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Pinwheel Wreath | Tutorial and Decor

May 29, 2012 By Laura 19 Comments

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Is there anyone, who doesn’t love pinwheels? They are just so fun, so whimsical, and can give anyone that feeling of childhood joy as it spins, no matter how old we are. I am so smitten with pinwheels lately, that projects involving them just keep popping into my head! This idea of a pinwheel wreath, however, has been on my brain since last year! I wasn’t sure exactly how I would design it, but I figured it out as I went along, and the results just make me smile! Just like I knew it would.

001_pinwheel-wreath-home-decor
What do you think?

I found it fun and easy to make. They don’t spin, as this project was strictly decorative. But I’m already thinking about designing another one that works! For this pinwheel wreath however, I just wanted it to have a summer feel, with lots of pops of color, so I chose summer hues accordingly. But imagine all the different and fun color combinations that you could come up with!

Let me show you how easily I made this wreath.

002_pinwheel-wreath-supplies
Supplies Needed:

**I got everything on this list at Michael’s Arts & Crafts**

a styrofoam wreath base
a pad of double-sided cardstock (called a Solid Mat Pad) -papers size 4.75 in x 6.75 in.
4 or less double-sided designer 12×12 in scrap papers you love (heavier stock)
eyelet brads
eyelet setting tool set (had in my toolbox)
a small hammer (had)
long pins (- with the ball on the end. I got metallic ones.)

Optionals:

wide ribbon of choice
scissors, or a Fiskar Trimmer! (Which I highly recommend as a constant craft tool I have!)

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Next I am going to show you how to fold paper for pinwheels. But to start, you need your pinwheel paper in squares – size depending on how big or small you want your pinwheels. (You may want to experiment to decide that.)

The multi-colored pad of 2-sided paper I bought was 4.75 in x 6.75 in. So the easiest and fastest thing for me to do was to take 2 inches off, and make them square, at 4.75 in x 4.75 in. So I had a little pile of those cut to size in no time (with my Fiskar Trimmer), and ready to fold.

As you may be able to tell in the above 3rd frame photo, I did not open the paper to make the second fold, the first time when I photographed this. But you should…..it’s easier and makes a nicer second fold. I also zoomed in, so don’t let sizes fool you. But looking at the 4th frame, I am sure you get the idea of how the folding needs to get done. It kind of looks like a little square kite!

Next, is the cutting that needs to be done on the creases. Now, you CAN just use scissors for this! Just be sure to note where you need to stop cutting. There are 4 cuts on each square, and none of them go all the way to the center. But for mostly all of my craft paper cutting, I use my awesome (older model) Fiskar Trimmer. In case you have one, or are going to get one for this craft, I have made some labeled photos with directions and tips here below, of exactly how you can cut them all quickly and easily. I hope they explain well for you.

So if you just study these photos above and read the notes, you’ll find that cutting the square papers can be done in a zip! That’s what I love about the Fiskar Trimmer…….it’s fast, and the cuts are straight and perfect. I use it a lot!

In this photo above, I’d like you to take note of the eyelet setter tool set, and the pins. I hope you are familiar with eyelet (brads) and the tools needed to set them? They are used a lot in scrap booking as well. In a nutshell….a tip makes a hole in the paper for the brad to be put in. The setter is used on the backside of the eyelet or brad, to ‘splay’ the metal open and hold it in the paper. You do this with a little hammer, and it’s fun! You’ll see how it looks finished in a moment.

Here I have my little squares of paper all cut. When folding a pinwheel, you need to bring every other corner to the center of the square. So I have numbered them to give you the visual of that. Also, you can now get a good look at how the cuts do not go all the way to the middle, and about where they should stop.

I could not take photos of every step of this process, because it takes a lot of tight holding with very busy hands, and I couldn’t hold a camera too! But if you need to see how eyelet brads are set step by step with the hammer method, you can check this video here. There are newer tool sets out on the market, that set eyelets or brads with a spring-action tool, and another method as well. You will see the options at the video link above, but the hammer method I use is demonstrated.

