Church flower wall - Interview with Marlene

A while ago I visited a church where one of the members had come up with a brilliant idea to store artificial flowers used in the flower arrangements each week. It was a lovely flower wall made of mesh that the flowers slipped into for storage, but that also looked stunning. It formed a beautiful flower wall in the Deacon's Room to provide a contemplative environment for those preparing to lead the service, and to greet those who just came out of the Baptismal font.

Marlene, the idea's inventor, was very generous and allowed Tahlia to explore her interest in floristry and gave her free licence to use all the flowers and vases at her disposal. Tahlia had a great time playing around with them. It made her day!

I also wanted to capture her great idea for my blog, so I hope you enjoy the interview I did with Marlene below.

Carissa D: Marlene, your flower wall is very impressive and a terrific way to store all the artificial flower options for use in beautifying the church every week. What need drove you to this invention?

Marlene: All these flowers were in plastic boxes and it was very difficult to find what I was looking for, plus it has created more floor space as the flowers and boxes were piled on top of each other in a frustrating mess. It has made such a difference to efficiency. Being colour coded I can now find what I’m looking for plus the flowers are being cared for. It saves me so much time.

Carissa D: Tahlia absolutely loved experimenting with all the different flowers (and vase) options and coming up with arrangements she was happy with. You have a great range to choose from. Did you invest in these flowers (and vases) yourself or did multiple people build up the collection over time, or was there money in the church budget to cover this project? How often would you use artificial flowers vs fresh flowers at church and why? 

Marlene: It is good we have a great range to choose from now and something in every colour. It certainly has taken time to build it to this stage and the church didn’t have a budget for flowers. When we moved to this church I noticed there were the same arrangements every week and apparently it had been like this for many years, they looked so tired and out of date. I offered my services to help with the flowers. I decided to update by finding new flowers. I mix flowers, I buy fillers from the cheap shops and the more expensive flowers are the feature flowers. It does take time to develop a good selection as it isn’t cheap. I usually use the same tones throughout the one arrangement.

On special occasions I use fresh flowers; funerals, weddings, communion, ordinations etc.

Carissa D: The flower wall is located in the deacon's room to the side and rear of the pulpit, baptismal font and rostrum area. I didn't notice any dust at all, so I am wondering if you dust the flowers regularly, or are you rotating through the flowers regularly enough that they don't get dusty? Basically, how to you deal with dust?

Marlene: Dust hasn’t been a problem. I think that small area is closed off to any outside interference.


Carissa D: How many people would use the wall, and do you have any issues that come along with that?

Marlene: There are not many people who use the wall but if they have a need they are very welcome to use it.


Carissa D: Are there any other issues and solutions you can share for the advice of others?

Marlene: I have a belief that many people who sit in a pew are visuals. It makes such a difference to enhance the church by some creative arrangements. To me it enhances worship. When God gave the instructions to have the Sanctuary built, He was so particular and it must have looked stunning. I believe this is how our earthly Sanctuaries should look….every detail cared for, including the flowers.

Carissa D: Do you have any photos you could share with us of your arrangements? What do you enjoy about this task for church? How did you develop your skills?

Marlene: I’m not a professional Carissa. My husband was a pastor and so we cared for several churches over the years. We both worked together in making every church look ‘loved’ Too many churches today look tired and out of date.

What happened - we lived for a time at a university, where I was asked to be a deaconess at the church there. They asked me to do the flowers, I freaked out. I had no idea how to make an arrangement of flowers and it was a big church.

I was very blessed to have a head deaconess who really knew how to make amazing arrangements. I was fascinated with her work, so I took the opportunity to watch her, and she gave me some valuable lessons. Her arrangements were very large and dramatic. Most people make the mistake of making their arrangements far too small, they are afraid to use size. An arrangement in a church must balance the size of the building. A small display gets lost in a large building. (Also, there are some colours that get lost, they disappear in the distance. Blue is one of those colours). And so, with practice and many prayers God has helped me develop this skill. I never do an arrangement in church without praying beforehand.

Carissa D: Could you also tell me about how you went about getting the mesh on the wall - from your idea to completed?

Marlene:
The Mesh - My husband was a very practical person and I had the same issue with flowers at our previous church. It is very difficult to store them as they are all shapes and sizes and they can get very tangled in boxes sitting on the floor. He suggested some wire mesh on the wall. Unfortunately we only had the very large squares (what they use in concrete) so we tried that.

It was Ok but someone else suggested the smaller squares that you saw at church. It has worked extremely well. It is set on the wall with 4 blocks of wood in each corner. It needs to be brought out from the wall by the blocks by about 8cm to allow the stalks to slide down behind the mesh. The larger flowers sit best at the top of the mesh and smaller ones towards the bottom.

Carissa D: Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

Marlene: Another way to enhance worship and make a visual impact is to create a theme around the theme of the sermon:

• Communion: have some grapes and a goblet and bread in a basket arranged near the communion table
• Easter: is a good time to decorate a cross, maybe the three crosses
• Spring Festival: Arrange fruit and vegies, flowers and greenery on bales of hay
• Fruits of the Spirit: Large covered boxes labelled with the different gifts
• International day: Flags of the world
• Ask the preacher what his theme is…..then use your imagination by building a theme.

Carissa D: Do you have any ideas for what is next? How do you envision the flower wall being used in the future?

Marlene: I will keep adding flowers to it. I look out for sale prices.

Carissa D: Do you have a favourite Faith and Felt Obsession blog post? What inspires you about it?

Marlene: Carissa, I think this is such an amazing idea. I love creativity and so I give the blog a 10 out 10. If there is something we can do that will inspire others in their worship, parenting, or enjoy using their talents in some way for God I am right behind it.

Thank you for allowing me to share, Marlene.

Carissa D: Thanks so much for being willing to share! I love a good idea, it's so inspiring.

I think a stained glass window frame with the mesh inside might be good for using as a flower wall display at the front of church.

I have also seen round mesh backdrop stands used as balloon displays and for party decorations, sometimes as photo backdrops. These might be a solution for churches who don't wish to have something permanently attached to the wall.

I hope this idea can help other people deal with similar problems!!

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Have you found a solution to storage at your church? Comment below!

Galatians 5 - Fruit of the Spirit Birdhouse Quiet Book Page

   Galatians 5 lists the fruit of the Spirit.

Memory Verse: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22 (NASB).

 

Materials needed to create the Fruit of the Spirit Birdhouse quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used light yellow
• my free template
• sewing thread to best match/contrast the page
• scrap decorative cotton fabric (I used a chequered fabric inside the birdhouse, since this chapter also talks about running a race)
• fabric glue or double sided iron-on interfacing
• 25-30mm wide scrap ribbon to best match the scrap fabric
• scrap white/silver mixed ribbons and cord
• small silver/pearl beads
• Korean hard felt in white, hot pink and blue (or a colour that matches with your fabric choices)
• small dot of black felt (you could use a hole punch from a grommet set or similar to make this)
• black Posca fabric pen (and an iron etc to set it)
• lace sections for a nest (lace collars work well)
• 150mm Sew-on Hook and Loop Fastener Tape

My inspiration for this page partly came from a quiet book by PA Country Crafts (referenced below in the devotional section).

To make the birds, cut out a back and front from white felt and cut slits where indicated. You can fold the felt at right angles to where the slit should go and cut with scissors to do this.

Cut lengths of about 12-14cm mixed white/silver ribbons and melt the edges - see my post on How to Stop Ribbons Fraying. You'll need 5-7 ribbons per wing. For some of the ribbons, I used silver cord which I threaded with silver, metal or pearl beads.

The secret to cutting multiple lengths of ribbons easily.

Form fans of ribbons/cord and insert into the slit of each bird to make their wings. These should be made in matching pairs using the same ribbon sets, and be sure to check that when you insert them into the wing slits that you ensure they are pointing towards the tail of the bird and that the ribbons have been inserted so that they line up with each other. For example, if you used a thick ribbon at the bottom of one wing, that the matching ribbon is also at the bottom on the other side of the bird and not at the top of the wing. Use a very tight zig zag stitch over the top of the slit (and edge of the ribbons showing at the edge of the slit) to hold the wings in place and close the slit.

Cut out the beaks from hot pink felt. Sew the two halves of the bird together, inserting the beak as appropriate and ensuring you move the wings out of the way and don't catch them underneath as you go around.

For the egg, cut out one half of the egg from white felt, place it on top of matching white felt. Insert a beak and a small dot of black felt close to it for an eye underneath the egg piece and sew it down with the beak and eye inside. That way, when you hold it up to the light you'll be able to see the baby dove forming inside the egg! Cut out the egg.

I tried making legs but they didn't look right, so I just left them off.

Draw eyes and write the Fruit of the Spirit on the respective birds (love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control) and egg (patience) with the Posca pen and set it with an iron as per instructions (around 30 seconds, moving the iron constantly, with baking paper in between the iron and the felt).

