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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

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. Faustina’s and the Divine Mercy! Wow! Yes, we need mercy these days! God forgive us we know not what we do… Saint Mary Faustina was visited my Jesus and he asked to have an image made of Him. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is also dedicated to her… okay that was a horrible way to shorten her amazing life story, so please if you want to know more about her click HERE and HERE .  Her feast day is Oct. 5th on the new calendar. The chaplet of the Divine Mercy is such a beautiful prayer, but in my house I have to keep myself from laughing as my 3 year old son takes the lead and says the prayers. He gets angry when anyone else tries to take a turn. Well, I’m glad he’s learning to pray, now I need to better teach him to share! 🙂 To create this ornament you will need: black felt white felt medium blue felt medium brown felt yellow felt peach felt black sharpie marker brown sharpie marker red sharpie marker blue sharpie marker orange sharpie marker scissors glue (hot glue, felt glue  or tacky glue – like this or this ) thread and a needle (for the looped hanger) First we made a Divine Mercy image. Make a square black background and a white Jesus shape (like above). Make your black background a little bigger than ours – we discovered that helps when it\’s time to add the frame. Also make a yellow halo.  Use an orange marker to decorate the halo. Use a black marker to outline Jesus and use a brown marker to make Jesus\’s hair and beard. Next, use red and blue markers to make the rays. Glue all those parts down onto the black background and add a brown felt frame to the image. Again, make your black background larger than we made ours so you have an easier time adding the frame. Cut out shapes like these pictured above – using correct colors. Be sure the blue felt is bigger than all the other pieces so you have plenty of room to glue Saint Faustina onto it. Glue down the half circle-body and add a small strip of white to form a collar. Add the head and over-lap the chin into the collar. Add a small white rectangle on top of  her head. Now add white rectangles on each side of her head. Be sure they lay on top of her face – only glue them at the outer edges of the rectangles.  Next, glue down the \”U\” shaped veil. Cut off the pointed ends on the two side flaps – so they look more rounded.   Fold the two side flaps back (away from her face) onto the black veil. Glue them down. Add the picture of the Divine Mercy, and cut off the extra background.  Add a threaded loop to the top so you can hang the ornament. St. Faustina, pray for us! Jesus, have mercy on us! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

Isaac Jogues, was a Jesuit priest, missionary and martyr who worked among the native Indians in North America.  Jogues and his assistant, Rene Goupi, were torture by some Iroquois. Among other horrible acts of mistreatment, Isaac Jogues had two fingers removed. He eventually escaped, but was later martyred. He is one of ”The North American Martyrs”. His feast day is October 19. Read more about him HERE . To make this ornament you will need: white or off-white felt light blue felt tan felt blue permanent sharpie marker brown permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) needle and thread for the looped hanger First cut out two hands. The easiest way to make hands it to cut out a hand which as all the fingers together and then cut down between the fingers to separate them.  Also cut out a host. Using a brown marker, add a cross. Cut out a light blue piece of felt to use as the background. Be sure to cut off two fingers on his right hand. (Ya, it feels wrong – I know.) Glue down the host and hands so it looks like the host is being held by the hands. If you wish, make a few sleeves for the hands and glue them down.  Also cut out around the hands and host – remove the extra blue background. Use the blue marker to add a border to the blue background. Now add a threaded loop to the top to hang it up. St. Isaac Jogues, pray for us. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

Recently canalized John Paul II celebrates his feast day on Oct. 22. Read about him HERE . To make this ornament you will need: white felt light blue felt yellow felt peach felt brown permanent sharpie marker yellow permanent sharpie marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) needle and thread for the looped hanger Cut out the parts as pictured above. Use a brown sharpie marker to add the buttons to the cassock. Glue down the bottom-buttoned part of the cassock onto the blue background. Add the upper part with the split in the middle. Now glue down the head. Add the little zucchetto. Next, add the yellow cross using the two yellow parts. Using brown and yellow markers draw on the ”chain”. Use only a very light dots of brown and wait for it to dry before adding the yellow. Add a threaded loop to the top to hang it up. St. John Paul II, pray for us. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

