As the vibrant greens of summer give way to glints of gold, the Church has blessed us with a bounty of saints' day celebrations, each one flickering like a candle in a long procession marching ever onward toward the great feast of All Hallows on November 1. This week alone, we rejoiced with the Archangels, St. Padre Pio, St. Therese of Lisieux, the Guardian Angels, and now St. Francis of Assisi. In the coming days and weeks, we will pray to Our Lady of the Rosary and give thanks for the lives of St. Faustina, St. Gerard Majella, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, to name but a few.
As with all works of the Spirit, the timing of these feasts is no accident. October's flood of festivities calls the saints to our minds and hearts each and every day, inviting us to pause and ponder these great souls as the perfect preparation for All Saint's Day.
Our crafts can help us to get ready as well. This unassuming little bag of wooden ice cream spoons is just waiting to sing the praises of the heavenly court:
A few odds and ends are all that is needed--markers and some scrapbooking paper, although construction paper would work just as well:
The great thing about saints' crafts is that it is easy to make almost any saint recognizable just by including certain symbols. St. Therese wears the habit of a Carmelite and carries the crucifix adorned by roses:
Good St. Francis appears in a friar's robe with a beard and tonsure and bearing the wounds of the stigmata. Of course, a sweet little bird alights on his shoulder, a reminder of Francis' affinity toward animals and his famous "Sermon to the Birds":
A collection of these small and simple saints would make a pleasing and kid-friendly display for the Feast of All Saints. Just imagine what your children could create if they collected these for a year!
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And as long as we are discussing Saint Francis, I thought you might like to see the statue and craft awaiting our homeschooling group for tomorrow's feast--Franciscan miniature birdhouses. Hopefully, I will have photos of the finished product to share with you soon.
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It is amusing to note, by the way, that the spoons come in packs of sixty, exactly enough for a complete set of "Sixty Saints for Boys" or "Sixty Saints for Girls." There are no coincidences. : )
She's baaaack -- in full swing! I love the craft, it's so clever and sweet! As usual, your presentation is so wonderful! You're my inspiration!
Posted by: Jenn Miller | October 04, 2006 at 08:10 AM
Alice, you are the best!! How I wish I was a part of your homeschooling group! Have a wonderful day, and God Bless! :)
Posted by: Dawn | October 04, 2006 at 08:22 AM
That is the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!!!! It's still and hour and a half until the craft store opens... I'm not sure I've commented before, but I do love your site. Thanks for the great ideas.
Posted by: Jennifer | October 04, 2006 at 08:39 AM
I now know what to do with that pack of large craft sticks I found myself inexplicably drawn to buy a few weeks ago! There are no coincidences, indeed! Thanks so much for the lovely ideas.
Posted by: Jeannine | October 04, 2006 at 09:30 AM
Your creativity never ceases to amaze me. Thank you fo taking the time to share your ideas with everyone else.
Posted by: Christine | October 04, 2006 at 10:11 AM
Cannot wait to see the Franciscan Bird Houses, they look pretty sweet unadorned and grouped about St Francis, actually!
Posted by: Jennifer | October 04, 2006 at 11:07 AM
Alice,
You are an inspiration. I think it is safe to say that a book on celebrating the liturgical year by Alice would be a bestseller!!!
God Bless your day!
Posted by: kristina | October 04, 2006 at 12:48 PM
You're the best, Alice. I love your craft ideas - such an inspiration.
Posted by: Cici | October 04, 2006 at 02:43 PM
oh this is so great! I can't wait to try this.
Posted by: Tracy | October 04, 2006 at 03:10 PM
Wow -- I wish I had some ice cream spoons today!! My kids would love this.
Posted by: Angel | October 04, 2006 at 03:40 PM
What a great idea! My girls will love this. :)
Posted by: Amy | October 04, 2006 at 04:14 PM
What wonderful ideas!!! I am just starting to celebrate the daily feasts and memorials of the liturgical year with my (so far) small family! These crafts are too advanced for my 2-year-old (the oldest) this year, but maybe next year or in the coming years we can do these! I LOVE the idea of creating the spoon saints all year and then displaying them on All Saint's day! What a wonderful idea! And the birdhouses...I can't wait to see how they come out! Great ideas and thank you for such a lovely reflection. :-)
Posted by: Andrea | October 04, 2006 at 05:12 PM
Alice, these are adorable!
I am instantly inspired for the children to make a parade of saints---a garden of saints---a flood of saints---a community of wooden ice cream spoon saints! Hands down, this is absolutely the most precious idea!
Posted by: Cay in La. | October 04, 2006 at 07:39 PM
I love the ideas. Please post pictures of the finished bird houses.
Posted by: Cheryl | October 04, 2006 at 09:00 PM
Sorry...I don't get around here often enough Alice. But I was so glad to click in here today and see all the craft pictures!
Posted by: Gwen | October 05, 2006 at 01:32 AM
Mommy, I liked the post, and I made the birdhouse. It was fun!
Posted by: Marie | October 05, 2006 at 11:42 AM
What a wonderful idea to celebrate all the special Feast Days leading up to Nov. 1! Thank you so much for sharing!
Posted by: Alicia | October 05, 2006 at 04:50 PM
Adore your spoon saints and want to do them as a craft at our All Saints Day party. Where did you find your spoons and how long are they?
Thank you for such a wonderful idea.
Posted by: Cathy Cornell | October 09, 2007 at 08:24 PM
You're blog is wonderful :) It is my first time here. Thank you for this easy to follow tutorial. I appreciate it so much :)
Have a beautiful day,
Lesley
Posted by: autismtymz2 | November 01, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Buen post, las ideas son muy relevantes. http://FundacionAsis.Org
Posted by: Fundación Proyecto Asís | March 27, 2009 at 01:21 PM