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

Walking to Calvary

When Jude received ashes last week, the extraordinary minister didn't repeat the usual admonishments.  She did not remind him that he was from and would return to dust, nor was he told to turn from sin.  At the age of five, he is sinless -- he is too young to be considered a sinner.  But what struck me was what she DID say...simply "Follow Jesus."

2012 Project

 I had been mulling what I wanted to do with him as our Lenten project.  Last year, we constructed a craft foam cross.  From an education standpoint, we wrote the number of the day of Lent (counting, writing) on colorful hearts (learning shapes), and glued it to the black cross.  What started as a bare, black figure on Ash Wednesday was eventually a symbol of the true Cross --  darkness conquered by and covered in love.  For this year, I wanted to do something different.






For a "schoolwork learning" project, we are doing a Bible verse daily.  The verses come from the Daily Mass, and are chosen from either the reading, psalm, or gospel.  Bible verses are good for copy work, letter recognition, and Bible learning.  It's also a good daily project.  But it still wasn't quite what I wanted - they are not "special" for Lent because we have been doing them for several months.

Ash Wednesday

Day 6: "Your Father knows what you need." Matthew 6:8

I finally found an idea over at Catholic Icing. It was a drawn path, laid out with a "cobblestone" for each day of Lent.  I knew immediately it was what we were going to do.

Each day, we are coloring a stone on our path - in essence, following Jesus as He walked to Calvary.   

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