Elizabeth, my Liturgical Ornament making buddy,  dressed as St. Clare of Assisi. We already had the costume from when she dressed as St Therese . The only thing new was the monstrance.  To make this costume we used: habit from THIS nun costume — a few more options: HERE : HERE : HERE The long black nun rode was actually used by her older brother for a St. Peregrine costume. brown robe like THIS or THIS  – OT is cheaper HERE tan sheet or material (light weight) string for cloak (we used a shoe string) monstrance (which we made – I’ll be posting instructions for this in the future) We used the nun habit and the brown robe for the main part of the costume. We created the cloak by folding a tan piece of material over a string and then tie it (loosely) around her neck. Our St. Clare was kind of camera shy, but I took the opportunity to get a good picture of the monstrance. 🙂  I will post instructions for this later. St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us. ~JenMarie

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

My little Naomi, had the hardest time deciding who to dress as for All Saints day. I was very surprised when she finally decided on St. Catherine of Siena – but what a cute little Saint Catherine she is! To create this costume we used: white robe – like THIS white veil which was just a small sheet white string – we used a shoe string rosary mock turtle neck grapevine wreath – just big enough for her head washable marker for her hands (stigmata)  I personally thought that getting the wreath was the worst part of make this costume. I had to find just the right wreath for her to wear – so she felt comfortable. St. Catherine wore a crown of thorns, but even a grapevine wreath can be a bit uncomfortable. So take your little one to the store with you when you go and test them out.  The rosary was looped through her waist string. The washable red marker was used to make the stigmata. And my little lady – made one silly little saint! Unlike St. Clare  she was NOT camera shy! St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us. ~JenMarie

St. Catherine was a very smart young girl who converted many people with her words of truth. After angering the emperor, she was beaten, imprisoned, and not allowed to eat for 11 days. During this time she converted the emperor wife and many of the solders (who later where martyred). Then she was to be tortured with a spiked wheel, but, at her touch, the wheel was miraculously destroyed. This also converted many watchers. After this she beheaded and legend says that angels carried her body to Mt. Sinai.  Her feast day is November 25th (new and traditional). Read more about her HERE .  To make this ornament you will need: pink felt green felt white felt yellow felt brown felt 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 shown above.  Glue the large circle on the pink background and add the small circle in the middle of the large circle. Add the spokes to the wheel. Glue them down and cut off the extra length, as needed.  It will look something like the wheel in the above picture. Now create the lily. Above is a step-by-step image to show you how. Now, glue down the palm, lily, and leaves. Cut out around the wheel and remove the extra pink background. Add the threaded loop to the top and hang it up! St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us! God bless you all with joy! ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

