Hi MaryAnn,

Glad you like the Nic at Night lessons here at Rotation.org!

Here's a  John 3:16  "God So Loved the World" decoupage globe & prayer jar project for you.

Decoupage is the art of decorating an object by gluing pieces of paper or tissue paper to it. When you glue tissue paper to a clear surface, it can look like stained glass.

You can glue colored tissue onto clear transparency sheets to create a "stained glass" message/image that can hang in the window. And you can glue tissue to round clear jars or fishbowls to create "functional art" --prayer jars, cookie jars, etc. (Below in my follow up post you can see an image of a decoupaged canister that we made for a lesson about the Visit of the Magi.)

It's an easy medium for all ages the materials are inexpensive, and it's very hands-on.

Other than the clear plastic container, all you need is a bunch of colored tissue paper and Mod Podge craft decoupaging glue (available everywhere). Mod Podge dries with a nice hard glossy finish. Tip: tear the tissue paper into pieces before you get glue on your hands.

Writing verses on the object is usually best done BEFORE you decoupage. You can sometimes write directly on the plastic with a permanent pen. You can also write on a strip of tissue and then glue it on the INSIDE of the plastic object, then decoupaging on the outside of the jar/bowl -without covering up the verse strip.  Putting it on the inside keeps that piece of tissue from smudging.

If your plastic decoupaged object is a container, you then have the option to consider WHAT PUT IN THE CONTAINER. Putting in slips that have Bible verses on them, like John 3:16,  turns your container into a "Bible memory verse of the day" jar. Putting action statements (life applications) into the jar turns it into a great daily tool for life application. I've made jars that have things for families to think about and do each day or talk about around the table.

Here's a mock-up of what the "earth fishbowl" could look like with a cross added.  I suppose the "world" could have been decoupaged in the shape of a heart. I like the idea of using an image of the world because that word is in John 3:16 and it fits with your "love others" (all around the world) theme. I suppose you could substitute a manger for the cross as your "gave us his only son" symbol.

Small plastic craft "fishbowls" can be bought at a variety of online retailers like Amazon for about $1.50 - $2.00 each in quantities of 6 or more.  Having a few left over for other projects and art material storage isn't a bad idea either. Plastic peanut butter jars work too if you can get people to collect them for you.

Hope this helps.

Neil