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Creating a  Liturgical Ornament for All Saints day proved to be a little more challenging than I thought it would be. I just had a mental block trying to come up with an easy way to depict ALL the saints in heaven, so I just created the gates of heaven and the symbols of the Holy Trinity – because when the saints enter heaven they are finally able to see God’s full glory for the first time. To create this you will need: yellow felt — with glitter* white felt — with glitter* plain white felt brown felt scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) a needle and thread for the looped hanger Glitter glue — *if you can’t get glitter felt you can use glitter glue on the felt and wait for it to dry. We used gold and silver glitter glue Cut out the parts for the cross, dove and crown. The crown is in two pieces so it looks more 3-D, but you can make one (2-D) if it’s easier for you. Cut out the gate from yellow felt and cut a piece of white felt big enough for the gate and Trinity symbols. If you don’t have glitter felt, you may like to cover the crown, gate, and white background with glitter glue. We used gold on the yellow pieces and silver on the white. Spread it around with your finger, popsicle stick, or paint brush. Allow all the glitter to dry before moving on to the next step. Glue the gate onto the white background. Over-top of the gate add the Trinity symbols. We added gold glitter glue around the cross and dove (mostly because the dove was kind of hidden on the white background.). After that dries, cut out around the gate and make a cloud-like top above the Trinity.  Now add the threaded-loop hanger to the top. God Bless, ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

This ornament for All Souls Day (Nov. 2) is meant to remind kids that we need to pray for the souls in Purgatory. Read more about that HERE .  Often Purgatory is pictured with fire, but I thought that might be confusing for kids (too much like hell) so I used thorns in our Purgatory instead.  I added Heaven to the upper corner so the kids can see that these souls are reaching out and desiring to enter into the glow and warmth of Heaven.   To make this ornament you will need: light blue felt peach felt tan felt yellow felt white felt black permanent sharpie marker orange permanent sharpie marker  yellow permanent sharpie marker gold glitter glue silver glitter glue scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out all the pieces like those above. Also cut out a white circle (not pictured here but it\’s seen later in these steps) Add the 3 rays and the cloud to the corner. Add the hands on the bottom of the blue background. Use the black marker to create the thorns and dark area around the hands. Use the yellow marker to added more color around the yellow felt rays.  Now write ”Pray for the souls in Purgatory” on your white circle. Do the writing before you glue it down, because you may need to redo it if you mess-up on the writing. When making the letters, use a series of dots side-by-side to form them. This gives them a less fussy look. We added a little yellow and orange to the circle’s edge to add character. Once you are happy with your circle glue it down to the upper left corner – beside heaven.  Add gold glitter glue to the rays and around the ’pray circle’. Also add silver glitter glue to the heavenly cloud.  Cut out around the edges to remove any extra felt and give it a cleaner look.  Add a threaded loop to the top and hang it up with your All Saints ornament. God Bless. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Martin de Porres, also known as, the Saint of the Broom, celebrates his feast day on November 3 (new and traditional calendars). He lived from 1579 to 1639 and he’s the patron of African-Americans; against rats; barbers; hair stylists; hotel-keepers; mixed-race people; poor people; public education; public health; racial harmony; etc. Read more HERE .  To create this ornament you will need: yellow felt white felt black felt dark brown felt medium brown felt light blue felt black permanent sharpie marker orange permanent sharpie marker  brown permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the parts as pictured above. Use an orange marker to add an edge to the halo. Use a brown and black marker to add detail to the broom. And use black marker to make the hair and face on the head. Glue the robe and halo to the blue back ground add the black scapular to the front of the white robe. Glue the black collar to the top of the robe – only glue it in the middle. Lift the sides to add the arms. once you see the arms will be covered and look good, glue down the arms and outer edge of the black collar.  Add this head. Add the broom to one arm and a cross to the other. Cut out around the edge to remove any extra blue background. Add a looped hook to the top to hang it up. St. Martin de Porres, pray for us! God bless. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

Have you ever heard the story about St. Leo the Great and Attila the Hun? If not Click Here  to read about him and this story. St. Leo’s feast day is November 10th in the New Calendar, April 11th in the Traditional Calendar.  To make this you will need: light blue felt gray felt medium brown felt yellow felt white felt black permanent sharpie marker brown permanent sharpie marker  yellow permanent sharpie marker orange permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the parts like those shown above. (More parts are shown in the photo below, too.) Use the black maker to add an edge to the gray parts and to add detail to the brown fuzzy part of Attila’s hat.  Use yellow and brown to make an edge and to add detail to the pope’s miter. Glue them all onto the light blue background as shown in the next picture. Now cut out the three shapes shown above to make a glowing cross. Use the orange marker to add an edge to the yellow circle. Glue them onto the blue background as pictured below. Cut out around the edges to remove any extra blue background. Add a threaded-loop to the top to hang it up. St. Leo, pray for us! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Martin of Tours is the patron of  beggars, against poverty; reformed alcoholics; France; horses; riders; soldiers; tailors; wine growers; wine makers. His feast day is November 11th (new and traditional).  He was the Bishop of Tours and he had such a kind heart toward the poor.  If you don’t know about the story of St. Martin’s cloak read about it HERE .   