FRAME 1

Every other corner is brought to the middle, with the point quite passing the middle. Each corner overlaps the previous, and you really need to hold them all exactly in place. Then, taking your eyelet hole puncher, you tap out the hole with the hammer on the top of the setter. With 4 layers of paper here, you really need to hit it hard a few a couple of time! ALSO NOTE: Just like when using an ordinary paper punch, you don’t want to punch a hole off the edge of an of the papers. This can be tricky with 4 corners on top of each other! So be sure they are all in place before making the hole.

FRAME 2

The eyelet brad has been put into the hole, held in there carefully while flipping the pinwheel over, and the back of the eyelet has been hammered and ‘splayed’ (I like that word…lol) out, to hold the eyelet in place. Careful not to crush your pinwheel too much!

FRAME 3

What the finished eyelet looks like on the front.

Seriously easy as 1-2-3! (On repeat mode. ; )

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OHHHHhhhh….It’s about to get even more fun, now!

Taking your pins, and putting each one through the eyelet of each pinwheel, you can start pushing them into your styrofoam wreath! The pins can be easily put in and taken out, so you can really play and see what you think looks good to you. You’ll also get an idea of how many pinwheels you’ll need, and how many bigger pinwheels you’d like to use, if any. I added 3 larger pinwheels to my smaller ones. The larger ones were made with 12″x12″ 2-sided designer scrap papers.

Before you get all of your pinwheels put in and in place just how you’d like it, you may want to add ribbon to the inside and outside of your foam wreath. I think the ribbon just makes the whole wreath look more finished. There are different ways you can do that, such as wrapping and winding around the wreath. But I had beautiful turquoise wide ribbed ribbon that laid flat nicely all around the inside and outside, so I chose to do that.

To attach it, I used E6000 glue. Maybe not the best technique. But I squiggled it on, and spread it with some little ripped paper and let it get a tad tacky, before laying the ribbon down. I was concerned it would soil through, but spreading it out and letting it set really helped, and it worked. You may want to use hot glue, or just pin it all the way around. I was thinking….my metallic pins would have looked pretty cool. Like shiny studs.

With the ribbon glued all around the outside and inside perimeter of the circle, I looped another cut piece to hang the wreath from later, before pinning all of the pinwheels in place.

And that is the gist of how my pinwheel wreath was made! Now you can just enjoy several photos of the finished project!

Ahhh yes…..My husband used a flat head nail, and nailed right through the ribbon to hang the wreath. Then, I just glued a big cute button on the nail head! Love buttons! I think it adds such a cute element, and I also really dig the white stitching on my pretty ribbon too.

018_pinwheel-wreath-decor My summer-fun pinwheel wreath is hung in our sun room, as a fun and cheery welcome on the wall right in front of anyone who walks into our home through our front door. I not only love it, but our kids do too, of course! I hope you are inspired to do a project as fun as this one.

pinwheel-wreath-tutorial-decor Speaking of pinning, feel free to pin this collage to Pinterest, if you are on there! I will be! We also have added a new ‘P’interest social button in the header, and I’d love it if you’d like to follow me on there as well!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I invite you to leave me your thoughts or questions! Happy Summertime!

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Boys’ Hardware Accessories

May 14, 2012 By Laura 24 Comments

It seems to be somewhat easier, to come up with crafty ideas for my girls. But the other equal half of my kiddos, are boys! I know they get just as excited when I am making something for them, too. So I try to see what cool ideas I can come up with, that they’ll dig.

Something recently got me thinking about hardware. Hardware is just cool, and definitely boyish! With all the various sizes and shapes that it comes in, for all kinds of building and fix-it projects, I got brainstorming what cool projects I could come up with for my boys. In this post, I’m sharing some hardware jewelry and belts I made for them.

I picked up a couple of adjustable belts at an army surplus store, and some suede string in a few different boyish colors, at the craft store. I also gathered some heavy duty sewing thread, a sturdy quilting needle, and of course, a variety of hardware!

I have to say, picking out the hardware was pretty darn fun! I went to the hardware store with all of my kids in tow, and we were there for a good while! I think we were making the store clerk a little nervous that we’d mix up the hardware in the 2 aisles of tiny organized drawers of hardware! But we didn’t. ; )

I knew I’d be getting some good ole hexagon bolt nuts and flat washers. But I was eager to see what other cool little shapes I could find as well. I thought the square nuts and star lock washers were very cool, so I got a bunch of them as well. Now, if your husband is handy as mine is, you may already have some of this kind of hardware at home. My husband did have a big tin of hardware, but they were really old and dirty. While it would have been great to recycle that, I wanted new and shiny pieces for these projects.

