A Joyful Christmas Heart (Tree Ornament)

 Salt dough ornaments are so simple to make - and you can make anything you have a cookie cutter for.   To go with the prayer for the second week of Advent

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the paths of thine Only-begotten Son: 
that we may worthily serve thee with hearts purified by His coming...

we made heart shaped ornaments, and wrote "JOY" on them, to celebrate the joy that is in our hearts with the arrival of the Saviour.

First, we mixed up the salt dough.  That was simple - and a great experience for Jude.  Pouring, scooping, measuring, and for my mess-adverse yet brave little boy - a sensory experience in dry flour, gritty salt, and then slimy and gooey dough.

Salt dough recipe:

1 cup Kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups water

 Add the salt and flour to a mixing bowl.

Mix the dry items gently with your fingers.  Add about 1/2 cup of warm water, and mix until a soft dough forms.  If not all the flour mixes in, add water about a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.

Turn out onto parchment paper and knead until smooth.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick. I like to roll it between to pieces of parchment - it cuts down on the flying flour.

Be careful not to leave it too thick (because then it will take longer to dry) or too thin (it will make the ornaments extra fragile).

Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into the shape you want.  We used hearts, but you can make any shape ornament!

Using a drinking straw, punch a hole in the top center of the heart.  This is where you'll thread your hanger once the dough has dried.

You can either allow them to air dry for 24-48 hours or bake in a low oven (200°F) for about 12 hours.  If it's particularly humid, then air-drying may take a little longer.

Once the cutouts are dry, paint them!

You can use either acrylic paint, or (washable) poster paint.  Acrylic paint will give you a darker and shinier ornament, while poster paint will give more of a softer, more "watercolor" effect.  .

 I painted the acrylic heart sample, but most of ours were done in washable poster paint.  Washable being the key - you can see from the pictures how messy my little painters are!

Once the ornaments are dry, use a Sharpie to write "JOY" across the front.  (You can also write the child's name and the year on the back.)

If desired, seal with spray shellac.

To make a hanger, guide a ribbon or a pipe cleaner through the center hole. Tie or twist to secure.

Once the top is secured, hang it on your tree.

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©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

A Craft Advent Wreath

We are really trying to get into the Advent spirit here.  Sure, there is Christmas all around us, and if we don't work on things like shopping and cookie baking, there won't be anything come the 25th, but Advent is supposed to be a time of preparing not just the presents and the food but really our hearts for the coming of the Infant Jesus.

For his Advent project, Luke is copying and exploring Bible verses.  He is using this list, from Real Life Titus Two, that gives a passage a day to reflect on.

Jude and I are working on projects a little less ambitious with the writing.  We're doing crafts, starting with making an Advent Wreath.

Advent Wreath Materials:

Two paper towel or four toilet tissue cores
Two paper plates (see note)
green, purple, and pink paint
craft foam (yellow or orange)
scissors
a pen or marker
glue

For paper plates - you want something with a bit of a rim on it.  You'll glue the top of the wreath to the bottom plate and you want it to be able to adhere to the side, not the center.  You'll need to "splurge" a bit for these.  (You can use cheapie plates for creating a paint palette.)  We used Stalkmarket brand plates - they are made from recycled sugar cane so they take paint nicely.  

 Start by tracing the edge of the roll onto the back of the plate. 

 Cut out the circles.  Keep one of them for sizing the flames, but the rest can be thrown out/recycled.

Cut paper towel rolls in half.  If you have toilet tissue rolls, then you can skip to painting.

 Paint the upside down plate green to form your wreath/candleholder.

Then paint the cardboard rolls. Paint three purple and one pink.

Allow everything to dry.

While you're waiting, use the reserved circle to help you make your "flame."  Draw a base line slightly larger than the circle, and then the apex of a triangle.  (By making it slightly larger than the circle, the foam will fit snugly but still curl.)

 Cut your triangles out and set aside.

When your green plate is dry, apply glue to the rim of a second plate. Match the edges of this and the green plate (painted side up).  This will create a channel for your "candles," and a base for the "wreath."

To assemble your wreath, insert the candles into the holes.

 "Light" your candles by gently bending the foam so it slips into the top of the cardboard tube. 

"Light" one candle each week of Advent.  (We put all four flames on for the picture, then stowed the extra flames in the kitchen, so that we only have one candle lit currently, since it's only the first week of Advent.) 

 

O Lord, stir up Thy might, we beg Thee, and come 

that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins 

and saved by Thy deliverance. 

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Advent: A Time of Patient Waiting

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.