To make this you will need: light brown felt gray felt red felt string or ribbon for the cloak neck (we used red embroidery thread – knotted at both ends of both parts) black permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the parts like those above. We used a black marker to make the detail on the cloak and sword. Glue the strings to the back of the cloak collar- one part on each side. (Remember, you may need to knot the ends of the string/ribbon to keep it from fraying) Glue the cloak onto the brown background. Allow a non-glued area so you can add the sword. If you forget, just cut off the sword tip, as needed. Now stick the sword into the cloak-rip and glue it down.  Cut off the extra edge of the brown background and add the threaded loop to the top for hanging.  St. Martin of Tours, pray for us. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Josaphat, an Eastern Rite bishop, was martyred as he was trying to bring part of the Orthodox Church into union with Rome. He was killed by an angry mob with a gun and ax. Josaphat’s body was thrown into the river but emerged, surrounded by rays of light. Read more HERE . His feast day is November 12th (New) and November 14th (Traditional).   To make this ornament you will need: gray felt medium brown felt red felt black permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger This ornament is very simple once you cut out all the parts. We used a black marker to add detail to the ax head and gun. Then, we just glued them all down onto the red background. We cut out around the background to remove any extra. Then we added the threaded loop to hang it up.  That’s it! 🙂 St. Josaphat, pray for us! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, was born in Italy, but she came to America as a missionary and she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. They cared for poor children and formed schools, hospitals, orphanages, and more. She is the first American citizen to be canonized. Her feast day is November 13 (new) and  December 22 (traditional). Read more HERE . To make this ornament you will need: black felt very dark gray (charcoal) felt (if possible – otherwise more black is okay) yellow felt light blue felt peach felt orange permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the part as pictured above. The only part that is true black is the half oval shape (the body). All the other parts are dark gray/charcoal. This slight color difference helps distinguish the parts better when they are all together, but is not necessary.  An orange marker was used to add the edge to the halo. And I do recommend that you make the veil longer than ours is. I think it would look nicer.  Add the black body and halo to the light blue background.  Now add the ”back” of the veil and the head. Next add the veil, (again I recommend you make yours longer then we have shown.) Add the bow tails, too.  Now glue down only the center of the bow-top. The sides should be free to move. Fold the sides in and glue them to the middle. Add a small rectangle to cover the center of the bow.  The finished bow will look like the one above.  Add two strips of yellow felt to make a cross. This is located just below the bow.  Cut out around the figure to remove any extra background. Add a threaded loop to the top so this ornament can be hung up.  St. Frances, Pray for us! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Albert, whose feast day is November 15th  (New/Traditional), is the patron saint of scientists. He is often shown with a sun, earth, and moon. These are meant to symbolizing his theological wisdom and knowledge of nature. Read more about him HERE .  To create this ornament for him you will need: black felt light blue felt yellow felt gray felt silver glitter glue gold glitter glue (optional) green permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the sun, moon and earth shapes. use a green marker to make the land on the earth. Glue them onto a black background and cut out around them to remove the extra background. Add gold glitter glue to the sun, if desired.  Add silver glitter glue to the black area to make it look more like space.  After it dries, add a threaded-looped hanger to the top so it can be hung up. That’s it! St. Albert, Pray for us! May God bless you with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that this  prayer (below) would release 1000 souls from purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well. Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. It seems very fitting that her feast day, November 16th (New and Traditional), would fall in the month of All Souls!! Read more about her HERE . St. Gertrude is often shown with the infant Jesus in her flaming heart. So we made ours with a cute little baby Jesus. To create this you will need: black felt red felt yellow felt white felt peach or tan felt brown permanent marker orange permanent marker purple or blue permanent marker (for shading on the heart) scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the shapes like those in the above picture.  Also cut out a halo for baby Jesus (not pictured) Use the orange marker to make the out-line on the yellow flames and halo, use a purple or blue marker to add shading to the heart. The brown marker was used to add detail to baby Jesus blanket and face. Glue the flames to the back of the heart. Then add glue the back of the heart and flames. Glue it onto the black background.  Add Jesus’ halo and head to the heart then add his blanket. Add the brown marker detail if you didn’t already. Now cut off the extra black background and add the threaded loop to the top so it can be hung up. That’s it! St. Gertrude, pray for us! May God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Elizabeth of Hungry, was married to King Ludwig and spent her short life giving and caring for the poor and sick. Elizabeth is best known for the miracle of the roses: While she was taking bread to the poor in secret, she met her husband Ludwig who was with a hunting party. She was accused of steeling treasure from the castle and she was asked to reveal what she held in her apron. She opened her apron to reveal a vision of white and red roses. This proved to Ludwig that God\’s protecting hand was at work. Read more about her HERE . Her feast day is November 17 in the New Calendar and November 19th in the Traditional Calendar.  