To make bracelets, choose a hardware element, and then figure out how much suede string length you’ll need to tie round one side of a boys wrist, and double that length, with a little extra for tying. Do the same with a piece for the other side of your hardware element. For a necklace, cut a single piece long enough for the desired length and tying. The above photo demonstrates how you can attach the suede string to the hardware: with your piece of string folded in half, feed your two loose end through the backside hole of your hardware, out of the front, and then bring those ends in between and through the loop on the opposite end. Pull and the loop will close onto the hardware, as seen.

Here are three finished bracelets, using a single piece of hardware. If you prefer, the end of the strands for any of the jewelry shown, could be finished with clasps, but we didn’t bother. We just tie them on. It adds to the casual feel! (Warning: You do need to tie them tightly though, or they tend to just come untied.)

Here is a necklace, using a flat washer and a square nut.
It’s fun to play around with the hardware, and seeing what combos you can come up with, for a different design or look.

This is the front view of another necklace, using a double strand of suede in 2 different colors, holding a hex-nut in the middle and square nut on each side.

This is a side view of the same necklace.

Now, for the tricked out adjustable belts! These take just a little more time and simple effort! But if you get the smiles from your boys that I did, it’s well worth it! Well, actually it’s only fair to admit that their big sister asked me if I’d like some help sewing the hardware these, and I happily said “yes!” So maybe you’ll have a helper too, but might I at least suggest that you at least use the help of a thimble! Pushing a needle through the material of these belts can result in some sore fingertips.

These first couple of steps that I explain next, are actually easy to do, and probably steps you’d figure on your own would be helpful to do first. But, I thought I’d just suggest them just in case. More than anything, they are most complicated for me to explain! So bare with me. (Or skip the directions if you don’t plan on needing them.) :

The first tip I have for you, is to get a waist measurement of the belt wearer, if you can. Or, you can just use the belt on the boy(s) to figure things out, which is what I did! These adjustable belts can be cut to length, so that is a wonderful thing. But because of the hardware elements you’ll be hand sewing on, you need to know where that buckle is going to be on the belt!

Here’s how I did it:
I simply slid the belts right through the loops of my boys pants that they had on, just sort of overlaying the excess of the belt over the buckle, to figure out how much of the belt you’ll be needing. Slide the buckle along the belt, and determine how much of the belt end would be fed through the buckle, when putting it on. By doing that, you’ll get an idea of where to lock the buckle into place, with the toothed lever underneath. Mark each side of the buckle with chalk. Then you can really feed the belt through the buckle, and mark off where the ‘tail’ of the belt is, that is coming out of the buckle, and which is actually the opposite end of the belt. You are marking it off with chalk, because you don’t want to sew any hardware on that area, or it will not fit through the buckle. (Think about it. 😉 So you’ll only want to be sewing elements on the area of that will actually be around their waste – not the piece that will be going through the buckle. (Am I over-explaining here? This is the longest paragraph in the whole post – I swear. 😉 Once you have the buckle in place on the belt, with the right amount of tail, you will see the excess of belt material that you can cut off. Be sure to cut the right end, that is already a rough end! It’s the end closest to where the buckle is. You do not want to cut off the sealed end with the metal piece!

Once the buckle area is chalked off, and the tail is marked off, you can make a couple of tick marks between belt loops if you’d like, so you generally where the are of belt will be showing. This is not necessary, but an added step if you want the hardware to show in just the right places, and not hiding under any loops. Then you can remove the belt off the pants, and cut off that excess material you won’t need. They come pretty long from the army surplus store, even at the shortest length. Them I took off the buckle for the time being, to be able to work with the belt easier. Next, I laid the belts flat on the table, and I figured out how spaced I wanted the hardware pieces, by just generally laying them out, and then measuring the estimated space. After marking where I wanted my first piece, I measured and made a tick mark about every 2 1/2 inches from there.

