Crafts

Christ the King Craft

November 20, 2014 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 10 October Saints, Advent, Christ the King, Crafts Leave a Comment

The littles missed out on their CCM Co-op meeting today due to illness but that didn’t stop the crafting fun. It was my turn to lead the preschool children with CCM Gamma Week 7 materials.

The book selected was The Donkey Who Carried a King. The book selected makes a great read for Lent in preparation for Easter but it also provides a great mediation for Advent. I selected a craft that could double up for Advent, Christ the King and donkey felt stick puppets. It only required 240 cut pieces of felt.

Christ the King & Donkey Craft

The Donkey Who Carried a King

Supplies:

Felt pieces for Christ the King and the donkey – I modified the patterns found here
- Red body, purple tunic, flesh tone head, brown beard and hair, gold crown, gray donkey, black mane, and pink nose.
Aleene’s Craft Glue
Popsicle stick to apply glue
2 – Large craft sticks
Sequins (Christ’s crown)
Black yarn (donkey’s tail)
Hot glue gun

Instructions:

Cut felt pieces
Assemble Christ the King using the craft glue
- Red body, purple tunic, head, beard, hair, crown
Assemble the donkey using the craft glue
- Gray body, pink nose, purple saddle, black mane, double tie black yarn to the tail
Embellish as desired (i.e.; black eyes, sequins jewels on the crown, trim mane, etc…)
Affix each felt character to a large craft stick using the hot glue gun

Lord Jesus Christ, my King, I adore Thee as the Son of God

Additional Christ the King Resources

How to Make a Priest Biretta {Picture Version}

October 28, 2014 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: All Saints Day, Costumes, Crafts, St. John Bosco 6 Comments

Papi had his heart set on being St. John Bosco for All Saints’ Day. I guess he didn’t get the memo that mama was out on pregnancy leave. He rallied the troops and collected money for me to take a trip to the nearby fabric store, at 8 pm no less. It took me another week to muster up the energy to begin my costume making ~~sweat shop~~ boutique. That week was last week, two weeks before the beautiful feast day celebrations. Praise God, I’m ahead of schedule.

I desired to piece together his cassock costume in the wee hours of the night so I could have uninterrupted sewing bliss but he had other plans. He urged me to get moving so he could sew his cassock. By sewing I mean pressing the foot pedal and supervising my fabric feeding. The cassock was completed within minutes. It has plenty of room for improvement but has been given the seven year old stamp of approval. Papi was so giddy with his work that he allowed me to start the biretta the following day. Such a generous boy is he.

Good thing Melody finally got around to sharing her biretta making tricks. (Love ya, Melody.) I had planned on making birettas for the boys’ Christmas presents and was excited to use the pattern and tutorial that she provided. (I can now check off birettas from the Christmas list.) I stared at the pattern for a good part of the day then finally built up the courage to get to work. My courage faded after step 3. Turns out that the pattern was not intended for placenta brain. I contacted Melody out of desperation and she walked me through the process. She also talked me off the cliff on numerous occasions.

It’s far more simple than you realize….Focus. Reread my last instruction. It’s not as hard as it seems…Yes! that’s it!…Maybe put it down and finish tomorrow. You sound crafted out…It looks great, btw.

Praise God for fellow mamas waist deep in the trenches who seek to counsel the doubtful.

Here is my photo tutorial for the DIY Biretta for the simple minded mamas. Be sure to check Blossoming Joy’s post, How to Make a Priest Biretta for All Saints’ Day, for a full description, link to the biretta pattern, and link to the pom pom tutorial.

Biretta

The biretta is a tri-cornered or square-shaped hat with silk trim, tuft (except for the birette of seminarians and cardinals) and three raised wings, called “horns,” on top at three corners (the side of the hat without the horn is worn on the left side of the head). It is made of scarlet silk for cardinals, violet silk for bishops, and black merlino for priests, deacons, and seminarians. ~ Fisheaters

Presto!

Now mama can get some rest.

Little Ways

October 5, 2013 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Crafts, Little Flowers, St. Therese 4 Comments

You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much on the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.

