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25 Names of Jesus Wood Sign Craft Project for Kids
Looking for craft project ideas for kids to keep them entertained indoors? This project does even more! Today I'm sharing with you our 25 Names of Jesus Wood Sign DIY Project. While this post is tailored toward doing this project with your children, it can also be used with adults or even as an alternative date night idea!
Fun for Kids of All Ages
The idea for our Names of Jesus craft project came somewhat unexpectedly. Every few months, our Simple & Sentimental team volunteers with the children at Building Hope Community Life Center in Greenville.
We were brainstorming ideas for a craft to do with the elementary kids. Easter was right around the corner, so we wanted to do something related to the Easter holiday and Jesus's resurrection.
I have a print in my home with 100 names of Jesus on it. It's one of my favorite pieces of artwork! With that in mind, I thought it would be cool to create something with names of Jesus that was part artwork to display and part craft.
So as a result, we came up with our Names of Jesus Wood Sign Craft!
I always love when crafts have extra meaning behind them, so I thought it would be cool if we could teach the kids about how to look up verses in the Bible. With the project, we include the verse where that name of Jesus is shown so kids can look them up (with your help, of course!)
Getting Your Craft Project Started
To do this project, you'll need a few things that you can probably find around your house! Below is a list of items you'll need to complete this project
- Paint, almost any kind will work! For our sample project, we used acrylic paint from Michael's.
- Permanent glue (anything but a glue stick!).
- Cotton swabs (You'll see why later!)
- Our 25 Names of Jesus Wood Project
- A Bible, this is the Bible I use and love! They also have Bibles for kids called Kids Read Truth
Prep Your Space
Choose a large table or open floor space. Use newspaper, magazines, paper towels, or even trash bags to protect the surface you are painting on.
Grab a Bible for each child participating if possible. Assign them different names of Jesus to look up and paint.
Have extra paper towels ready to wipe off dirty hands!
Looking Up Verses
Call your children over to the project space to get started. Before the paint is opened and the mess begins, look up the names of Jesus together. Encourage older children who are familiar with the Bible to help little ones.
Once they have located the verse they are looking for, ask them to read it aloud. Ask them what they think that verse means or what it means to them.
If we are being honest, each child may loose interest in looking up verses and reading after a couple of names. If this happens, don't worry! You can always look up the other names later in the project or in the future when your sign is hanging in your home.
Painting Your Project
Begin by painting the circle base a solid color. White and black are both great options as you can use a variety of colors for the names of Jesus being layered on top.
If your cross has been engraved, we recommend not painting it. Your engraving may be difficult to read after it has been painted. Set aside your cross if it was engraved so it doesn't get painted by accident!
Distribute the names to the children if you haven't already. Some names are more fragile than others because of the font, size, etc. Give more sturdy names to younger kids and reserve more intricate name designs for yourself or older children. Remind everyone participating that the names are fragile and should not be tossed around or thrown.
Use small paint brushes to paint the top and sides of the names. There is no need to paint the back of the names because they will be glued to the board!
Encourage the kids to use less paint. It will be tempting to glob paint on the names for them, but it will take much longer for the names to dry if they have a lot of paint layered on. Limit paint by only putting out a little bit at a time!
Gluing The Names On
Once your names and board have fully dried, it's time to glue! See your paint bottles for estimated drying times.
Start by gluing your cross in the center, or wherever you would like it to be on your board.
Next, arrange the names how you would like them to appear on your board without glue. This will make sure you leave enough space between the names for them to fit on the board well!
When gluing the names, use a cotton swab to apply the glue. This will prevent too much glue from getting on the back. If too much glue is applied to the back, it will bleed outside and may be visible on your sign.
Allow the sign to dry according to your individual glue instructions.
Hanging Your Sign
After the glue on your sign dries, you have a variety of options for hanging! You can use sawtooth hangers, command strips, or lean it against an easel.
If you choose to use sawtooth hangers, make sure the screws aren't longer than the thickness of your board (1/4").
Have Fun With It!
I hope you enjoyed this post about our 25 Names of Jesus craft project for kids. While you may plan to display the sign in your home and want it to look nice, don't forget to let your children have fun while painting it! Let them pick the colors, choose how to use the paint and get creative with the project. Each time they walk by it, they'll be able to see the pieces they helped with!
If you have any questions about this project, don't hesitate to reach out to us! Our email is hello@simplesentimental.com
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