Here are a couple of finished belts. The hardware pieces are just quickly hand sewn on. I secured each each side of the hardware with 2 stitches, using the heavy duty thread. I also did one stitch in the center of the hole (of the hardware) just through the belt material, to take up some thread slack on the back side, while crossing over from one side of the piece of round hardware to the other. This allowed me to sew on a whole piece of hardware at a time, before finishing off the stitch and cutting the thread. (I started with long doubled thread, so that I could sew on and finish off a few pieces of hardware at a time, before really needing to re-thread a new strand of thread.)

I’m happy to say, my boys were thrilled with their new accessories! So much so, that they were happy to model for me, so they could show you how cool it looks sporting these hardware accessories. Take a look for yourself…..

Yup, this is Mama’s boys. And I love it! (Although their triplet sister, and big sister, are just as much my blessings!)

I think they’re looking cool (with or without accessories), and I think they know it. Rico Suave 1 and 2……no? ; ) lol.

012_boys-hardware-accessories They don’t normally tuck shirts in, but they’ve been wanting to, to show off their belts. Their Daddy tucks his shirts in, all lot of the time. I don’t get it, but I love him anyway. lol

013_boys-hardware-accessories So there you go: My boys sporting their cool new accessories, Designed by Mama! And yes, I did edit out all of their bumps, scrapes and bruises, acquired by all of the ways boys full of antics get them! But tell me what you think; Is wearing hardware possibly the new cool? Or do my boys just make it look good?

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Glass Tile Pendants and Magnet Sets | Tutorial | Handmade Gifts

March 25, 2012 By Laura 27 Comments

Today we’re going to show you how we made these beautiful glass pendants and magnets. They make such beautiful gifts, for women, as necklaces or magnet sets. I’m sure you could use the same technique to make other jewelry as well, such as cuff bracelets or rings.
You can choose any cardstock print you love, and the necklace pendants can be worn on any necklace chain, ribbon or cord. So they can be very versatile in style, for you or your gift recipient’s liking.

This was the my first time doing this particular project. But in doing, so I learned lots of tips and tricks along the way, that I’ll be sharing with you throughout this tutorial. Also, at the end I will share with you the specifications of the supplies, and the resource where you can get them, as I did. So let’s get started:

Here are all of the supplies I used, but I’ll give more details and sources at the end, so you know exactly what to get, and where:

2-sided designer card stock
glass tile rectangles
glass tile squares
magnets, with adhesive
sterling silver plated bails
Diamond Glaze Dimensional Adhesive
an x-acto blade
a synthetic hair paint brush

002_glass-tiles-bails-magnets Here is a closer look, at the beautiful tiles, bails and magnets I started with.

005_making-glass-magnets All of the tiles, both pendants and magnets, are made by adhering beautiful card stock paper behind the tile, which is then magnified through the glass in such a pretty way.

So here’s a TIP to start: Before applying any adhesive, I put each tile on the paper I’d be using, and moved it around and looked at the design coming through, so I could decide ahead of time, exactly where I wanted to place each tile.

Once I decide that, I put a little Diamond Glaze on the center back (flat side) of a tile, and then spread it out with a little brush to the edges, pressing out any bubbles with my brush. I’d give it a moment to get a little tacky and less wet, and then I’d place and press down onto the paper where I wanted it.

TIP: Eventually I got tired of squeezing it out of the bottle, so I’d put a small puddle on a coated paper-plate, to work from with the brush. You can do that too, if you want to.

TIP: In pressing it down hard enough, to be sure there is no air bubbles, the adhesive smooshes out from underneath the sides of the tile little. You don’t want to leave it, because it hardens like glass! And you’ll be trimming the excess paper off. So, I used little pieces of twisted paper towels, to clean/wipe the sides, every time. If you leave it, you will not be able to trim the paper neatly.

Also, I often carefully picked up the paper with the tile on it, and rubbed the back down too, just to be sure it was smoothed out. Any of the tiles may need to be pressed down repeatedly, as air bubbles tend to sneak in. So just keep checking them until they are drier.

One by one, get all of your tiles adhered to the paper.

006_glass-tile-crafting Once they are all adhered and dried, it’s time to trim.

