Easy Handmade Felt Pieces

     My kids received a felt board for Christmas last year from my mother along with a wonderful felt set about the story of creation. After Christmas I decided to buy some more pieces since my children enjoyed playing with them so much. I went to the teacher store that my mother said she purchased them from and I saw some really nice sets, but the not so nice thing was the price. its was $20 to $25 for a set of felt pieces. I just couldn't spend that kind of money and was determined to find another way. 

          I checked Pinterest and Google. Found one way that you could print them off of your printer or stitch pictures on, but nothing that worked for me and was cheap. I didn't want to waste ink on my printer! I might as well just bu the expensive sets in the store. 

         I had given up and just put it in the back of my head for later. Then I was at a garage sale (I seriously need an intervention for garage sales!) of a former teacher. I was excited about all the books she was selling and other education items and was buying them up. Then I noticed she had a bag of felt pieces made out of a material I had never seen and asked her about how she did it, and was I amazed! This is how you do it! This seriously is the easiest and cheapest way for colorful felt pieces!

~ Milk Filters ~

     The main item you need is the what you will be making your felt pieces out of which is Non Gauze Milk Filters. I purchased them at a store called Farm and Fleet. A store that specializes in farm and agriculture should have them. You can also purchase them on Amazon. The store offered 2 different sizes, 6 1/2" ($4.49) and 15" ($14.49). I decided to go with the 15" filter disks. Each size come with a 100 disks so it just depends what scale you plan on making your pieces. 

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~What You Need~

What you need to start out with:

• Milk Filters
• Black Marker or Permanent Marker - with a small tip is easier for detail work 
• Assorted Colors of Markers to fill in pieces
• Print outs or book that has images to trace (You can pick up a book similar to mine at a teacher resource store or online) I happened to get mine from a garage sale. 
• Scissors

~Tracing~

Tracing can be done by you or your child. Your children can even draw their own pictures if they want! 

1. Choose what pictures you want to trace. I decided to go with some summer pictures

2. Place the filter over the pictures. If you decided to use a book - do not worry about bleeding through.

3. Start tracing with your marker

4. Trace until your finished

~Coloring & Cutting~

Coloring and cutting can be done by you or your child! If they go out of the lines no big deal because it will get cut off. I used Crayola and off brand markers and it didn't make a difference in quality. 

1. Color all your pieces. Do be careful though because they will smudge until they are dry.

2. After you have finished coloring you can cut out all your pictures with normal scissors. Very easy to cut!

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~ Play Time ~

Your felt pieces are ready to go! Use them on any felt board. I think these actually stick better then normal felt pieces! Your children will have a ton of fun and you can make ones for certain themes your working on that week in your home school. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy 

Prayers for Our Children

1)      SALVATION.  "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may  obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal  glory" (Isaiah 45:8,  Timothy 2:10).  

2)      GROWTH IN GRACE.  "I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).  

3)      LOVE.  "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Galations 5:25, Ephesians 5:2).  

4)      HONESTY AND INTEGRITY.  "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21).  

5)      SELF-CONTROL.  "Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do" (1 Thessalonians 5:6).  

6)      LOVE FOR GOD'S WORD.  "May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb" (Psalm 19:10)

7)      JUSTICE.  "God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do" (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).  

8)      MERCY.  "May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36).  

9)      RESPECT.  (for self, others, authority).  "Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as Your Word commands" (1 Peter 2:17).  

10)  BIBLICAL SELF-ESTEEM.  "Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realisation that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:10).  

11)  FAITHFULNESS.  "Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Proverbs 3:3).  

12)  COURAGE.  "May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and actions" (Deuteronomy 31:6).  

13)  PURITY.  "Create in them a a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Psalm 51:10).  

14)  KINDNESS.  "Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else" (1 Thessalonians 5:15).  

15)  GENEROSITY.  "Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age" (1 Timothy 6:18-19).  

16)  PEACE-LOVING.  "Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace" (Romans 14:19).  

17)  JOY.  "May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 1:6).  

18)  PERSEVERANCE.  "Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them" (Hebrews 12:1).  

19)  HUMILITY.  "God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all" (Titus 3:2).  

20)  COMPASSION.  "Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion" (Colossians 3:12).  

21)  RESPONSIBILITY.  "Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load" (Galations 6:5).  

22)  CONTENTMENT.  "Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).  

23)  FAITH.  "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40).  

24)  A SERVANT'S HEART.  "God, please help my children develop servants' hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men" (Ephesians 6:7) 

25)  HOPE.  "May the hope of God grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

26)  WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO WORK.  "Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord, not men" (Colossians 3:23).  

27)  PASSION FOR GOD.  "Lord, please instill in my children a soul that 'followeth hard after thee' (Psalm 63:8), one that clings passionately to You."

God Bless the children of our world!

Don't Eat And Leave In God's House

     

      The most wonderful part about Mass is being able to receive the Eucharist. Which as a Catholic, we believe that it is the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. It is the gift that he gave us at the Last Supper in remembrance of Him and the sacrifice that He made for us. So why is it I see half the church leave after they receive the Body and Blood of Christ?