In the Catholic Church,  November is dedicated to the Holy Souls. So I thought I’d share a few simple and meaningful activities you can do with your kids. Before I talk about what we can do for the souls in purgatory, I want to talk about who these souls are and why it’s important for us to help them. Purgatory is filled with the souls of people who have died with God’s Grace on them but they are not yet holy (aka: sanctified) enough to enter into Heaven. They are in a middle spot between heaven and hell. In Purgatory these souls are meant to be purified so they can enter into eternal life in heaven. Our prayers and good works are the key that they need to enter heaven. There are countless ways to help the souls through prayer and sacrifice. I’m going to share just a few that you can do with your kids so they can see how they can help, too: 1. Take a trip to the cemetery to pray: Take a trip to your parish cemetery to pray a Rosary. This is a great visual reminder of who we are praying for. It helps to make an imprint in a child’s head and it makes the reality of who they are praying for more real.  This trip can be made at anytime, but we like to go on the feast of All Souls (Nov. 2). Feel free to go several times during the month of November – remember the entire month is dedicated to the Holy Souls. (Not that you can’t pray for them after November – they ALWAYS need prayer.) Don’t let bad or cold weather bother you. If you plan to go an a specific day and it ends-up being cold or rainy, go anyway. You can pray in your vehicle while you are parked at the cemetery. Its better to go and stay in the car than not go at all. Also, going on an extra cool and windy day is an extra special sacrifice! 🙂 2. Take time each day to say an extra prayer: Make a list of your family and friends who have died and be sure to add” all the other souls in purgatory” or ”for the least prayed for souls” to your list. Then each night, say an extra prayer for them. I highly recommend that you pray the St. Gertrude prayer. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that this prayer 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. 3. Light a candle in November for the Holy Souls: Take a few minutes after Mass to light a candle for the Holy Souls. You can do this each weekend during November. You can also decorate around a special candle at home or school for the souls. Add some pictures of your deceased relatives and friends around it. If you don’t have pictures, just make a list to set beside your candle. 4. Offer it up! Don’t forget to offer up your bad days, your difficult events, or your painful or uncomfortable times. These may be sad times, but you can use these sad times for good. The souls in purgatory need our help. If you offer these bad things as a prayerful sacrifice to Jesus, He can turn them into good. So remember to ”offer it up.” each time you have something bad to deal with. You can also go to Mass and offer that as a sacrifice for these souls. The Mass is the most perfect prayer and a wonderful way to help the souls in purgatory! So make a special trip to Mass for these souls. 5. Give it up! Another way to sacrifice is to give up something you love. For example, don’t take a desert and offer that up as a sacrifice for the souls in purgatory. Or give up your seat for someone. Let your brother or sister have your turn to pick a movie. These are just a few ways you can give something up to help the souls in purgatory. Remember: **Do to others as you would what want them to do for you.** I’m sure that if you were in purgatory you would want the help of those who could help you, so please try to help these poor souls who need your help so desperately! God bless you all with joy and peace. ~JenMarie

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

October 7th is dedicated to Our Lady for the Rosary.  The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The Battle of Lepanto was a great sea battle and the Christians were outnumbered by the Turks – 7 to 1! Pope St. Pius V asked that all Christians pray the Rosary. Then, God gave the Christians an incredible victory!   Read more about the battle HERE . Elizabeth and I created a new ornament for the occasion.  (This will be the last ornament till next week.) To create this ornament you will need: •medium blue felt •light blue felt •white felt •pink felt •peach felt •medium brown felt •yellow felt •purple felt (or any other color you would like to use to make the Rosary) •orange Sharpie marker •yellow Sharpie marker •blue Sharpie marker  •brown Sharpie marker •purple Sharpie marker (or other color to match your Rosary color) •scissors •glue (hot glue, felt glue   or tacky glue – like this  or this ) •needle and thread for looped hanger Cut out the parts like those shown above. We used a hole-puncher to make the little purple beads. If your hole-punch is not 100% sharp you may have to use scissors to finish cutting a few edges.  Also, the blue rectangle should have been the brown color (like her hair) – making it blue was a little mistake which we realized after we finished creating Mary. First, glue down the light blue body onto the pink background. Then glue down the blue rectangle (which should have been brown). Cut the rectangle so it fits over top the light blue body.  Add the halo which was out-lined with an orange Sharpie marker. Add the head – be sure the head\’s chin touches and slightly covers the light blue body. Now, add the hair, which has been detailed with a brown maker.  Next add the veil. This can also be detailed/shaded with a light blue sharpie marker. Now you need to make a few lilies (we made 3). A step-by-step picture is above. Add the lilies to the ornament -like above. Next arrange the beads, heart-shaped Rosary center, and cross around the lilies. When you feel that you know how you want to arrange them, glue them down. We added a purple out-line to the Rosary. We also added a yellow outline around Mary to make her \”glow\” . Now cut out around everything and remove any extra pink background. Add the threaded loop and hang her up!  Now, I’d like to ask a personal favor. My oldest brother is a fallen away Catholic, who’s birthday falls on Oct. 7th. Please, pray for him! He’s a great guy who would make an awesome soldier for Christ! Thank you for any prayers! 🙂 God Bless you all with joy and peace! ~Jennifer and my helper, Elizabeth