TIP: To know if they are dry enough, simply touch the back-side of the tiles where the paper is, and if it is at all cool to the touch or damp feeling, leave them longer to dry. I honestly do not have any time frames for you on drying time, because I made a LOT of tiles in a craft period spread over 2 days.

But once you know they are dry, trim the tiles out of the paper, very closely to the edge of the tiles. I always cut on my self-healing cutting mat. But you can use dense cardboard (not corrugated), if you need to.

Once all of the tiles are trimmed out, they look pretty done from the front! You’ll see how beautiful they are already, and you’ll be inspired to make them wearable, or be able to place on a refrigerator. So they need bails or magnets!

007_making-glass-pendant-necklaces Now I wanted to give the whole back-side of the tiles a coat of Diamond Glaze, as well, brushing just over the edges of the paper as well. The purpose of this is to protect the paper, seal the edges, and make the backs glass-like as well.

TIP: Whenever and where-ever you brush on this glaze, you want to use an adequate amount to let it settle to a glass-like surface. If you brush too thinly, just know it will leave a brush marks in those areas. Allow them to dry completely.

If you want to be sure they are thoroughly dry, leave them overnight before the next step.

From there, I lightly sanded any rough edges of paper I felt, with fine sand paper, just to make it feel smooth. I wiped off any fine dust from that.

Once all of the backs were dry, it was time to add the bails to the backs of the pendants. Basically, I just added a dab of glaze straight from the bottle, onto the center back top of the pendants.

TIP: Be sure to look at the front design, to check that you won’t be adding your bail to the wrong end, leaving you with an upside down pendant! ; ) (I was proud of me for remembering to check that, before I made that mistake.)

009making-glass-tile-pendants Once it has tacked up just a bit, I pressed my bails on just like shown, and then cleaned up what smooshed out, with my brush.

TIP: As you work throughout this whole process, you may want to clean your brush. The Diamond Glaze is washable, and so so is your brush! Just wash with warm water (maybe a bit of dish soap if need be), rinse well, and dry.

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For the magnets, add a small dollop of glaze to the center of the back of the magnets. It will tack up a bit while you try to pry the magnets apart, and peel the adhesive backing off of one. Then just press the sticky part down onto the center of the magnet. Again, clean up any glaze that squished out, for a cleaner looking finished piece.

TIP: If you use too much glaze, the magnet will just slide off center. Just move it back in place. As the glaze tacks up, it’ll stay. I can see a couple of mine above slid a little, and I missed it.

Another Tip: After all of the pieces were dried, I went back one more time, and added a bit of glaze around the magnets, and around the bails (and underneath the loop), then smoothing with the brush, just for a little more re-enforcement. Whether they really needed that or not, I don’t know. But I just wanted to be sure the bail would not lift the paper if pressed on, or the magnets would not stay on the fridge and the tile be left in anyone’s hand without the magnet, when moving them! So I took the time for that extra step.

011_making-pendant-necklaces As I said before, they can be worn on a ball chain as a necklace. But they are so versatile for various outfit styles! Consider wearing them on box chains, suede string, leather cords, or a matching sheer or satin ribbon!

Closer peeks of pendants….

….and the magnets sets….

017_glass-tile-pendant-necklaces-craft The chained pendants, lying on the table.

I found the perfect boxes, to package these gifts in.

019_glass-tile-pendants-magnets I started, trying to fold the tissue paper. But ummm….honestly, there needs to be a youtube filmage someday, on me and tissue paper, trying to work together. I have NO = NONE = ZERO patience for it! It took me….seconds, to just crumble it up, and start stuffing it in the boxes! But you know, in the end, the look kind of worked, with the slick glass pieces!

I was SO excited to finish packaging them up, and get them to the post office!

020_glass-tile-magnets-pendants I was just thrilled, with how nice they all came out! Granted, every piece was not absolutely perfect, but they were made with absolute love! That’s what anything homemade, is all about!

