IKEA, IKEA, IKEA

As a designer, I must talk about the best place in the world. IKEA! If you live in the S. Florida area, you have to visit this store. The furniture is not the quality that will last until you can will it to your grandchildren, but who cares. The look is modern and fresh and the prices are ridiculous. Where else can you get a spatula for 79 cents, a chair for $99, and the biggest, chunkiest wooden mirror for $149. Go online and drool, then get in your car and go! To quote my husband, IKEA rocks!

Antology Set

We recently completed a series called Antology. It was all about lessons we can learn from ants. (More importantly, lessons we can learn from God.) The set was to have a disney feel with oversized images. We wanted people to feel as small as ants when they looked at the stage.

After hours of searching, our communications team came up with some pictures and photos that we used. We printed the images on self adhesive paper and put them onto large pieces of styrofoam. The styrofoam need to have a large enough thickness, so it was self standing. We had pieces ranging from 4" x 6" all the way up to some that were 6" x 12". We brought the set out wide instead of high. The large blades of grass banners covered the whole back of the stage and helped create that "size of an ant" feeling.

I will give you one helpful hint. When adhering these large stickers onto the styrofoam, it would help to have two people. It is definately not a one person job. Also, the sticky stuff likes to stick to itself, but not to the styrofoam. It helps if you wrap the sticker like a gift wrap on the back, so that it will stay on and not pull up on the sides.

I hope you enjoy this set. It was a lot of fun and we had numerous offers to purchase the pieces from people that saw them. They just made you smile. Don't ever be afraid to add some whimsy to your sets from time to time. It keeps people from being bored, and on their toes.

Concert Set 2007

We will perform concerts several times a year, using our combined praise team and band members. This past winter, we worshipped together and had an incredible night. For decorations, we wanted a look that was total concert. Our lighting team went crazy. It was awesome. But that wasn't enough. We wanted to add a soft element to the highly technical feel. We dropped in an accoustical feel right in the middle of it. By adding rugs on the stage, and about 140 white candles in glass vases, it gave a soft contrast to the lights. Candles in simple glass vases is one of the cheapest ways go create an amazing look and feel for your stage. The vases give an extra glow and formality to the stage, and they help with safety of the open flame of the candle. Try it!

I apologize

I have to apologize to all of my readers. This whole blog thing has been a new adventure for me. You have to remember, when I was in high school, the closest thing to computer class was typing 101. If it werent for my younger staff member buddies, I wouldn't have even known were to go to start a blog. I say all that to let you know to have patience with me. If my blog looks alittle weird sometimes, it's because I am trying to make a stupid slideshow and push the wrong button. My teenage daughters are having fun laughing at and with me when it comes to my "hip" blog. Hang with me. If you're out there, Robert, HELP!

ps: I just finished deleting this blog from my husbands blog because like an idiot, I accidently posted in the wrong place. I hope there are no computer qualifications to get into the pearly gates.

Here are some more pictures...

Home from Peru

Our plane ride was a blur. Apparently, 10 minutes after we took off, the lady right in front of me threw up all over the place. Now I have a very sensitive nose and smells really bother me. Let me tell you, I didn't even know it happened. Talk about tired. I put my snazzy neck pillow and ipod on and then fell fast asleep. I woke up around 3 hours later. Anyway, after a rousing song of "Happy Birthday to me" in the customs line at the airport, I finally saw my baby, waiting for me with flowers. It is good to be home.

It is Revealed!

Wow. What a day. At 6:50pm, 23 orphans from Lima, Peru saw their new and improved home. It was amazing. Let me start by saying thanks to the whole team. The camp team loved and took care of the girls for three days of non stop fun. Work crew, you rock. I have built sets, renovated Churches, but I have never seen people do so much in such a short amount of time before. Flamingo Road, you should be proud of this group.
I will tell you that as each girl entered the house, they were blown away. Tears began and didn't stop until we pulled away 2 hours later and waved goodbye. Each time a new room was revealed, you could hear screaming and yelling from all the girls. One of the little ones said that she was in the wrong house, that she was probably in the neighbors house and they were in hers.
One of the older girls told us that she had always felt as if she slept in a baby crib, and now she is in a big adult bed. She is 22!
Another girl sat on her bunk looking at her gift bag filled with goodies and hummed so loudly that we all heard her.
I would love to show you the pictures of before and after, but I have been sworn to secrecy. If you want to get a glimps of the reveal you will have to come to church during the month of December where the videos will walk you through the whole experience. I do have some photos, so I will show you some for a small donation into my own personal account.
God Bless

