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Embroidery ~ St. Clare Dolls

by Filed Under: Crafts, Little Flowers, St. Clare of Assisi

Embroidery ~ St. Clare Dolls
St. Clare is the patron saint of embroiders.
This was the craft chosen for Little Flowers ~ Saint Clare of Assisi and the virtue of Joy-Mirthfulness.
 SUPPLIES:
  • Crochet Thread (weight 5-10) – thicker than embroidery thread and does not require unraveling as does embroidery floss.  I doubled the crochet thread for the Little Flowers to avoid the need for re-threading.   (Embroidery thread (ET) was used for small areas)
          dark brown – tunic 
          black – veil
          nude – face, nose, hands, feet (St. Clare of Assisi never wore shoes or socks)
          gold – halo, monstrance    
          white – wimple (starched white part of the veil)
          green/blue/brown (ET) – eyes
          pink (ET) – mouth
STEPS:
          Place printed sheet under fabric
         Trace image onto fabric with a water soluble fabric pen
  • Place fabric w/ image into an oval embroidery hoop
  • Embroider using the running stitch
Running Stitch—This stitch is used for outline and padding. The needle is carried in and out of material making small up and down even stitches. Take several stitches on needle before drawing it through.
 
Embroidery Links

Little Flowers 4th Meeting – Loyalty & St. Lucy

by Filed Under: Little Flowers, Loyalty, St. Lucy

We had a great turn out for the last Little Flowers of the year! 
girls recapped on our last meeting, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  They were reminded of the “treat box.”  The girls can earn a treat for each assignment completed that is signed by a parent.
 
I briefed the girls on the pious life of St. Lucy.  Info was gathered from the following resources.  I explained to the girls her vow to remain chaste and pure (a virgin) despite the culture pressures and her mother’s wishes to marry.
St. Lucy Info
 
The girls discussed loyalty, faithfulness to a cause or belief.  They identified that St. Lucy was loyal to God.
 
I decided to introduce the girls to the Swedish tradition of celebrating St. Lucia’s Feast Day, Luciadagen.  They made a St. Lucia Crown of Lights.  Her traditional feast day is December 13.
Father L visited the girls.  He questioned the girls on what he spoke of at Mass, the true meaning of Christmas and an Advent activity.  He also spoke of St. Nicholas.  Lastly, he gave the girls their blessing.
The girls took another break for snack provided by Rose.  They went outside for pictures but decided to return to the room.  It was too cold outside for the girls.
We ended the meeting with some brief housekeeping and a review of assignments for the month.
 
Assignments
Memory Verse
 
Additional Reads
 

“I will maintain my Covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” Genesis 17:7

 

Little Flowers 3rd Meeting – Perseverance & St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

by Filed Under: Little Flowers, Perseverance, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

We had a great turn out, as usual.  There were 6 six girls who sat together at Mass but others were in attendance. 

We welcomed our newest Little Flower, Rose.  She was happy to see familiar faces and meet new ones.  The girls had a brief time to visit during snack time.  Clare passed out her snacks to the girls.  Thank you Mary for signing up for this month on such short of a notice.


I  introduced the girls to the saint of the month, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  I set the setting, the United States in the 1700’s.  The girls were delighted to hear that she was born in New York.  Although, they all expressed how far that was from them.  I tried to but it into perspective for them by drawing attempting to draw a map of the US and Europe.  Despite my lack of artistic ability the girls got the idea.


I gathered my info on St. Elizabeth Ann Seton from the following sites.
Seton Shrine
Catholic.org
Catholic Encyclopedia
EWTN


The letter of the day was ‘E’ for Elizabeth taken from An Alphabet of Catholic SAINTS.

Father L visited the girls and recapped on All Saints day and All Souls day.  He emphasized the importance of prayer for the souls in purgatory.  He also explained our current virtue, perseverance.  He told the girls, “God calls you to do your best and He will do the rest.”  He gave the analogy of a student who tried his hardest in his studies but only received Cs.  “Would God be pleased,” he asked.  The girls unanimously responded, “YES!”  “What about the little girl who never worked hard or did her best and received As and Bs – would God be pleased?”  Again, the girls responded accordingly.  I love how they get messages that we adults sometimes think that they’re not ready for.


He gave the girls a blessing before his departure.

We applied the virtue of perseverance to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s life.  She had many ups and downs but persevered to answer God’s call for her.  That lead us to our craft, prayer/keepsake box and gratitude cards.


The gratitude cards were selcted from those listed here.

The gratitude cards are intended to be used from now until the start of Advent – Nov. 29.  The girls were asked to work on preparing their hearts to receive the most wonderful gift, Jesus.  They were encouraged to randomly select a card from their box daily but to persevere if they were not able to make a daily selection or the task asked was too much for them.  The primary objective is to PERSEVERE, do the best they can with the task at hand.


The box was decoupaged with a picture of Our Blessed Mother, Lord Jesus Christ, and/or St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  It can be used as a prayer box to store the intentions of their family and friends.  The box can also be used for keepsakes such as Rosary, Miraculous Medal, etc.  The girls we’re invited to entertain the thought of giving the box as a gift to another.


Above is a picture of the box I created along with the gratitude cards.  There should be 1-2 blank cards in the box to write your own intention/task.  The cards are designed to be placed on the twine provided as completed.  You can hang the twine in a visible spot in your home so all can reflect on something to be thankful for. 

I put our twine and cards over the fireplace.  The kids love to see what they have completed and what they are thankful for.  Sparkles couldn’t wait to start her cards.  She was even more excited when she selected the card, “I’m Thankful For Our Car.”  Her task was to clean the car and then go out for ice cream cones.  She has never been so happy to clean the car.  She rallied her sisters and went to work.  I even gave a hand.  I couldn’t resist their enthusiasm.

The girls were given their monthly assignment sheet, scripture verse sheet, and a paper doll of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  Below are the links to many of the additional activities provided.  I will take time out next meeting for housekeeping of the girl’s binders.  Please be sure they bring them to the meeting.


Activities:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Fun Facts & Activities
The Tortoise and the Hare
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Paper Doll


Books about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton by Father Lovasik,
Kat Finds a Friend

Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Daughter of America

Handprint Lily Pen

by Filed Under: Crafts, Little Flowers

I held my second Little Flowers meeting of the year on the the first Saturday of October.  St. Faustina, Mercy and Lily were the themes.  I chose a Handprint Lily for the craft but added a twist.
Here is my tutorial. 
I prepped all the supplies into individual baggies for each girl.  I would suggest to have the hands traced and cut prior to the meeting/craft.  It is helpful to have a few extra glue guns available.
I placed a tag with the memory-scripture verse for Mercy on the pens that the girls will be delivering to the women on our parish staff.  Each girl had the option of putting the tag on their pen to give away.


Have mercy on Me, Oh God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion, wipe out my offense.  ~Psalms: 51.3-4

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