In closing, I’d like to give the the specifications and resources, if you’d like to try making these yourself. Because really, it’s quite easy, quite fun, and you’ll be amazed at what beautiful pieces you made all-by-yourself! What a perfect gift for a special friend’s birthday, or as Mother’s Day or Christmas gifts! Someone, could be impressed with you. ; )

EXTRA TIPS:

CARD STOCK CHAT: You do really need to use heavy designer card stock for these, as opposed to regular scrap booking paper. The layer of glaze would make regular weight paper very soggy and ripply, very fast. You’d have a hot mess on your hands, quickly. The heavier stock holds up to the glaze much better. Also, I really loved using the 2 sided designer card stock, because the coordinating papers made really nice coordinating mixed sets of magnets! I had fun putting them together. The brand I used of the card stock were pads by K&Company.

MAGNETS: I got the 1/2″, ‘3 pounds of force’ Neodymium magnets for strength. Of course, I had no idea what that meant. I can tell you, they have some crazy force!! I had a few comical happenings! At times, they just kept pushing away from each other. Or, they would just pulling each other and piling up, with no sense of control! Chaos, I tell you! So maybe I got too strong? But it’s better than the frustration of weak magnets!

GLASS TILES: I got/used 7/8″ Square Pure White Glass Hand-Cut Tiles, and 1-7/8″ x 7/8″ Rectangle Pure White Glass Handcut Tiles

BAILS: Sterling Silver, Standard Small. (There are various styles.)

DIAMOND GLAZE: 2 Oz. Bottle. – This stuff can be used as a glaze, and also as an adhesive. As you know, I used it for both in this project! It dries beautifully clear, and glass-hard! So it can also be used dimensionally! For example, as raised glass dots on a piece, or to add pop to any design! I can’t wait to work with it some more.

SUPPLY SOURCE: Well, the card stock pad I got at Michael’s Arts & Crafts. But everything else….the tiles, bails, magnets and Diamond Glaze, I got on Etsy! I would start by searching look for a vendor who sells glass tiles, and in particular, search for ‘pure white glass’ tiles. They seem to be superior in quality, in my experience. I did have a specific vendor I could recommend, from whom I bought my supplies from, but she seems to be out of business now.

* That’s a wrap to this project! I hope you loved what you saw, and find yourself inspired! You can do this! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them for you, or just leave some love, if you’d like. Thanks for coming by!

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Calvary Hill Planting | A Kids’ Lent Project

February 26, 2012 By Laura 29 Comments

When Lent comes around, it’s difficult enough for us as adult Christians, to decide in which ways we’d like to embrace the 40 days leading to Easter. We are led by 3 things: Sacrifice, Prayer, and Alms-giving. But as parents, we also want our children to take part in some way, and fully realize the significance of this period of time, too! Attending Mass (especially through Holy Week), hearing the Scripture relating to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and witnessing (or participating in, depending on the ages of the children) their parent’s participation throughout Lent, certainly helps build their understanding of the importance of this season in our faith.

However, I was thrilled last year, to come across this great project for the kids, that really invited them to be involved in some significant way even more, throughout the Lenten Season!:

020_easter-empty-tomb-calvary-hill-plant-kids-project
Calvary Hill

As parents instruct the kids how to build this project, and plant and water the grass seeds, they have the opportunity to teach, or further discuss, the reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus, why and how He died, and what that means for all of us!

This Calvary Hill plant needs to be nurtured and tended to by the kids, throughout Lent. By Easter, it is beautiful plant, symbolic why we celebrate. It makes for a wonderful Easter table centerpiece, and can also be put outdoors to keep for many months! We put ours out near our gardens, on our potting bench. It can also simply be placed right into a garden bed, or on a deck. We trimmed the grass down when necessary, and kept it watered, enjoying it for long past Easter.

001_calvary-hill-plant-supplies Pictured here are some of the supplies you will need.

Here is a more complete list:

Organic Seed Starting Mix (we used Jiffy brand)
Organic Hard Winter Wheat Berries, OR, Winter Rye (we used Winter Rye),
a large (12″) flower pot dish (w/ no drain hole),
a small (4″) flower pot and it’s dish,
small rocks (for drainage),
a pail
pail and shovel, with some water, for mixing soil.
some straightish-sticks of any kind, for the crucifixes
brown twine to tie together crucifixes
probably a glue gun

002_easter-kids-lent-project First will be creating Jesus’ tomb: Lie the small pot on it’s side, in the center of the large pot dish, with the opening of the pot a couple of inches or so from the inside edge of the big dish. The small pot is representative of Jesus’ tomb. You just want to be sure you leave room for the dish to that pot, to be in front of the pot opening, and room to roll to the side, which will serve as the stone in front of Jesus’ tomb.
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003_kids-lent-project Fill the whole bottom of the large potting dish with small rocks on the 3 sides of the small pot (Jesus’ tomb), supporting it to keep it from rolling. Smaller rocks than we used are acceptable and may even be more suitable and manageable. We just grabbed some from our driveway!
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004_mixing-soil Next, in a pail, add water to some Organic Seed Starter Mix . . . . . .