     I understand that some people can become ill and/or have emergencies. But when you have been a active member of your Church, go to the same mass time every week, and see the same people leave you start to figure it out. Are they trying to get to their car first so they don't have to wait in a line to get out of the parking lot? Want to make it to the restaurant so they don't have a long wait? Want to make it home before the game starts?

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Are these really that important?

      I think of it this way: Jesus invited you over to his house for dinner. He set a beautiful table and has cooked a meal that looked like it took him all day. You sit down,chat a bit and eat. Then as soon as you take your last bite you just walk out. Not even a "thank you". That is what people leaving early are doing. You are taking the meal and not appreciating it. You are willing to have God sacrifice himself for you but not thank him for it? You are a walking tabernacle! The Church does not look at this as a mortal sin because it is not seen as a grave matter, but it can be seen as highly disrespectful. Judas was the first to leave mass early, he left immediately after the last supper. Not something we want to follow right?

     After you receive communion there is that quiet time after that is intended to be your time to talk to God and thank Him for everything.  Its best to use your own words to talk to Him but if you can not find the words at the time you can say a prayer called The Anima Christi. It is a prayer from around the 14th century used still after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ.

The Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

     Communion is truly  beautiful. It is one of the reasons I am so proud to call myself a Catholic. We have such a beautiful gift and if you do not believe in the real presence at the Eucharist can you really call yourself a Catholic?

God Bless.

Cheap And Easy Art Display

     
     The fridge has been overrun with all the art projects my kids have done so far just in the past few weeks! We were running out of room and my son would enjoy taking them off the fridge in doing so annoying his little sister. This was a issue I needed to fix. While browsing Pinterest - I came across this post and picture using cafe rods and curtain clips to display family photos which is also a great idea!



     I figured it would work with art as well! So I headed to my local Walmart and picked up a short cafe rod, it was only a little over $3! There are different lengths you can chose from if working with a larger space. 

   I had the curtains clips already that I picked up from a garage sale for $.50 so that was a deal! The hardware to hang the rod came with the rod so we didn't have to worry about that. Only took my husband about 5 minutes to put it up.

 We plan on putting up another bar as soon as I run to the store to get another bar. So far it has worked great and my kids love to see their art hung up and show daddy when he gets home from work. It also works as a great place to dry the art also. Now my fridge is free from art and my son cant rip them off. Happy mommy, Happy kids!

Modesty In Church

      Now that the weather is getting warmer, I have noticed that clothing is starting to disappear at church. This past Sunday I saw a young teenage girl in a long tube top dress, multiple young girls in tiny tank tops, tiny sundresses and shorts that are very short. But I also see boys and men in tank tops and shorts. I see them walk in with people who I assume are their parents that seem well dressed and I wonder if they realize what they let their daughter/son walk out of the house in that for church. And yes I said "let" because a child has no business wearing that and should be monitored by their parent. Most parents I have heard say that they let their child express themselves or they don't want to argue with them. No..... Your children can express themselves other ways and its your job as a parent to teach your child modesty and not to be their best friend.

      Too many parents are not taking an active parental roll in their child's lives and want to be "friends" with their children. Being a parent there are so many things I know I will be responsible for influencing my daughter such as modesty.Teaching her that showing off her body is not going to attract the right attention nor make her feel any better about herself

     All I could think about was that girl with the tube top stepping on the front of her dress while going up for communion and it getting pulled down....nightmare.
    

      At least lets understand how essential modesty is in Church. I read an article the other day how some churches want to get a dress code and are appointing a person from the church to stand in the front of mass to hand out shawls for women who wear revealing clothing. The Vatican does it why not every church?

App of the Month - Confession: A Roman Catholic App

This Months app in the spotlight is:

Confession: A Roman Catholic App

This app makes examining the conscience so easy and deeper then I could do on my own. It was especially useful when I was preparing for confession for the first time in 20 years after my faith was renewed.

You can create your own profile and password so that no one can see you information. It will also ask you the date of your last confession. Once you log in you can see the 10 Commandments listed and you can go through each one in depth checking off your sins. For the iPhone there is also a counter for the sins.

When finished examining the 10 Commandments there is also a little box at the end for a Custom List to add your own questions for more personal examination.

Now you will be ready to go to confession. ( I let the priest know I was using this app on my phone just so he didn’t think I was texting or playing a game and he had no problem with it)

It will walk you thought the first prayer and letting you know how long it has been since your last confession. On the next screen it will have all the sins that you had marked from the examination of your conscience.

Once finished, it will have the Act of Contrition for you as well in case you don’t know it. You will also be asked if you would like to set up a reminder for confession. I like to go once a month and it sends me an alert every month to remind me.

This app also has a great extra tab for prayers. It has different versions of the Act of Contrition, which you can set any one as your default, and it also has traditional players for you such as the Apostle’s Creed and Memorare.

