Over the summer, between our day and overnight camps, many different crafts are made at Heartland. It has been such a blessing to see how creative our campers are because they have a Creator that is so good. We are going to share with you three crafts that we made together last summer that are affordable and can serve as a reminder of Bible stories and practices in Christian life.

Paper Crowns

Supplies: Paper grocery bags, items from nature, staples, tape, coloring supplies.

This craft provides a great opportunity to go outdoors with your kids, and depending on what you already have around the house could cost almost nothing! To create “nature crowns” you use large brown bags that you could get from a grocery store, size them to fit on your head and staple it together.  From there we cut the shape of a crown and decorated with items found in nature as well as general craft supplies. The lesson tied to this craft is that God is the Creator and King above all, which was linked to the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40.)

Prayer Rocks

Supplies: Rocks found in nature, Sharpies or paint.

One craft that campers of all ages can make and use in their everyday life is a prayer rock. The steps for this craft are easy: find a rock that you like, clean it and use your creativity to decorate it with the word“pray” incorporated. Once done, you are encouraged to keep this rock with you, or somewhere you will see it every day as a reminder to be steadfast in prayer. This summer we incorporated prayer rocks into our “prayer week” at our Parkville and Olathe day camps.

Paper Bag Luminarias

Supplies: Paper lunch bags, scissors, hole punch, markers.

Our third low cost craft is simple but leave us with great imagery of how we can be the “light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14-16) To create these luminaria all you need are some paper lunch bags that you may have lying around the house, some scissors, a hole punch and markers. The purpose of the luminaria is to place a candle or tea light into the bag and have it shine through the unique designs you cut.  You can also write a special Bible verse on your luminaria! We hope you proudly display your family’s outside your home. 

Please share photos of your finished crafts with us on our Facebook page (facekbook.com/heartlandcenter) or in the comment section below and we will see your campers this summer! 

Written by: Shelby Voigt