some food coloring and coffee filters...

Choose a few bowls that you can fit your filters in. Fill them with water- just enough that an inch or so of your filter will be submersed in the upcoming steps. Add just a few drops of food coloring and stir.

Next, place your coffee filters upside down in the colored water.

You will see rather quickly the color soak into the filters. Leave them in the water until it has absorbed enough to reach the flat portion of your filter. Carefully remove the filters and place them on a drying rack. I used my baker's cooling rack placed over my sink so that any dripping would be easy to rinse down.

Now let them dry.  This could take a while... maybe even a day! I sped up the process by placing my filters in front of my space heater/fireplace.  (Perhaps that's a perk to starting VBS in the winter. :)  )

Once dry you will need to gather some additional materials. I used a few chenille stems, a stapler, a pair of scissors, a paper plate, and some tape.

Begin pulling apart your filters and thread them on the chenille stem. I put up to 10 at a time on, then squished them together and stapled it to hold it in place. This is kind of free play- just squish and bend until you get a nice ruffle feel.

Pack three or more stems together into a nice circular shape by threading the stems through the center of a paper plate. Pack as many stems as you desire to make your coral nice and full. Twist your stems together underneath, and voila! A beautiful piece of coral!

The picture above is 2 sets of coral made with pink, yellow, and orange tipped filters. I clustered them together, added a cute paper plate seahorse, and plan to add a bit or greenery behind.

With several options for underwater VBS, I hope you find these gracing your area this summer!

~Stacy