Stations of the Cross eggs-Catholic Icing

Catholic Icing features Stations of the Cross eggs, with two options, one 18-egg carton for the full set of 14 stations (plus a Resurrection egg and 3 eggs to represent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), and another option for fitting 14 stations into a dozen eggs.   Love these!

In the past, our group made Stations of the Cross boxes for the virtue of fortitude, and we then used the boxes for our Holy Week meeting. These would be a great alternative.

Paper peonies

Michella Marie shares a tutorial on coffee filter peonies.  This can be done with girls- our group has made coffee filter flowers with a little mom assistance. I'd recommend pre-cutting the flower shapes if you have a large group, or younger girls.

recycled pencil holders

Find a tutorial for these pencil holders at Craft Passion.

Catholic Rubber Stamps

Catholic Rubber Stamps carries a variety of saint stamps- see their site for more rubber stamps...these could be used to create holy cards, scrapbook images, icons, etc.

     Find Mother Cabrini (Wreath 1), St. Catherine of Siena among other saints. The above Miraculous Medal image could be used for St. Catherine Laboure crafts(Wreath 1).  Other images include Divine Mercy and lovely Marian stamps.

The Easter stamps include The Last Supper, and this pretty stained glass window with lilies (Wreath 2) 

The site also has directions on using the images on Shrinky Dinks- fun stuff!

*Please do not print the above images, as they are the property of Catholic Rubber Stamps.  If you need the images, kindly make a purchase from their business. :-)

doily bowls- orderliness or patience

Stephanie Lynn from Under the Table and Dreaming brings this tutorial as a guest blogger to Brown Paper Packages. (Hoping I covered all my bases with the hat tips there...)

This tutorial requires a very long drying time (as in, the girls will need to take home their gluey bowls and wait patiently for the lovely finished product). 
Read the tutorial for more- be sure to send bowls home in a box lined with plastic wrap or wax paper.

"cheerful" ribbon cans tutorial

These ribbon-embellished containers made cheerful, beautiful centerpieces

at our tea party...

Here's how to make them:

Materials:  

• metal rim key tags- ours were 1 1/4 in.
• ribbon (see photo collage below for widths- all purchased at Michael's in 2010)
• stretchy cord (we used silver from Michael's)
• double-sided tape
• empty cans (15 oz.) **use a can opener which leaves a smooth, safe rim (Pampered Chef has a great one)
• glue (we used Tacky Glue)

click on collage for larger view

prep work/set-up:

1. collect cans: we asked moms to bring in pre-washed cans
2. pre-cut ribbons: as many as desired to fit around can, plus one ribbon per can to span from top to bottom (I used a rotary cutter- you could ask a mom to help with this)
3. placing double-sided tape on seam of can is a time-saver, otherwise, pre-cut those and put them on the edge of a table or tray so the girls can place the tape quickly without having to wait for tape.
4. pre-cut stretchy cord, and thread through blank tags. Tie the ends so the girls merely slip the corded tag around the can.
5. pre-cut tags (if your girls are good cutters, you could let them cut out their circles- don't forget to add scissors to your materials list!).  I had a handy Creative Memories circle cutter that made quick work of the tags.

Place double-sided tape along seam of can

( if you are using no-seam cans: just place tape from top to bottom anywhere on the can)

Line up edge of ribbon on seam...

Apply glue- use 2-3 small dots, either on the ribbon, or directly on the can.

Repeat with each ribbon.

Here is the back with all the ribbons lined up...
we'll cover that unfinished seam in a sec.

If desired, layer ribbons using same technique.

The tape will be covered, so use small dots of glue on the ends.

*A handy hint: to be sure each girl holds the ribbon down long enough for the glue to set, remind them to count to ten ("silently, in your head"),
or better yet, pray a Hail Mary!

Use one ribbon to cover the unfinished seam- apply glue and press gently.

(Sorry- no picture here...we used brown grosgrain)
----

Our girls created tags from key tags and stretchy silver cord. 

A little glue on the back of each image, then applied gently to the key tag...

Our Lady on the front,

and St. Therese on the back...

Just slip the stretchy cord over the can, and...

Aren't those cheerful?

They sure make me happy :-).

This project could be adapted

and used for orderliness as well.

Below are some printable tags for you to use- 

note that the St. Therese tag is a different image than the one on the can above. 

Just click on the "cloud" with the down arrow to download.

*A printing tip- choose to print "page 1 of 1"-

there are 2 blank pages on each document.

Our Lady Tags

Our Lady of the Rosary Tags

Our Lady of Guadalupe Tags

St Therese Tags

Immaculate Conception Tags

felt pouches

Charlotte's Fancy has a tutorial for sweet, budget-friendly felt pouches.
She uses hot glue, but these could be created by girls using fabric glue and some patience (or a mama with a hot-glue station for adding buttons and other notions).

Ideas:

• Pouch for holy cards or Little Flower memory cards
• Rosary pouch
• create a felt image of a saint or flower as the cover
• print an image on fabric and glue or stitch onto pouch

Other ideas?