For the birdhouse, start by cutting a small length of the 25-30mm ribbon and melt the edges to prevent fraying. Sew it down over the bottom edge of the page (so you can fold the edge under when sewing pages back to back). This will form a post for the birdhouse to sit on.

Cut out the front of the birdhouse from hard Korean felt, including the heart hole, and use iron-on interfacing or fabric glue to attach a piece of decorative cotton fabric to the front of it. Once dry, trim the fabric from the felt, including from inside the heart hole. 

Repeat this process on the other side of the felt with another piece of decorative cotton fabric. I used different fabrics for the outside and inside. 

Cut ribbon lengths for each side of the birdhouse front and melt the edges to prevent fraying. Fold the ribbon over the edge and sew down to form a nice clean border.

Use a very fine zig zag stitch to finish the edges around the heart. You might want to practice this on a scrap first. Your needle should land over the edge inside the heart hole on the inside side. 

Cut out the front and back roof and base of the birdhouse. Cut out the smaller roof piece from the hook side of your hook and loop tape and sew it to the back roof piece of felt. 

Position the roof pieces overlapping the top edge of the birdhouse front with the hook velcro facing to the inside of the birdhouse and sew the two pieces together in place. 

Cut a length of ribbon to fit the length of the base (slightly too long) and melt the edges to prevent fraying. Position the base pieces overlapping the bottom edge of the birdhouse front. Inserting the ribbon along the bottom edge of the base to be used as a hinge, and sew the two pieces together in place. 

Pin the hinge in place over the centre of the birdhouse post so that the inside edge of the birdhouse is facing up, so that when the birdhouse is closed, it will fold inward.

Cut out the back of the birdhouse from your chosen fabric and use iron-on interfacing or fabric glue to attach it to the page, covering the other side of the ribbon. 

Use a fine zig zag stitch to finish the edges on the birdhouse back. 

Cut your other smaller roof piece from the loop side of your hook and loop tape and sew it into position. You can fold up the front to help you position it well. 

Arrange your collar lace into a nest shape and sew down on the outer edge, leaving the top open to form a pocket.

Place your birds and egg in the lace nest. Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate.

The hardest part is sewing the ribbon wings in. It will be easier if you use less ribbon than I did.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Galatians 5 - the Fruit of the Spirit, running a race
• Imaginative Play - play with the birds and egg in the birdhouse and nest, hold the egg up to the light and try to identify the beak and eye
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Galatians 5

Devotional

Traditional fruit of the spirit illustrations really irritate me. Baskets of unrelated fruit just don't seem to fit with a God who created each fruit to come from it's own plant - He is not the author of confusion. Why do we lump them all in together and sometimes even have them pictured growing on the same tree? 

I wanted to do something different with this. I thought about the symbols the Bible uses for the Holy Spirit - water, oil, light/flames, and a dove. The only symbol which reproduces is a dove, and the Bible does refer to the fruit of the womb somewhere, so the idea to use baby doves was born. As I had fallen in love with this birdhouse quiet book page by PA Country Crafts and wanted to re-create it, this was the perfect opportunity.

Image source

To illustrate patience, I figured it would only be right to use an egg. We are still waiting for patience to break out of it's shell. Hopefully the kids get the message demonstrated here.

I used some chequered fabric on the inside of the birdhouse. It was not on purpose, it was just because the fabric colour matched with the other fabric I was using and I had ribbon that went with them both, but I realised afterwards that Galatians 5 is the chapter where Paul talks about the Christian life being like running a race, and not allowing people to cut in on us and prevent us from obeying the truth. So chequered fabric was providentially perfect.

Fruit of the Spirit - Uncle Charlie Songs

God has given believers the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts - these fruits emerging in our lives should be evident to others. But these works are a product rather than the initiative. The Spirit of God is what encourages the good works in us.

Recently, my husband reminded me that the fruit of the Spirit section is preceded by a list of the deeds of the flesh. Then I realised that this list is accompanied by a warning, and the fruit of the Spirit by an encouragement that walking in the Spirit will lead to a good reward (Chapter 6). All of this seems to mirror the blessings and the curses that related to whether or not God's people would follow the Law given at Sinai. And interestingly, the giving of the Holy Spirit to the early church occurred on Pentecost, which is the anniversary of the giving of the Law at Shavuot. God likes patterns.

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What do you imagine when you think about the fruit of the Spirit? Comment below!