Sunday in Lima, Peru

Yesterday was wild. We begain working on the house at 8:30am and arrived at the hotel last night at 2:30am. Everyone had specific areas they were working in and each of us would not give up until it was completed. The kitchen now contains a new stove, cabinets, counters, pantry, flooring and dishes. The back porch has a brand new sink and tiled counter area for drying shoes. The down stairs living area is painted, wood floored, and baseboarded with lighting fixtures. There are 5 bathrooms, with all new fixtures, mirrors, hot running water (in most bathrooms),including glass block skylites. The 6 bedrooms are beautiful. All painted in bright colors with new beds, mattresses, sheets, comforters, and some wall art. All hallways and bedrooms have new flooring. It is amazing.
I would love to tell you that we are finished, but we aren't. Please pray for us. Still more flooring is needed, some beds need to be put together, some areas of the house need reorganizing, and we need to finish a counter top in the library on the third floor. All of our work must be completed by the time the princesses arrive around 6:00pm
We are heading to the Lima campus this morning. Everyone is excited to see it and meet the other members of Flamingo Road.
God Bless

The Princess Project

Hey Everyone I am guest blogging tonight for Sharon whose team has been working their tail off. You go guys and gals (I've nicknamed their team the Castle Crew after all every princess deserves a castle). We've named the camp experience the Princess Project because we want to teach these girls that although they may not have an earthly father they have a heavenly father who is just wild about them. These girls are so special and each them have a story that would break your heart but even with that their "mother" Carmen has instilled in them a tremendous faith in Christ that brings us hope and blessings each day we spend with them.
So yesterday we went to the orphanage to pick up the girls and meet our Flamingo Road Lima counterparts. The girls were so excited, it is so overwhelming, they cannot believe that people who live in a completly different country would come and love on them. We went to a park to have a picnic (inside the bus because it was so cold, we're from FL you know) and then we went on the playground, jump roped, and just walked around and talked looking out at the amazing view of the ocean. We then went bowling where we met up with Troy (and although his blog may state he schooled the girls hum hum I think he may be a little off).
We've been starting each day with a devotional and we had made the girls T Shirts that read Princess on the back and had a cross in the front, all the girls had them on today it was so cute... Once we got everyonr on the bus dropped them off at a movie (AKA Flamingo Road Lima) with our Lima brothers and sisters. The rest of us FL folk went back and wrapped presents and got party supplies for our little birthday girl, Soledad, who turns four. After we sang happy birthday (in espanol) and ate cake we started craft time. The girls decorated notebooks, crowns, frames, and ornaments for Christmas trees in "Cooper City" and "Lima". The girls are so grateful for everything and just love to be hugged. They constantly tell us how happy they are and how special we have made them feel ... they have no idea what is coming and I can tell you that there will be many tears of joy on Sunday. The women that are working with the princesses have been so moved by "their" girls and they are doing an amazing job of being role models of Christian Women young, older, single, married, blonde hair, brown hair, Peruvian, or American, the are putting aside themselves and letting God work through them it is truly a humbling, you are sooo amazing God, expereience t watch and be a part of.
Gotta tell you there is something so spectacular about doing God's work. Here in Lima we are working as one body in Christ (as HE intended) our Lima Members, the Castle Crew, and the Princess Project and come Sunday there will be 23 beautiful young daughters of a King who will be surprised and have a well deserved castle. It is because of people like you who give sacrificially, who pray faithfully, and who love unconditionally that we are making a Kingdom difference here at La Victoria Orphanage in Lima, Peru. Tomorrow we will be watching the girls play soccor and cheer them on, we even made them banners. Thank you Flamingo Road Church for stepping outside the comfortable corner of Flamingo and Stirling you are making a Kingdom Difference here and from the bottom of my heart and those of the princesses we are loving on we THANK YOU. Keep on changing the world and helping people reach their God potential love ya, Jen...

Guest Blogger

Hello all, Vanessa here. I know Sharon said you would be hearing from one of the camp girls tonight but it looks like you're stuck with me instead, just another remodel-er here to share a little about Day Two of our Extreme Makeover. I think a lot of us finally feel like we turned a corner today. We can see the picture starting to come together now that almost all of the rooms have at least one coat of fresh paint on them (in fun, beautiful princess colors) and we started laying the Pergo floors on the second and third floors. That alone makes all the differnece in the world. Now, you may be thinking, paint thats all you got done!!!! But here are some pictures of what had to be done before we could paint. Every ceiling had to have the popcorn scraped off and every wall had to be sanded down with a power sander. I still feel like my shoulders are vibrating.