I highly recommend this app. It gets a 5 out of 5 star rating from me. I used to be so worried about my confessions like I was forgetting something , but ever since I bought this app I have no worries about my confessions.

The best thing about this app is the price tag: $1.99 – so worth it!

Requirements:
Compatible with iPhone, Android, iPad and iPod touch.
Available on iTunes, Android Marketplace and Amazon.

Make your Own Little Wooden Saint Pegs

    

 Everyone keeps asking me how I make my little saint pegs, so I thought I would share the creative process with you, so that you and your children can create these wonderful figures.

*These are recommend for ages 3 and up. At least past the stage of putting items in their mouth. These can be a choking hazard for younger children so please be aware.*

     They can be time consuming based on your perfection level. I used to make these and sell them but could not keep up with orders, family and life so I now just make them for fun.

   

     First you want to select which saint you want to paint. Lets start out with someone easy such as St. Rose. I would type in their name in Google image or use one of my kids saint books to find a picture I liked. Choose your picture.

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     Second you want to do is find out where to buy your wood people peg from. I used Casey's Wood Products. They are based out of Maine. They have a nice selection of different sizes and shaped people pegs, depending on your product. I used the standard size people peg which is considered a "man peg" and its 2-3/8" tall x 7/8" diameter. They start at $.25 each and you get a better deal the more you buy. I recommend purchasing from them for bigger orders. For smaller orders of pegs, you can find them on Etsy and  I have also seen these for purchase at Hobby Lobby also in their wood section in a bag of 8 pegs. Base it on how many you want to paint.

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     Next you want to get your paint and paint brushes. You will want to use acrylic paint to paint the wood ( I used Americana brand), as well as brushes that work well with acrylic paint. I recommend that you buy a few different brushes that will help with detail and coverage. Hobby Lobby and Michaels always have a 40% coupon and you can use it to buy a brush starter pack that has different size brushes in it.

     The paint comes in so many colors so make sure your write a list of the colors you will need for your saint. For St. Rose I used black, white, pink, red, brown and flesh (yes that's a color).

                                            Now you are ready to paint!

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     You want to start with your lightest color first, and you always want to wait for each color to dry after applying. It only takes a few minutes. I always painted the heads first with the flesh color. Then I would do the white around the whole bottom of the peg and a little strip of white across the top of the head. Next you want to use the black for the veil. Make sure the black is completely dry! You don't want smudges on your white. Now you can use the flesh color to paint the little praying hands and add a little strip of black underneath.
 
   For St. Rose I like to make a crown of roses. I take the bottom of one of my smallest brushes and dip it in the red and put connecting dots all around her head to form the crown. Then you can use a lighter red or pink and paint with a detail brush the little swirls to make them look like roses. You could also add leaves if you would like.

     The last thing I do after everything is dry you want to do the eyes. I used the tip at the bottom of my brush to dab on the eyes..perfect brown circles, let dry. Then use the bottom of the brush again to make a smaller small circle inside the eye and use a small detail brush to put on your lashes. After that drys,  use the tip of your brush to dab little tiny white dots for more detail to the eyes. (refer to picture above). Last you can paint on some eye brows and a little smile!

     Now you have a little St. Rose Wooden Peg Saint! If you want you can write the name of the Saint with a fine tip permanent marker for reference. After your finished with the name I always liked to seal the wooden peg to help keep the paint from chipping and make it more durable. Now I have tried a lot of products for sealing the pegs, and the one that I used was the American DuraClear Varnish Clear and applied it with a black foam brush. Some people use modgepodge but it can cause yellowing and a sticky feel. I have also used Krylon Acrylic sprays but was tired of putting on a mask to spray them. Choose whatever you are comfortable with. Seal your little saint and you are ready to play! 

     We would use them in my daughters doll house, action figures and even board games pieces. I have had some people use them as cake toppers for birthday cakes or special holiday events. So many things you can do with them and so many ways you can add a personal touch!  Check out some of the other saints I have painted below for more inspiration! 

Welcome To My New Blog

     Welcome to my new blog! I have been blogging for about 2 years in a blog called Catholic Signal but decided to now switch my focus on my new adventures in Catholic homeschooling! This blog and site is centered on the struggles and adventures of raising a family in today's society, and Catholic homeschooling

     My name is Jennifer and I am a child of God, Catholic to the core, happily married, homeschooling mom of two kids. We are homeschooling our children with a very Catholic focused curriculum - Seton Catholic Home Study. I like to blog about:

• Catholic education and homeschooling 
• My journey starting as a homeschooling mother
• Free resources and giveaways
• Inspirational and controversial stories on families in today's society
• News about the Catholic Faith 
• Fun family activities 
• Books and more books!
• and pretty much everything else! 

     When I am not blogging and my children are sleeping I have a little side business on Etsy called Butterfly Blue Rosaries and Gifts making custom personalized rosaries, rosary bracelets, wooden peg saints and other religious items and jewelry. Feel free to visit if you like! 

     We will have a lot of fun and please feel free to add or comment on everything respectfully, Thank you and God Bless!