~ St. Therese Lisieux

St. Theresa of the Child Jesus

October 3 feast day in the Traditional Roman Rite Calendar

`~~~

I had wondered for a long time why God had preferences and why all souls did not receive an equal amount of grace […] Jesus saw fit to enlighten me about this mystery. He set the book of nature before me and I saw that all the flowers He has created are lovely. The splendour of the rose and whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realised that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wild flowers to make the meadows gay.

It is just the same in the world of souls — which is the garden of Jesus. He has created the great saints who are like the lilies and the roses, but He has also created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice His eyes whenever He glances down. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being that which He wants us to be.

~St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul

Lenten Wreath

February 23, 2013 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Crafts, Lent, Lent 2013 5 Comments

My door was in need of a pick-me-up for Lent. What does a 41 week pregnant mama on a twist-tie budget* do?

For starters, let me explain what a twist-tie budget is. It’s my newest favorite sentiment, copyrighted by Homemaker Ang.

Shoes strings cost money, twist ties are free in the produce dept.

I used what I had on hand and enlisted all able parties within arms reach.

My girls and I collected the necessary supplies from throughout the house, with Dad’s help, and the boy’s supervision. Everything is a family affair these days since we limit all outside commitments for Lent.

We all should get together and work toward the restoration of the meaning of Lent.

People nowadays see in it just a gloomy time full of "must nots." That is a great pity,

 because Lent is a solemn season rich in hidden mysteries. We must also keep in

mind that Lent is only a part of the great Easter season, that it is  for Easter what

Advent was for Christmas, and that Lent taken by itself would make no more sense

than Advent without Christmas at its end. Therefore, we should let Holy Mother

Church take us by the hand and lead us-not each soul alone, but the whole family

as a group--away from the noise of the world into a forty-day retreat…If we keep

the closed time as faithfully as our forefathers did--which means keeping away

from all noisy outside entertainment such as cocktail parties and dances--then we

shall find ample time for the imitation of Christ as it is outlined in every morning's Mass.

  ~Around the Year with the TRAPP FAMILY

~~~

Lenten Wreath

Supplies

existing wreath
burlap
purple felt
hot glue gun
elmer’s glue
foam core board (recycled from Walk for Life
moss

Steps:1. gather/recycle wreath2. cut burlap to desired width. 3. wrap the wreath tightly. secure as necessary.4. gather/recycle foam core board or poster board. 5. trace and cut a cross from the foam core board.6. adhere glue to cross cut-out. i used elmer’s glue for the first coverage. then I used hot glue gun for the second layer.7. adhere moss to the cross cut-out.8. assemble and decorate the wreath as desired.

~~~

Inspiration was found at Amanda Jane Brown and Family at the Foot of the Cross.

Jesse Tree Printed Ornaments

December 2, 2012 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Advent, Crafts, Jesse Tree 10 Comments

A Jesse Tree is a depiction of the genealogy of Jesus designed in such a way as to show that He springs from the “root of Jesse” per the prophecy of Isaias 11:1:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse [David’s father], and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

~~~

**UPDATE – I have included a link to a PDF of the coordinating scripture verses and O Anitphon reflections. The links are provided at the end of this post.

Frugality is a necessity in my home. I give thanks for this gift of limited poverty. It has helped me to slow down, simplify, detach, treasure what is right before me, to be content, and to foster creativity.

Needless to say, purchasing a Jesse Tree or any other supplemental has been out of the question for my family for sometime now. I made plans to print off a set of Jesse Tree Ornaments. I love the traditional images that capture the beauty of the Catholic Church.

I had a lovely pre-Advent blessing when I was able to join the Jesse Tree Swap that Jessica hosted. Rose helped me crank out 32 wheat ornaments within two days. Still, I opted to create ornaments from this printable. I also made plans to create additional sets of ornaments for Godchildren and Godparents, for a grand total of ten sets of Jesse Tree Ornaments.

~~~

I slightly altered Michele’s tutorial.