You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James 5: 7-8

Advent is a season of waiting.  We must learn to be patient - first for the coming of the Infant, and also for the Lord's second coming in glory.  

I can only imaging the waiting of Mary and Joseph.  (Perhaps there was some not-so-patient waiting along the road to Bethlehem.)   They are in our stable, waiting with us.  Come, Lord Jesus!








©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Come, Lord Jesus!

We are celebrating Advent in our home. This year I actually had candles on time, and we were able to start celebrating with the first Sunday of Advent.  Each night at dinner last week, we lit the first purple candle, and now are lighting the first and second candles.

Unfortunately, Jude's craft wreath got lost in the shuffle.  We all came home from vacation in various states of flu recovery, and Jude had an extended vacation. (Apparently there is no "substitute teacher pool" with homeschooling.) Tonight, while Neal took the big kids to Mass, we caught up on our Advent wreath and devotional.

Our Advent Wreath:

Materials:
1 8x11 felt or construction paper sheet of each color:
   blue (or other contrasting color)
   purple
   pink
   green
4 yellow or orange pom poms
scissors
glue
marker for drawing outlines

Directions:

Draw candle outlines on purple and pink felt.  Cut out candles.

Jude is working on straight-line cutting, so I drew 2 lines parallel to the short side of the purple, and one on the pink, about 2" apart.  I also drew a line dividing the strips in half, for Jude to use as a guide for cutting.

Draw a large circle on the green felt, and a smaller circle in the middle.  Cut out so you have a "ring" with an open center.

With a little help, Jude was able to cut along the outer line of the wreath.  I needed to cut the inside one for him - his motor skills weren't up to it.

Apply glue to the wreath and center on the blue felt.

Space three purple and one pink candles around wreath, and attach with glue.  

You will have extra pink/purple "candles" from the cut strips.  Save them for another project that just needs some scraps, if you like.

Add pom poms for "flames." 

If you are "lighting" one candle each week, start with the purple candle OPPOSITE the pink candle for the first Sunday of Advent.  Work around the circle so that a second purple is "lit" for the second Sunday, the pink candle on the third, and the last purple candle on the fourth.

We added two flames to catch up.  The other pom poms are set aside for the next two weekends.  (Yes, the candles are a little crooked.)

You can also cut out felt leaves, berries, flowers, etc. to decorate your wreath if you like. 

Our Advent Devotional

Image source: Amazon.com

The Adverbs of Advent is a Kindle e-book devotional.  Though I have sometimes been disappointed in devotional books in the past, especially for children (they sometimes make God seem unapproachable and rigid), for 99 cents, I figured it was worth a download.  I was very pleasantly surprised with the tone of this.  It's a very approachable book for children of all ages.   The author uses the traditional stories that wind through Advent and Christmas (Creation, John the Baptist, the Annunciation, the Nativity and visit of the Magi).   Though the author has chosen to limit his one-word themes to adverbs, you don't need to know what an adverb is to pray with the author.  Highlights so far:

Sadly (Gn. 3:23-24) - "...Sadly, they chose to disobey God...But then God told them his plan...Their sadness, and ours, will be turned into great joy..." (First Sun. of Advent)

Quietly (Lk. 1:18-20)  Zechariah cannot believe he and his wife will have a son; because of this, god strikes him mute. "..Zechariah waited once again. He waited for the birth of his own son.  He waited for God's promise to come true.  And he waited quietly..."

Humbly (Lk. 1:35, 38) highlights the story of the Annunciation: "'...I am God's servant,' [Mary] humbly told the angel. 'I will do just as God asks...'"

The daily stories and prayers are short enough to keep Jude's attention, yet still have significant content.  The little prayers and thoughts at the end of each "day" help prepare our hearts for Jesus to come. Now that we have caught up, we will read one each day as we progress through Advent.  The third week of Advent advances the Christmas story a little "early" - as it focuses on Jesus' birth itself.  However, this allows the fourth week of Advent to move from the stories of the Bible into today, and celebrating the birth of the Babe and God's promises fulfilled.  With the words "Now," "Joyfully," "Hopefully", and "Forever" the adverbs allow us to celebrate the coming of Jesus so many years ago and prepare us to await his return.  It is written in a way that it can also be completed after December 25 (if the fourth week of Advent only has a few days and is not an entire calendar week).

This is a book that I am sure I will use for many years, either as a teaching tool for the children or just for my own devotions and prayers. It also could be used as a starting point for other lesson concepts (use the word chosen for the day and find synonyms for it; take the Bible passage and find another theme in the day; etc.)

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Linking our Adventure through Advent with other friends: