Skip to main content

Another Puppet Stage - A Shack for VBS 2009

I needed a stage for upcoming VBS that also looks like a shack of sorts. I wanted it light and quick to set up. We will use it after VBS for children's church and we don't have a separate area for that so it has to be set up and taken down every Sunday.

I tried to take pictures along the way but it's hard when you are working and have so many other things going on to remember to take a picture each step! Also sometimes I had to use my camera phone so they aren't very clear. Sorry about that.

We began with pvc pipe and cut it all to size.Then I covered the "frames" with canvas drop cloths from the paint department. I just tacked them on with needle and thread. I'm sure there was an easier way but I was trying to save money so I just sewed them on by hand.

Then we, my son and grandson, painted the canvas with a base coat of white using paint I already had. My mom and daughter painted a second coat of yellow, also paint I already had. No picture of that step.
Then we used some green acrylic paint and some glaze.


I wiped it on with a rag and then wiped it back off with another damp rag. We threw the rags in the trash when we were done.

Here's a panel in progress. You can see the green streaks. This made it look mossy or old or both. Which is what I was going for.

Here you can see we've finished painting. I forgot to take pictures when we were doing the shading of the clapboard siding, but you'll see that in a minute. We used tie-wraps for hinges.

Here you can see the "siding".

This is the inside of the frames.
Now we added the roof! The roof is another pvc frame with corrugated plastic riveted to it. It's a separate panel. I need to cover those open eaves and exposed pipe. I'll get to that later!

Say hello to my little friend!

Here is how it folds up.



Folded flat


Only a few inches wide when folded. Did I mention it is very easy to assemble? It could be assembled by one person in just a couple of minutes except for the roof. You really need two people to lift it. It's not heavy just wide!

Comments

  1. Help Meet in the MakingJune 5, 2009 at 8:51 PM

    This is AWESOME!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your puppet shack! It is so creative. You've sparked some ideas in my head!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Newest PVC Stage

Our team has always used a stage made of PVC for budget reasons.  I've reconfigured it a few times over the years.  The one we have now is the one I like the best so far.  Someone asked me to share it with them so I thought I would post it here in case anyone else was interested. First of all there are 3 parts to the finished stage and one person could put it together alone, but two make it easier. There are two poles that go across the middle horizontally to hold everything together. And there is the actual stage part that folds up like an accordion. Here it is from the side folded up. Here it is unfolded and the two long pieces placed horizontally in the back.  One at the top and one lower.  This second bar really adds to the stability of the whole stage and keeps puppeteers from moving the back curtain as they go in and out. Here is how we add the curtains. Our curtains are in 4 parts.  The front, 2 wings and the b...

New Puppet: Giddy

I made a new puppet over the weekend.  She is going to be used in some skits for Wednesday night kids' lessons at church.  We use a pre-written skit from a company called High Voltage Kids and this unit calls for a girl named Giddy.  Giddy is a little country girl who wants a pony. Here she is: I used this shape as a base and adapted it as I went.  I wanted to try something different and I like the elongated mouth shape.  I think she turned out very cute.  She is the first puppet I ever made for myself and I can't wait to use her next week! I will use this pattern shape again, but with more modifications.  I didn't sew her mouth, it's glued. I prefer to sew, but when I'm working with a new design I sometimes get ahead of myself and forget a step.  It may sound silly, but it happens.  Just like I never remember to take pictures of the process. One day I will plan the photos and actually remember to take some. The best part about th...

How to Begin a Black Light Ministry Introduction: What is a Black Light Show?

So, why black light? First of all, using black light is just cool. It's so vibrant and colorful.  But mostly there are things you can do in black light that you can't get away with in regular lighting situations.  Black light can be magic! If you want to start a black light ministry you need to understand the principles of black light theatre. Black light is UV lighting that reflects white and fluorescent colored items like paint, fabric, poster board and paper. The principle of a black light show is to have everything blacked out so that only the colors of the puppets, props or clothing show. You can create anything your imagination dreams up for a black light show! Generally the colors that glow best are white (not all whites glow), neon pink, neon orange, neon green and neon yellow.  Occasionally you can find some neon blue and purple but they don't show as bright as the other colors.  Since you have a limited color palette you mus...