The Double Crown - Easter Hat Parade

The challenge continued for us to create yet another fun faith-filled Easter Hat for the parade at school.

This hat was probably the easiest we have made and it was a bit of a relief, actually, that I didn't have to spend so much time on this one. I think it was finished within one evening (if I remember correctly). It has been a few years since I posted about our Easter Hats so it was a few years ago now.

All we did was print off a crown template we found on the internet (there are lots available) and keep repeating the pattern across a length of felt, long enough to wrap around Tahlia's head and leave some for doubling over to attach with hook and loop tape (we only used the hook part).

Tahlia then helped sew the crown to another piece of felt and I cut it out.

I only ended up putting the hook side of some tape on one end of the crown so that it wouldn't show on the outside of the crown. It held well without the loop side since felt is full of fibres anyway.

Then Tahlia had lots of fun hot gluing on gems and some thorny looking decorative trim, which she embellished with felt thorns (small brown triangles).

The hat shows the Crown of Thorns Jesus wore to the cross, and looks forward to the crown He will wear when He returns as King Messiah.

Tahlia doesn't remember if she was able to talk with her friends about the meaning of the hat, but she does remember that it was fun to wear a crown. And she wasn't embarrassed to wear a crown with a Christian message. Even if she didn't talk to her friends about Jesus and His love for us, and how He was willing even to take the punishment that we deserve so we don't have to, it is important to keep offering her those opportunities. I know I don't take every opportunity presented to me either, but practice does make it easier next time. So keep giving your kids opportunity to practice sharing their faith!

After the parade, we used it for our holiday décor, along with some other story-telling items. 

This Easter Hat is probably more boy-friendly than some of our previous Easter Bonnets which are much more girly (although you could modify a couple of them):

• Hosanna! Palm Sunday Easter Bonnet
  
  

• Spectacular Spring Lamb Easter Bonnet

• Magnificent Butterfly Resurrection Easter Bonnet

• Chametz Hunt House - Easter Hat Parade
  
  
  

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Ephesians 3 - Christ May Dwell in Your Heart Through Faith Quiet Book Page

  In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul explains that Gentiles can become heirs alongside Israel, and share in access to God through faith in Christ. 

Memory Verse: "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV).

 

Materials needed to create the Christ May Dwell in Your Heart Through Faith quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used bright blue
• my free template
• red/pink felt for the heart
• a ribbon to match the felt colour of the heart - I used an organza ribbon and did some tacking and gathering on it
• felt scraps in mid brown, white, and dark brown for Jesus
• awl and/or darning needle
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors!

Cut out your heart from felt and sew it onto the middle of your page. Add the ribbon to the top edge of the pocket part of your heart before sewing it down over the bottom section of the heart.

Tacking and gathering the organza ribbon.

Cut out two feet and hands from your mid brown felt (reverse the pattern to make the right and left sides), sew them down and cut them out. Cut out a tunic from white felt and sandwich the hands and feet between it and a piece of white felt on the bottom. Sew the tunic down and cut it out, making sure to bend back the hands and feet as you go.

Cut out a face from mid brown felt and a hair and beard piece from dark brown felt. Position the hair/beard over the head and sew it down around the mouth and face. Place dark brown felt behind the head/chest area of the tunic with the hair/beard/face on top and sew around the outside of the head (hair/beard), catching the tunic in between at the bottom. Cut out the head around the top and trim at the bottom on the back side at the same width from the sewing as the rest of the head.

Use the awl to make holes in the hands and ankles and use a darning needle to make the hole wider.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No-Sew Version.

A very easy and quick quiet book page. 
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version, but make sure you don't put glue where you want to put the holes in the hands and feet.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Ephesians 3 - God's love is so wide/long/high/deep - let's pray that we will be filled with the measure of all the fullness of God
• Imaginative play - Jesus dwells in our hearts, His love is wide like His arms are stretched wide
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Ephesians 3

Devotional

I have had this idea churning around for a while. I remember as a child in Bible class we used to hold hearts up similar to this on a stick with a picture of Jesus inside while we sang "Into My Heart".

As I grew up, I started thinking about whether this was a concept that came from the Bible or not. More often, it is the Holy Spirit which is said to live in our hearts. I guess Ephesians 3 is more of an abstract idea due to having faith, rather than Jesus actually living in our hearts. I think the only other place the Bible talks about Jesus (rather than the Holy Spirit) being in our hearts is 2 Corinthians 4, where Jesus' face shines in our hearts. I think this is also alluding to the idea that others ought to be able to see Jesus' love shining out from our hearts, just as we can feel the happiness and peace within. 

The Love of Christ - Ephesians 3:17b-19

Truth Songs

Faith in Christ gives Gentiles access to God too, and we can share the inheritance. In this way, Christ can dwell in our hearts. And we will begin to understand the immeasurable love Jesus has for us. This love is beyond knowledge. Knowledge alone would not cause someone to die in someone else's place. It is only great love that would move someone enough to do that. I made Jesus with his arms outstretched and nail holes in his hands and feet so we can grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ in some small way.

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Does this quiet book page make you reminisce or remind you of something? Comment below!