"That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there anything of which it may be said, 'See, this is new'?  It has already been in ancient times before us." 

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

See!  The wisest man on earth knew that it is hard to come up with original ideas!  I have found that it is so even in finding bulletin board ideas.  So I've been keeping track of all the bulletin boards I have done around the church (Missions, Children's, Men's, Women's, Calendars and Generic Bulletin Boards), and I want to share them with you. 

(Click on the thumbnail to view a larger picture.)

Missions:

Fishers of Men	Missions Month	Sowing the Seed
Heaven's Ambassadors	Light of the World	Answer the Call
The Harvest Is Plenteous	Look Whooo's Coming	Whooo Did You Tell?
Good Tidings

Children's and Youth Ministries

All Aboard	Fairmont Fair	Summer Camp
Soar With Us	Suckers!	Spaghetti Dinner
Winter	Spring	Sparkie Man
Youth Wall	Spaghetti Dinner2	Fairmont Fair2
Sparkie Man2

Men's Ministries

Bethel Men	Father Son Campout	Work Day
Trustee Projects	Men's Retreat	Work Day 2
Father Son Campout 2	Roof Renovation

Women's Ministries

Ladies Retreat	Spring Ministries	FANtastic Women
Strength and Honor	Voices of Women	Sister Sunday
The Ways of Her Household	Teapots with Character	Hear, See, Speak, Do
Women Who Made A Difference

Calendars

February / March	March / April	May / June
June / July	Sept / Oct	December
Jan / Feb	Special Info	Special Info 2

There are several ways you can put up the church calendar, but you don't have to change it around too much.  Just changing the border and the "props" make people take a second look to see what's on the calendar.  Be sure to change the background every now and then.

Scripture

Cross and Bible	Decently and In Order	Fruits of the Spirit
Time	Light of the World	Your Word
Strength and Honor	Let Freedom Ring	Unto The O Lord
Good and Faithful Servant	Sweeter Than Honey	Harvest is Plenteous
God Commendeth His Love	Righteousness Exalts a Nation	In A Moment
Sing To The Lord	The Grass Withers	Times and Seasons

Generic Bulletin Boards

Soar with Us	Happy Vs. Sad	Winter
Spring	Scripture Memory	Spring Cleaning
Warm Fellowship	Special Announcements	Sherlock
Autumn	Harvest Home	Senior Saints
Gift Wrapping	Merry Christmas	Warm Fellowship 2
Memorial Day	Sweep Away	Anniversary Picnic
Please Don't Miss	Special Info	O Little Town

Sign Up Sheets

Sister Sunday	Work Day	Harvest Home
Gold	Musical	Men's Retreat
Valentine's Day	Missions Banquet	Teapots
Anniversary Picnic	Christmas Sister Sunday

My Basic Idea...
Keep It Simple
You can do a lot of things...but it's easier to be excellent with just a few well-done elements.

1.  Most people do not stop to read everything on a bulletin board, but if they see something interesting they will remember the basic information.  If they want more information, they will be able to find it somewhere else...not on the BB.  Try to only put 3-5 groups of items on a BB at a time.

2.  You should always have an odd number of items on a BB.  For some reason, arranging things in an odd number (1, 3, 5, etc.) is more pleasing to the eye.  If you have a lot of items to put up (like pictures) then arrange them in groups rather than splattering them all over the BB.  See "Senior Saints."  Anchoring the corners is very eye-pleasing as well. 

3.  Pictures should be large enough to see clearly from the opposite side of the room.

4.  I love using 3-D, because it makes things stand out (pun intended!)  I try to save all of my pictures and 3-D objects to use in other BB's.  Ribbons, greenery, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, rafia, etc. are things that stand out easily.  Use real objects rather than a drawing of it:  flags, dolls, flowers, bows, kites, leaves, tree branches, etc.  Making objects hang off the board is another way to give a 3-D interest.  (See Sparkie Man, Father/Son Campout, Men's Retreat, Harvest Home, Your Word, etc.)  Also, overlapping the objects within the BB gives 3-D interest.  For instance, put the bee in front of the hive, not just beside it. Or put the lettering on top of the objects. (See Sweeter Than Honey, Father/Son Campout, Work Day, March & April, etc.)  On the "Fairmont Fair 2" BB I used gold letters on top of the black to make it seem more 3-D.

5.  THINK CARTOONS.  I am not an artist, so I copy easy pictures from books.  If it's not exactly perfect, it's ok.  Look at the fish on the "fishers of men" BB...they do not look exactly like fish.  I have found, too, that drawing and cutting out animals or objects is a LOT easier than drawing people.  For the "Please Don't Miss" BB, I drew that free hand from a picture in an old book by taking one section at a time.  I drew the torsos first, then the legs , then the shoes, then the arms, etc.  Then I stapled each part to the board where it belonged.  I figured I could do it because the basic shapes were easy.  Don't psych yourself out...you can do it!  Also, outlining the objects with a black marker makes them look more cartoon-ish and it makes them stand out more. (Look at the Work Day BB.)  Just a hint of something is enough to give the idea.  When I made the 3-D Bibles I just scribbled lines to suggest writing on the inside, and I didn't draw each scale on the fish...just a grid makes them look like fish.

6.  BORDERS!!  Call me crazy, but I don't particularly like the borders you find in the store.  In a church, you want the hallways to look comfortable and inviting.  A classroom, though, does not need to be so... soft... as a hallway.  So, I sometimes don't use a border at all.  ("Fruits of the Spirit")  OR I use flowers or rafia to make a border.  ("Harvest Home" and the ladies BBs)  Some of my BBs already have a frame, so it's redundant to add another border.  ("Sing To The Lord")  OR just anchoring the corners makes it seem like there's a border.  ("Your Word")  However, if you see a border you like that won't overwhelm the board itself, then by all means use it.  ("June & July")

7.  BACKGROUNDS:  It can be difficult to find paper big enough to cover a bulletin board, and I've had a lot of folks e-mail me asking where I found my backgrounds.  Actually, about half of my BBs have fabric on them, not paper.  Wal-mart has cheap fabric, and some very cute patterns too.  Fabric is great because it still looks nice after you've used it several times, unlike paper.  The paper that I do use is from a school supply outlet store here in Fort Collins.  Hopefully you have such a place in your town.  Make sure you buy the paper that does not fade, "acid-free" they call it, I believe.  And remember to mostly buy lighter colors.  Dark colors are beautiful, but you  must have light colored letters, remember.

8.  CREATIVITY does not mean originality.  :o)  Sometimes using another person's idea and tweeking it to fit your needs is the most creative thing to do.  Like I said, it's ok to borrow ideas.  I hope this page alone helps get your idea juices flowing.  I find that sitting on the floor, making a big mess is the best way for me to get creative. (Of course, then I have to clean it up!)  I spend a lot of time just moving things around and trying different things until I like it.  Set aside at least half a day (especially if this is your first time with BBs) to really get it right.  After you have an idea of what you have to do each time, then it won't take so long.  I take about 2 hours average to do one bulletin board.

I hope these ideas help you. 

In Christ,

Rebekah Schrepfer