Several other projects were tackled today. The kitchen has been re-tiled and grouted, the kitchen cabinets have been assembled, glass block was installed in the second floor bathrooms, and much much more. We still have a long way to go and tomorrow will be a long day but everyone on this team in giving it 110% and is determined to get the job done. I'm sure we will have more photos for you tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers!!!

Como Karata Kid

We began tearing the house up this morning. Oh my goodness, you would not believe the change in a place in 1 hour when 24 people begin demolishing at the same time. Let me tell you, Flamingo people are awesome. They all worked so hard and there weren't any bad attitudes or whinning. We are building teams and friendships as we rip up flooring, scrape off popcorn ceilings, tear out toilets and sinks, demold walls, pull up nasty carpets, chisel out tiles, and shop for everything we need.
The best experience of the day was, after finding out that the paint that was purchased by yours truly, was a latex paint going onto a high gloss oil based paint. We went back for the 3rd time today, to Sodimac.(Peru version or Home Depot)After changing our mind 4 times in one morning about which flooring to go with in the house, we were at the paint counter trying to sort out the bad paint choices made by again, me. The young man behind the counter tried to explain to me the best way to approach the paint flub to no evail, because as we all know, Sharon doesn't speak Spanish, and this gentleman doesn't speak English. He decided to come to the house and have a look for himself. He came over with us right from the store, still wearing his uniform, and surveyed the damage. After telling us that we needed to stay up all night and sand with a heavier grit sand paper, he began showing us how to sand. We let him show us for a while, because he was doing all the work and we were tired and just wanted to watch someone else work for a while. When he got smart, he turned to us and said, "Como Karata Kid". He wanted us to sand in a circular motion. Wax on, Wax off. Get it? Funny Guy
Here are some pictures of the before and durings of the day.
Tomorrow we will be having a guest blogger from the girls camp so you can see and hear about what they are doing.
God Bless

Getting to Peru

The baggage at FLL took 2 hours. After a lot of sweat, and no tears, we ended up at the gate doing last minute food purchases and short meetings about the trip. The plane ride was long, but smooth. We are staying in a very pretty hotel, and everyone got to their rooms around 2:00 am, Lima time. We are up and everyone has had breakfast.
Pastor Troy is greeting everyone in the lobby and Peter is setting up for a short video shoot before we head out to our destinations.
Our first stop is the camp to meet up with the girls, and then off to the house to begin construction. The weather is beautiful, 64 and clear.
Pray for us as we start our day. We don't know what we face at the house, and the camp has hit a snag, because Peru has a holiday that takes the girls out of school today and tomorrow. Jen is having to do alittle more planning to keep the girls busy and happy.
The next blog will include pictures.

Preparing for a Peruvian Extreme Makeover

I am getting ready to leave for a trip to Lima, Peru. 32 people from our church will be doing an extreme makeover on an orphanage there. The house is home to 23 girls and is badly in need of some attention. The plan is to go in on Thursday morning, clean out spaces, access the situation, decide what needs the most work, and then get supplies. The local hardware store is going to get a lot of business. We are keeping it a secret from the girls until Sunday afternoon. In order to keep them away, we are sending them to "camp"; a local area where half of our team will be hosting three fun filled days and evenings of crafts, games, and team building.
Tune in each evening to get pictures and info from the days activities, and home improvement ventures.
Remember to keep us in your prayers. This is a big undertaking. It's a good thing that the God we serve is awesome at performing miracles.

Gold Set

This was a set that we did last year. We had a great response from it. The people loved how it looked from the auditorium and the lights played great off of the blocks of gold. We used black and white foam board, 4 ft x 4 ft. We painted the white board with gold metalic paint, and hung them in a pattern that matched our series logo. They hung to the top poll, and then were each attached to each other using binder hooks. You could always use cable ties. Foam board is an inexpensive material that is not very heavy and can be cut into any shape you desire. The only problem with this set is that the wetness of the paint caused the board to bow in slightly, but was hardly even noticable by the time you stepped way about 15 ft.
Try foam board. It can be purchased at any sign store in your local area.
Stay creative!

Greetings

I have joined the blogging world. Hurray! I believe that there are many churches that could benefit from some of the stage sets and props we have used at Flamingo Road Church. I want to share photos and ideas that have worked for us in hopes that it will be helpful to you.