Cataloguing the Family Holy Card Collection

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.

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I Spy…August Saints!

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

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Snakes & Ladders: Converted to Catholic!

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! read more...for Equipping Catholic Families!

St Benedict Holy Medal with free printable

Happy Feast Day of St Benedict!

I think that the St Benedict medal is my favorite holy medal. I have many versions of it, including a beautiful gold crucifix, with the medal embedded in it. It’s a powerful sacramental and I’ve carried it with me or worn it during some monumental and stressful moments!

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Painted Peg People

I have been wanting to paint these little wooden peg dolls for a while.

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TY dolls to Saints: Index

This is my special Project Gallery for TY doll to SAINT makeovers!

Here’s a better look at Lucia’s TY Saint Dolls!


I have a couple of posts about my
TY dolls to Saints Makeovers.
Do you remember TY dolls?  This is what the TY dolls look like…before…

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HAPPY SAINT valentines

When Victor from =&0=& graciously gave me permission to use his awesome saint pictures in a craft, I was so excited!  I just love this company and their adorable saint pictures! Immediately, I wanted to make a cuter version of my=&1=&=&2=&with frozen juice lids.  These would make an awesome matching game to help my 5 year old learn more about the saints…(she has already started playing with them!) …and the circle format is perfect with my 2.5″ hole punch! With Valentine’s Day coming up,=&3=&=&4=&Valentine Cards! I formatted the pictures and printed them myself and used a 2.5″ hole punch to cut out the circular images. I printed “HAPPY SAINTS Valentine Day!” on red paper and we’re thinking about embellishing the little cards with hearts made with my little heart hole punch. Instead of Happy St. Valentine…how about HAPPY SAINTS Valentine Day!  These are WAY cooler=&5=& =&6=&than Barbie or Buzz Lightyear!  My daughter can give these away…and I know that the kids will love them!  Maybe just one little card will entice a child to learn more about the Communion of Saints! Happy Saints has a wonderful collection of these adorable saints, identifying each saint in the illustration and offering a favorite quote.  Check out their =&7=& available…both e-books and greeting cards that will make you HAPPY!  Thank-you to Victor for letting me use these adorable pictures!  How about “liking” the Happy Saints Facebook page…or subscribing to Happy Saints?  You’ll be among the first to know when new Saint pictures are released! I’m linking up to Converted 2 Catholicand CeleLINKY thru the SAINTS and Catholic Icing’s First Friday Link-up. Check them out and add your Catholic crafts too! read more...for Equipping Catholic Families!

Links of LightBulbs (3)

All Saints Party Links!

Please refer me to your own favorite All Saints post in the comments or join the Cele-LINKY with the SAINTS (1)

(1) Cele-LINKY with the SAINTS from Equipping Catholic Families
(2) All Saints Day Games and Party from Faith and Family Connections
(3)  All Saints Day Resources: Games and Printables from That Resource Site
(4) All Saints Printables from Catholic Icing
(5) All Saints Costumes for Boys from Catholic Icing
(6) All Saints Costumes for Girls from Catholic Icing
(7) All Saints Costumes from Catholic Missionary Family
(8) All Saints Day Party Games from Catholic Icing
(9) All Saints Costumes and Games from Faith & Family (there’s even a plug for my book here…but the email address reflects the article is from 2008!)
(10) All Saints Day Party from Paper Dali
(11) All Saints Party Games from Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
(12) Saint Parade from Raising Little Saints
(13) All Saints Party Decorations by Under Her Starry Mantle
(14) All Saints Party Food from Catholic Icing
(15) All Saints Costumes from Family at the Foot of the Cross
(16) All Saints Bingo Game from Shower of Roses (30 different bingo card printable!)

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July Saints: TY doll makeovers!

Blessed Kateri: July 14, St James: July 25, St. Anne: July 26  

A few years ago, dollar stores were selling off
TY Teenie Beanie Bopper dolls.
My friend Lucia began collecting these dolls and turning them into her family’s favorite saints!
She told me how she found the little accessories at dollar stores and craft shops. Her 7 kids love playing with the dolls and learning about the saints.  Lucia sent me pictures of the TY Saint dolls that she has made. 

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Dream Team of Saints…from Frozen Juice Lids

Saving frozen juice lids, but don’t know WHY? I have saved them off and on over the years, expecting that someday I would do something great with them. Here is my big chance…to remind my family of our DREAM TEAM of SAINTS. I created 3 templates of 12 Saint pictures, each image sized to fit within a 2.5″ diameter circle. I hope to post the templates shortly!  Please subscribe or comment below if you are interested in these templates… so that I’ll remember to upload them! I used a roll of clear adhesive from the dollar store to laminate the sheets on the image side, for durability and a more finished look…and after that, I cut out the circles and glued them in place on the outside surface of the lid, just inside the lipped edge. I think the kids will really like these.  They look great with the round metal frame, they make a great sound when they clang into each other, they stack well, the pictures are pretty and I made sure that I chose our favorite (and cool!) family saints.

A little glue and some string…and these little round pictures can be hung on the wall or as a Saint Mobile (mine are hanging from our dining room light fixture).

A little glue and a magnet…and we have Saint Fridge Magnets.

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