005_ . . . . . .and mix to make some nice wet dirt!

006_ Time to get dirty!

Scoop handfuls of dirt out of the pail, and place it all around the sides of and behind the tomb, as well as right over the top of it. Create a nice round hill.

*Note that in these photos, you see some dirt in front of the lid and somewhat in the way here. We learned that was not a good idea, as dirt was always falling out when we moved the lid. It is best to keep it clear of any soil.

007_soil Again, keep the dirt away from the front of the tomb, so the ‘stone’ can roll away. But be sure the tomb is covered in the soil mixture.

009_calvary-hill-seeding Next, is planting the seed. As mentioned earlier, we used Winter Rye, but Organic Hard Winter Wheat Berries can also be used. Either grow quickly! Simply cover the soil with the seed, pressing down into it if possible, and perhaps cover it with some more where you can, if there is room.

010_stick-crosses Now 3 crucifixes need to be made. We wanted to keep it simple and rustic, so we simply found some straight sticks up in our wooded area, and created crossed wrapping the twine in a criss-cross effect around the intersection of the 2 sticks. We tied off and then cut the twine ends, but then also used a dab of glue with a glue gun to secure it.

011_building-calvary-hill-plant-easter The crucifixes can be placed into the soil of your Calvary Hill now, as we did right away. But as a tip, they would stay in place better, if you waited a bit for the seed to sprout and begin to grow, so there is a bit of a root system established to support the sticks.

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Here is what ours looked like, all done and ready to grow!

We brought it indoors, and placed it on a plastic covered table where sunlight would be on it a good part of the day. Throughout the first week or so, the kids need to simply mist spray the soil with water, in a spray bottle, 3 times a day, to keep the soil moist, and encourage the seed to sprout. Perhaps you can come up with a simple 1 or 2 line poem to say, while they do this, as a form of meditation.
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It’s growing! The kids will be so excited to see this.

As sprouts push upward from beneath, some dirt will tumble down. This is why it is important to really try to keep the soil quite moist, until it is all held in place by the grass that grows. We thought the plastic table covering was wise, because all of the water spraying.
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014-seeds-sprouting You will also notice some seeds and seed casings being pushed up to the surface. It’s fine.

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Before you know it, you’ll have lush green grass, on your Calvary Hill!

More photos of Jesus’ empty tomb….

018_rustic-stick-crucifixes I just love this photo.

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On Good Friday, you can wrap a clothespin with a white piece of cloth or paper towel, or simply cover it. The clothespin and wrap is representative of Jesus’ body. Then roll the stone to close the opening of His tomb. : (
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On Easter morning, JESUS IS RISEN! When the kids get up in the morning, let them find the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb, and his garments folded or rolled neatly inside.

It is our hope and prayer as adults, that our Lenten Season practices, help draw us closer to Jesus, deepening our relationship with Him. May your kids not only enjoy this project, but like the seeds in the fertile soil, may it help sprout a faith in their hearts, that is bound to grow within them, and help guide them all throughout their lives.

ALLELUIA!!

(We’re happy to discuss this project, or answer any questions for you, in the comments below.)

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Valentine Chocolate Covered Spoons

February 8, 2012 By Laura 5 Comments

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Chocolate covered spoons are something we have been intending to try making, for awhile now. There really needs to be no upcoming holiday to make them. But when there is a holiday coming up, it’s another good reason to go ahead and make them!

If you have never heard of chocolate covered spoons, they are just what they sound like they are: spoons covered in chocolate! And then prettied up. They can be used to to stir your coffee, hot chocolate, warm milk, etc – to add some chocolatey flavor to your drink, or make licking your spoon that much more enjoyable! Meanwhile, if you’ve made a whole batch, they just look pretty sitting in any container in your kitchen.

