Equipping Catholic Families has been pretty quiet lately…as we have just returned from our first ever trip to Disney with the kids, along with my brother and mom!
Just a few surprises on our trip!
Adam and Mother Mary: Feast of the Assumption!
August 15, 2012 by 2 Comments
We moved to our house in 2002 and we still marvel at what a blessing this house has been with the big backyard for our family with all these kids. Frisbee, soccer, a splash pad and clubhouse in the summer… and our rink and luge run in the winter.
All year round, Mary watches over the kids and our house from the Mary Garden in the corner.
For all the trouble he gets into, we have discovered that 2 year old Adam has a neat little devotion to Our Lady. He visits Mary at least once a day and gives her hugs and kisses.
Happy Feast of the Assumption!
Cool 2B Catholic Crayon Batik
August 12, 2012 by 6 Comments
Ever since I reviewed Suzy’s Crayon Batik and Faux Stained Glass Tutorial, I have wanted to try my hand at Crayon Batik! I bought a couple cheap t-shirts while my kids sorted through our old crayons, peeling the wrappers and placing them by color in an old muffin tin.
We melted the crayons in the oven. That’s a strong smell…you will want to open the windows and put on the fan. The muffin tin is also very hot…remind the kids to keep hands away from the metal and the hot wax!
We quickly learned that painting with wax takes some patience! Every few minutes, the wax cools down and gets lumpy and becomes very difficult to paint with. We would then put the muffin tin back in the oven to re-melt the wax. We also cleaned the brushes in boiling water to melt the hardened wax.
When we were finished painting with the wax, we liked how vibrant the colors were! The t-shirt at this stage was pretty clumpy with the hardened wax all over it.
Ironing eliminates the hard clumps of wax, but also softens and mutes the colors a little bit. We noticed that the painting now had a more airbrushed effect with softer, kind of fuzzy outlines.
We decided to add puffy paint to outline our letters for a more finished effect.
Do you like the airbrushed or outlined look best?
What to do with Painted Saints! …part 1
August 5, 2012 by 6 Comments
I have enjoyed painting my collection of wooden saint dolls…you can read more about the Painted Peg People and how I have painted both favorite patron saints and members of our family.
To justify the happy time I have spent painting these little figures, I thought I’d offer a couple more suggestions for what to do with Painted Saints (while not-so-subtly adopting these patrons saints as members of our family).
I know…alot to expect from little wooden toys, but they give us an excuse to get reaquainted with our real holy hero intercessors in Heaven.
Cataloguing the Family Holy Card Collection
August 2, 2012 by 5 Comments
Over the years, we have collected a good supply of holy cards. These are beautiful little cards of various saints, often with a little prayer or devotion on the back. Others, given out at a funeral Mass, remind us of a loved one who passed away, as their information is on the other side of the card. It’s a shame to hide these away in a box, even though I am referring to them quite often, looking for images of the saints for crafts on my blog like:
I Spy…the Saints collages,
painted wooden saints
Saints games
and Saint crafts
featuring these awesome holy heroes.
For my purposes, I have found it helpful to organize the holy cards by monthly feast days. I used a photo box…and for the first time ever used the little divider pages included! As my collection isn’t SO vast, I have found enough room in the box to include one of my copies of the Lives of the Saints, for easy reference.
I Spy…August Saints!
August 1, 2012 by 1 Comment
At the beginning of July, I began a new feature….the monthly I Spy…the Saints!
series of photo collages made with a scanner!
Check out I Spy…July!
Check out DIY Photo Collage with a Scanner for tips on this technique
Check out I Spy…Holy Coins! made from sacramentals in Joseph’s room
Faux Stained Glass and Crayon Batik
July 27, 2012 by 2 Comments
I just love Suzy’s Artsy Craftsy Sitcom. It’s an awesome site! Suzy has a great writing style and my kind of sense of humor and she posts wonderful crafts with awesome photographs that inspire me.
Suzy has just released her first E-Book:
Suzy’s Majestic Peacock EBook Pattern. Here’s what Suzy has to say about it!
The Faux Stained Glass Peacock tutorial has been published for nearly a year now and is one of my most popular posts. The peacock is also my most requested pattern. This pattern book not only contains the pattern for the Majestic Peacock, but instructions for two complete projects using that pattern and ideas for seven other projects!
Honored to be asked and happy to review her first in a series of pattern ebooks, I received my very own pdf of the Ebook Pattern.
I love the awesome pictures and the straight forward instructions. She uses techniques that look really fun to do, with or without the kids and as seen in the pictures…they yield awesome, professional results! Both the Faux Stained Glass and the Quilted Table Runner projects are well explained and come with an excellent peacock pattern to try out awesome craft techniques including painted stained glass, batik with crayons, quilting, applique, fabric jewels and ideas for even more!
I can’t wait to try these techniques…particularly the faux stained glass and the crayon batique…but I may come up with a few new patterns, tailored to Equipping Catholic Families. This Ebook is well worth the cost…even if just for the step-by-step instructions of the techniques! I think these craft techniques will lend themselves perfectly to some patterns I’m working on …
with the Saints
Incredible handmade scapulars!
July 23, 2012 by 2 Comments
I just love it when people combine their passion for the Catholic Faith AND crafts. Check out these awesome hand-sewn scapulars! These look exquisite…look at the detail!
Check out Sew Sacramental, Sew Sacramental on Facebook or theSew Sacramental Etsy Shop. Sorry, Stephanie, if you get too many orders! =)
Snakes & Ladders: Converted to Catholic!
July 20, 2012 by 2 Comments
Snakes & Ladders is not only a good family game with plenty of counting practice for the younger ones, it can teach life lessons as well. Slowly plodding along the path of life, we experience blessings and graces that give us a boost, as well as struggles and challenges that test our character.
I dug out our family game of Snakes and Ladders. It’s 3D and even has little round place holders…that are unfortunately just a touch too small to hold the little wooden painted people. The little figures do fit on top though, just like they did in Trouble: Converted 2 Catholic!
Once again, I just enjoy the thought of players choosing from family figures
or holy heroes to mark their journey in the game.
and of course…it’s always nice to have some trusted friends cheering us on from the sidelines. =)
I am a wife, Mom of 5+ kids, a designer, an architecture school survivor, an author and a crafter and I think it’s cool to be Catholic! Check out the Arma Dei Shoppe for solid Catholic, fun teaching tools and gifts to celebrate and teach the Catholic Faith and subscribe to Equipping Catholic Families for family-building and Faith-centred crafts!
Trouble: Converted 2 Catholic!
July 15, 2012 by 5 Comments
We are the Church! We identify those who have gone before us, both relatives and well-known Saints as the Church Triumphant (in Heaven) and we are the Militant (pilgrims on Earth). (CCC954)
Recognizing that even the Saints had their setbacks and struggles, we too are on our Journey to Heaven. Imagine the board game of Trouble as that Journey…walking side by side with our heroes, the Saints! Blessed by intercession with the saints, we Catholics can walk the walk, in the company of the Saints!
Painted wooden dolls come in handy for the most common of board games! Why not allow ourselves to build our Dream Team of Saints for our playing pieces.
Conveniently, I have painted both members of our immediate family, and some of our favorite Saints. See Painted Peg People .I think that the painted wooden dolls lend themselves perfectly to how we can learn from the Saints, seek their intercession and foster the desire to grow in holiness!
Spiderman is cool and so is Superman, but aren’t the Saints our ultimate heroes?
