Happy Weekend, my friends! I have two quick crafts to share today!
Throughout Advent we are reveling in the beauty of creation, and how the whole wondrous world awaits the birth of its King. This week our focus was "earth and sky." We have been reading books and working on crafts with a focus on stars, shells, rocks and the returning sun. Today's activities included taking the boys outside after lunch to gather branches for St. Barbara's Day (an old fashioned, annual tradition) and gathering "rocks" for an afternoon craft ...
"Daddy said it was ok to harvest pebbles from the driveway ... "
Little Bear's favorite toy of the moment - this crazy little grabber thing. No idea where it came from but he loves to use it to pick things up and move them around. It came in very handy for all that gravel!
So many colors and sizes and shapes! Cool to the touch and such gritty, crunchy sounds!
While Bill assisted Little Bear in rock retrieval, Earlybird and I snipped some forsythia branches ...
Per St. Barbara's Day tradition, these should be blooming by Christmas ... :)
Meanwhile, Little Bear explored a very large rock in our yard - his favorite digging spot - and the soft, pretty moss growing along our stone walls. We have lots of rocks in our yard - New England soil is very rocky!
Back inside, while the gravel was soaking (removing dirt and debris), the boys decorated some popsicle stick stars I had made up the day before ...
I used a hot glue gun to form the star shapes and attached colorful yarn loops to the top. I think the shiny rainbow-colored stickers will look very pretty against the lights on the tree!
Now, here's the base for the grotto: a $1 frame I bought at the craft store.
The little wooden stand I had on hand, but I also got that at the craft store some time ago, for just a few dollars.
Pretty pebbles drying on a dishcloth ... such an array!
As the rocks were drying and the kids were busy with stickers, I did a quick internet search for an image of the Holy Family ...
I loved the colors and style of this one. I printed it out on paper and then used a simple tacky glue to adhere it to the center of the frame.
Here's my work station on the kitchen island ...
Clean and dry rocks, frame and glue gun.
Now, I won't lie ... this did take some time and patience. But I found it very satisfying ... I kind of felt like a stone mason! Children who are old enough to handle a low-temp glue gun could do this craft on their own (what a nice activity for a dark afternoon), but neither of my younger boys fits that bill. And my 16yo was sick with a cold, so he was out of the loop ... and of course the 20 yo is off at college, preparing for exams! He'll be pressed into craft service once he's home later this month. ;)
Here is the grotto, finished at last:
I LOVE how the candlelight reflects on the stones. :)
I think this would make a nice gift, but I'm loving it on my desk windowsill!
There is also a rope attached to the back of the frame and it does seem strong enough for hanging. (The rocks weigh down the wooden frame a good deal.) But I like this arrangement and I could see making this with all kinds of images. I'm already thinking of one with St. Francis for our nature shelf ...
So over the weekend we have a pretty seashell ornament to make and a couple more star ornaments if time allows. Next week we'll be admiring the plants and trees of creation and gathering "Christmas greenery" which will add to our craft stash considerably! (Dried fruit, spices, evergreens, holiday flowers and berries, etc.)
Before I go, here are the books in our Advent basket this week. Some we owned and several I requested ahead from the library ...
*★*
Well my friends, I'll be off for now. It's Saturday morning here and all my troops are up and about. Time to get the day rolling! But as always, thanks so much for stopping by ...
I will see you here again very soon!
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