All Saint's Day Pumpkin Art

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Happy All Saint's Day!

Here I am sharing a fun art project...An idea that emerged from my disappointment!  I was feeling really bummed out that we were missing our annual All Saint's Day party with our homeschool group this year, due to a family conflict.  (I think I look forward to it, every year, more than the kids!)  I started wracking my brain trying to think of something fun and meaningful that we could do as a family here at home to celebrate this important feast day.  Always thinking about things that are "do-able"(My main priority for a project), I was inspired by Lacy's Saint puppets.   I figured if we couldn't dress up as our favorite saints this year, we could dress up some pumpkins!  We used many of the awesome Catholic Icing templates as guides for our faces and saintly symbols. 

Setting up "shop" in the garage, we had art class all morning!  All ages could participate...Age 4 an up:)

This would be a great idea for an All Saint's party too...It really only took us about 2 1/2 hours to make about a dozen Saint pumpkins!  (Not including set-up and clean-up) Our only supplies were sharpie pens and paint.  Tip:  Washable Tempera paint definitely works well but we liked the acrylic paints best...More vibrant colors.  Everyone wore aprons since acrylic paint is not washable.

We always discover new gifts and talents when we do art projects!  Princess created an adorable Holy Family:)

We are using it for our kitchen table centerpiece for November...Maybe even December!?  The rest of the pumpkins also made the cutest liturgical decorations:)

Angel baby made St. Therese (mostly) on her own...

+Superboy made St. Michael the Archangel+

Here we have St. Francis of Assisi...

St. Clare...

(Blessed) Mother Teresa of Calcutta...

A few saintly pumpkins made it the fireplace mantle...How's that for a power trio?

Let's see, we also had St. Patrick...He is (teenager) Army Dude's patron saint...

He's just too cute!

And one of my favorite's...Our Lady of Guadalupe:)  We ran out of pumpkins but I wanted to do Juan Diego to go with her!

I really think Princess did a nice job with St. Kateri Tekakwitha...One of her patron saints...Perfect decor for Thanksgiving too!

Here they are all together!  
They really turned out much cuter than I ever expected...Certainly making up for my original disappointment;-)

+...All you holy men and women, pray for us+
I've linked up!

Celebrate the Saints with Equipping Catholic Families:

Month of the Holy Rosary~A Centerpiece Project

How about a liturgical project for October?

Being the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, we made this super easy centerpiece for our kitchen table.
Items needed:
White pumpkin
Liquid gold paint marker
Orange sharpie (or other colors of choice)
Glitter spray (opt.)

Easy Instructions:

Gently tape on a rosary to use as a guide for drawing on the beads.

We drew the decade markers first and filled in each set of 10 beads after that.

*The end result*

Another option is to spray the final product with gold glitter spray for a sparkling after effect...

Which one do you like better?

Hmmm, kind of a tough choice...

I do like the sparkles but I think I like the plain white best:)

The Rosary is a gospel prayer where Mary invites us to join her on a journey through the life, death, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As we gather with our family or friends to pray the rosary, the mysteries bring us to unite with Jesus through the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary.

Amen!

Have a blessed month:)

It's beginning to feel a lot like...

Pumpkin Crayon Melt {Preschool Halloween Crafts}, shared by Laurie Turk on Tip Junkie

It's beginning to feel a lot like...Fall:)
This is on our "to do" list!
I'm linking it here since I'm not (yet) on Pinterest...

Feeding The Soul~10 Things

This was a week that fed my Soul...10 things to share!

1. A Free Field Trip to our favorite aquarium kicked off our week.  (It was a free homeschool day)
 I just love the jelly fish. Can you believe these photos were taken from my phone?

Our whole family favors the sea...We are definitely ocean lovers!

Our favorite was the Sea Horse...

Especially the red ones:)

Doesn't everybody love a penguin, so stout and sassy?
Wish I looked that cute with my belly sticking out:)

Gotta see a SHARK!

And a Sea Turtle...

Said "Hello" to some cute little Puffins...

The day was officially complete upon Finding Nemo!

2.  I basked in the glow of Autumn, ablaze all around us.

3.  We enjoyed our favorite "soul food" and had a much-needed family dinner.  All 7 members of our family LOVE this dish.  Anyone who has multiple children knows this is a small miracle:)

Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
1 lb. pkg. tater tots
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 can water
Brown and season beef.  Place in 13x9 casserole.  Add layer of onions, mixed frozen vegetables, then frozen tater tots. Pour the soup, mixed with water, over the top.  Bake 2 hours at 350 degrees. (1 1/2 hours covered, and last 1/2 hour uncovered)


4.  We enjoyed some fun Leaf Art!

I got the idea from Little Page Turners.

It was pretty messy...But very FUN!

5.  The Gift of a Mass from a thoughtful friend.  She gave me this gift for my birthday last month and I got to enjoy it this week.
 "The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death.”~Pope Benedict XV~
Read more about this over at EWTN

6.  The Peace of Adoration.  I have missed the last couple of weeks so I got back on track this week...Serious food for my soul!
"When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His."~St. John Mary Vianney~

7.  The Catholicism Project came out this week on EWTN and it was amazing!  It fed the souls of our whole family:)  If you haven't been able to check out this new documentary television series, be sure to visit the website.  You won't be disappointed!

8.  A trip down memory lane to our local museum.  They displayed some of my old Army paraphernalia for the month of November to honor Veterans of different wars.  You know you're OLD when your junk is in a museum!

This is me and my Dad, who is history-buff-extraordinare:)

The museum display included "those shiny boots"...definite soul food.

9.  Friday morning Bible Study...need I say more?

10. Rosary Making with our Little Flowers/Blue Knights home school group closed out the week.  We all joined the Rosary Army! I am loving this project, shared and brought to us by a special family.  I am a very awkward learner but the girls are patient with me, bless their hearts.  The girls are making these knotted twine/chord rosaries for charity and also to donate to the troops. 

Hope the weeks ahead are good for your soul!

Soul Season

I love the changing of the colors!

To me, it's Soul Season.

The leaves are finally turning here in California and Autumn is aglow...This is the view of the backyard Birch tree looking down from our school room window last week...Some of the leaves are actually still green.

Fast forward to this week...

  The same window and the burst of golden color is glorious...No more green leaves!

Our Mary garden annuals are fading but a red rose still blooms...

(Can you see her on the bottom right, tucked under the tree)?

I'm enjoying the color so much that I don't want to rake up the leaves!

I never get tired of looking at them:)

I wrote this poem last year and I dug it up to share again this year.

Seasons of the Soul

Brilliantly, leaves change color right before they fall, signaling Christ's blazing love, one last time.

Then they are finished and go back into the dust.

But they will come again...

Until then we are left with bare trees, colder temperatures, and darker days.

It is time to hunker down and examen our own nakedness and sin.

A time to root out all that does not lead us to God. 

We may suffer through the dimness but we have hope in the light.

Springtime is ahead, like the hope of heaven.

We need only to wait patiently and keep the faith,

For the promise of new life.

The resurrection illuminates the seasons of our soul.

This is the most gorgeous place in town...Our Parish Fatima Shrine in Fall bloom. It's my favorite place to visit and soak my soul before the darkness of winter sets in.

It's beyond beautiful, just like Our Lady, Mother of Our Savior.  

As she beckons us to come closer, this bold and brilliant grove of trees lead the way...

Isn't it amazing?
And fitting that she be the vessel to reveal God's glory all around her...

We are so blessed with such beauty and grace, here in this place.