To make her ornament you will need: medium blue felt red felt white felt green felt tan felt brown permanent marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the shapes like those above. The red and white wavy line of felt will be the roses. Use the brown marker to make detail on the tan bread.   Glue the bread on to the blue background and add the leaves.  Roll the strips of white and red into rose shapes. Cut off any extra length which make the roses too large.  Add a large drop of glue to the leaf-area and add the rolled rose. Press the bottom of the rose into the glue. If you are not using hot glue you may need to hold it longer or use a clothespin to press it down for a half hour or so. Now cut off the extra blue background and add the looped hanger to the top. Hang it up wherever you like! St. Elizabeth of Hungry, pray for us. May God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. John Berchmans’ feast day (November 26) is celebrated on the same day as another saint who I own much of my faith to, St. Leonard of Port Maurice. While I regret not having an ornament to share for Saint Leonard (maybe next year), I do recommend you read ” The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved ” This was such a huge eye opener to my husband and myself. It forced us to realize we needed to do more than just be a bare-minimum-rule-following Catholic and that God was asking much more for us all! Please, take a few minutes to read it. Now for St. John Berchmans: St. John is the patron saint of altar boys, so we made an ornament depicting an altar boy. Read more about him on the bottom of this page HERE . St Leonard’s story is also told on the bottom of that same page.  To make this ornament you will need: medium blue felt black felt yellow felt white felt tan felt brown sharpie permanent marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger First, cut out all the parts like those above. We used the brown marker to add detail to his face. Next glue down the black body and glue the white surplice on top. Don’t glue down the arms of the white surplice yet. First, add the black arms under the white arm and then glue down the white part of the arms.  Now add the halo, head, and cross. Cut out around the figure to remove any extra background. Add a threaded loop to the top so it can be hung up.  St. John Berchmans, pray for us! May God bless you all with joy. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

I made a flat Advent ”wreath” for my kids. The first one I made was created with felt material. I added magnets to the back so it could be hung on our refrigerator during the Advent Season. After my 10 and 8 year old daughters saw it they wanted to make one, too! So we made another, this time with paper! Below are the instructions for both the paper and felt projects. These both include removable flames so they can be used year after year!  You will need: black or dark blue paper or felt (we used sparkle dark blue on our felt version) purple paper or felt pink paper or felt green paper or felt red paper or felt yellow paper or felt glue:~hot glue if you are using felt-glue stick of you are using paper tape (optional) purple crayon or oil pastel   OR a  purple Sharpie marker for felt pink crayon or oil pastel OR red Sharpie marker for felt orange crayon or oil pastel for paper OR orange Sharpie marker for felt – if you don’t use glitter paint black pipe cleaner (aka:  chenille) scissors glitter glue if you are using paper fabric paint if you are using felt (we used: gold glitter, metallic gold, and glitter red)  First cut out your three purple candles and one pink candle. They are just simple rectangles. If you feel extra creative, add a curved top to each.  Add glue to the back, but try not to cover the ”no-glue” area – shown in the picture above. This middle area will need to be loose/free so you can add the "stick” which will hold the removable flame. This ”no-glue” area is important for both the paper and the felt versions.  After attaching all four candles to the background, (I used black for the paper version and dark blue with sparkles for the felt version.) Cut out a green wiggly oval to make the base of the green area.  Glue that down so it covers the bottom for the candles. Using crayon or oil pastel create a dripping wax look to the paper version of this project. If you are using felt, use markers to add this wax detail. I cut out a few extra felt pieces to make it look more 3-D-ish, but you could just draw on the wax drips with the markers, if you like. Now, cut out some holly leaves. Fold a green paper or felt rectangle in half and cut out the shape that is shown in the above image on the left. If you feel that’s too complicated just cut out long pointy evergreen-like needles and glue those on the green area below the candles.  If you are using paper, glue down one half of the holly leaf and don’t glue down the other half. This will make a leaf stick out and look more interesting.  If you are using felt, glue down the center of the holly leaf and not the sides (as pictured above). Now add a few holly berries among the greens.  We added glitter glue as a boarder around the paper project.  I used metallic gold fabric paint to the border of the felt project. I also used gold glitter and red glitter paint to the flames and stars which I’ll talk about below. Creating the Removable Flames If you are using paper: Cut out flames from yellow paper and color them with an orange crayon or oil pastel.  Tape or glue a small strip of black paper to the back of each flame. You may want to fold the black paper in half to make it stiffer.  If you are using felt: I used a short piece of black pipe-cleaner (AKA: chenille) and glued it to the back of the felt flames. After that I covered the flames with red and gold glitter paint.  They look MUCH better in real life than in these pictures!  Now you can add the flames to the top of the candle by pushing the black strip of paper into the top ”no glue” area of the candle…. …or push the pipe cleaner into the top of the felt candles. I created a small pocket on the back to store the flames when they are not being used. I also added magnets so it can be hung on the refrigerator.  Above is the finished paper project. Above is the finished felt project. I created the stars by cutting out the star shapes from yellow felt and covering them with gold and red glitter paint like I did with the flames.  There you have it! A piece of artwork perfect for the season. The felt version could be a great heirloom! Enjoy! May God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie