Saint Valentine Matchbox

from the archives


This little matchbox may be tiny but it holds a little Saint Valentine picture and a mini peanut butter cup, two sweet things that go great together.

Materials:
a matchbox (Do a search online for a "matchbox template.")
red paper
colored pencils or markers
paste (works better than glue for the picture)
a peanut-butter cup
my Saint Valentine picture

All you have to do is:
1.) Print the template on red paper. Cut it out and put it together. (Note: I didn't add the images until the box was put together. That way, if I messed up the matchbox, I didn't mess up the other stuff, too.)

2.) Cut out a little white box and decorate it with a favorite saying or Scripture quote for the cover of your box. I wrote:
Love is patient,
Love is kind.
Happy feast day
of Saint Valentine.
(I hope St. Paul forgives the rhyming there ...)

3.) Print out my Saint Valentine picture. Color it, cut out the square and paste it to the inside of your box.

4.) Put a peanut butter cup into the inside box then slide it into the outer cover.

5.) Say a happy little prayer for the person who will receive your little gift ... and then give it to them.

Loving Note for Mary / Notita de Amor para la Virgen Maria

In honor of today being the Assumption of Mary, I am sharing this from the archives.

To help my little guy keep track of the rosary prayers, I put together this little envelope o' loving. The idea is for Sebastian to see how prayers are sent forth. The big red heart is for the Our Father, and the 10 little hearts are the Hail Mary prayers.

This craft is very simple to make.

Materials:

red felt

white felt

brown felt

black thread & needle

scraps of pretty fabric if you'd like

1. Cut out two squares of white felt.

2. Cut out 10 small red hearts.

3. Cut out five big hearts.

4. Cut out a tiny red heart.

5. Cut out a small brown square.

6. For the envelope: Stitch a giant V shape from end to end (see picture) to make it look envelope-y. Then stitch the brown square to the center of that. Then stitch the red heart to that. Put the two white squares together and sew up the sides except the top, so the child can place the hearts in the envelope.

7. For the red hearts, I made them doubled up, meaning two red hearts sewn together. I did this for durability. And also, I had that pretty scrap of fabric that seemed perfect for such a craft.

And that's it! As each prayer is said, the little one puts the small (or large) heart ♥ into the envelope. I hope our rosary-praying time will be a little quieter now or, at least, little hands will keep busy with this activity.

Very Simple St. Patrick's Day Craft

Need a quick St. Patrick's Day craft? Or at least something green and St. Patricky to wear tomorrow? Yep, me, too. So, here's an incredibly easy St. Patrick's badge to make:

Materials needed:

• white felt
• green felt
• red felt
• green fabric marker
• thread
• sewing needle
• glue gun
• safety pin (You ... or your child ... will be wearing this, so you'll need a way to wear it.)
• a cup (You'll trace the bottom of one to make a perfect circle. Or freehand it. Whatever works.)

Steps:

• Fold a white piece of felt. Put the cup on it and trace the bottom for a nice, nonlopsided circle.
• Cut 'em out.
• Cut three little green hearts out of the green felt.
• Cut out a little stem from it. It need not be perfect. Just stem-ishy.
• Cut out a little red heart from the red felt.
• Use your hot glue gun to glue the shamrock  pieces onto your white circle. (You can sew the bits on, too. Whatever is easiest.) See, you're almost there:

• Use your fabric marker to write "Irish For a Day" along the top. If you are actually Irish, you can write "Irish Forever." I actually wanted to write: "Irish for a Day" at the top and "Catholic Forever" at the bottom but my handwriting got too big. Heck, if I could write very tiny, I'd just write the entire St. Patrick's Prayer on it. *grin*
• Put the top circle on the bottom circle and just hand-stitch quickly along the outsides:

• Turn the badge over. Put a drop of glue gun on the back and then press your safety pin into the glue. Be sure that you only glue part of the pin, not the whole thing, or else you won't be able to wear it.
• Don your St. Patrick's Day badge proudly.