Chocolate covered spoons can be made as simply or fancifully as you’d like. You’re the designer, with each and every spoon, and that’s the fun of it! I already had an idea of how we wanted to make some chocolate covered spoons for Valentine’s Day, so that’s what we’re sharing with you in this post.

005_valentine-chocolate-covered-spoons1 Here are a bunch of our spoons, already finished. I thought they looked nice in this simple white gravy boat. We made even more than this though. We’ll be using some ourselves, but we really made them for the kids to give to their friends. And our oldest made some for her whole basketball team. lol. I made a simple Valentine card printable, to go with each spoon, and you can get that for yourself HERE, if making these spoons is an idea you’d like to use for your kid’s friends or classmates, too. It’ll make a unique Valentine, don’t you think?

I did not photograph the step-by-step process, but I think it is simple enough directions to explain. All you need is some hard plastic spoons, *chocolate to melt, a tad bit of shortening (optional, I guess), and whatever you’d like to decorate the chocolate covered spoons with! We used Valentine sprinkles and marshmallows for this batch. But you can drizzle with white melted chocolate after, use sprinkles on other (holiday) colors, cover in nuts…whatever you’d like!

*Because we have a boy with a severe peanut allergy, we cannot use the chocolate melts (like Wilton’s) that are sold in stores in the baking / candy supplies aisles, because they are not guaranteed peanut-safe. They are convenient though, and melt very nicely, if you can use them! Since we cannot, we use Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips, and so the best we can with those. I believe we can find peanut-safe melts online though, if we planned ahead.

001_chocolate-covered-spoons We got everything out that we needed: spoons, chocolate (chips), sprinkles and marshmallows, and shortening. You can melt the chocolate in a mug or a glass measuring cup – just choose something deep. We got a few cookie sheets out, and covered them with some wax paper.

We began melting about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips at a time, in a mug, in the microwave, with just a 1/2 teaspoon of shortening. (I normally avoid shortening for anything, but a tad bit does help the chocolate melt and stir up smoothly.) We started at a minute, and then did 10-1secomd intervals, stirring completely in between, until all of the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Two important tips: 1) You do not want to overheat the chocolate, or it will be ruined. Little by little is the way to go, and add a dab more shortening if you feel it needs it. 2) I use the handle end of a wooden spoon, for stirring chocolate. I saw that tip somewhere a long time ago, as it doesn’t heat and cool like metal does. Stir rapidly, for smooth and shiny chocolate.

When your chocolate is melted, dip a spoon! It does take a little patience to wait for each spoon to stop dripping off excess, unless you want to make a big mess. Then, over an extra the cookie sheet or wherever, sprinkle on your decorations! For the ones we were adding marshmallows to, we pressed those in first, and then added the sprinkles. We had fun with our little Valentine variety. Simply rest the handle of the spoon on the edge of a cookie sheet, and the wet chocolate end of the spoon on the wax paper to harden. As soon as the sheet was full of spoons, we put the sheet in the refrigerator, to further harden.

A couple of other things we have learned: The spoons really need to be kept in a cool place. Cold, is best. SOME of our spoons, developed white specs on the chocolate the next day. We know that tends to happen sometimes when the chocolate is overheated any amount. It could very well have something to do with our needing to use chocolate chips too. (You know how milk chocolate chips have that white-ish coating sometimes?) But we did notice, that they spoons we left int he coldest place, are still looking perfect!! Those are the ones we’re giving away! lol. Regardless……the little change from the smooth chocolate you see will not hurt you or any different. It’s just prettier to prevent it, if you can.

To package nicely, we got some skinny clear bags sold in the baking/candy making aisles. They have some for chocolate covered pretzels, and that what we used! We just cut them down to about 8 inches, and they were perfect! Then we tied on curling ribbon, and curled! As I said, I designed a Valentine for each spoon, for these. But this is a fun project for you (maybe with our kids too!), and it’s certainly a pleasant treat that will bring a smile to anyone’s face, when given away, or served with a hot drink!

ENJOY!

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ENJOY!

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