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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Omega (New Testament) Quiet Book - by Steph

This is the second in a series of two no-sew quiet books made by my friend Steph.

She has used an Alpha symbol over the cross for the Old Testament and an Omega over a cross for the New Testament covers, which I thought was a terrific idea.

To save time and effort, and for motivation that it would actually get achieved, Steph used glue instead of sewing the books. I am going to share the pages with you that have been completed so far, but this project (Like the Bible Quiet Book Project of mine) is an ongoing one, at least for now. 

The books are bound simply using a hole punch and ribbon. The front and the back of the felt pages can be used since glue does not show through to the other side like sewing does. 

Page one is a hand drawn maze (using a Posca fabric marker) depicting the Nativity journey.

Page two is a peek-a-boo style manger with a star and baby Jesus inside. The donkey can move back and forth along the cord.

Page three is for building on the Rock (Jesus Christ). Steph had her son in mind when she made this page with various tools and a builder's vest complete with side release buckles to do and undo. You can see the plans in the background with a house built on a rock with a big tick and one built on sandy land which has been crossed out.

Page four was designed by another friend who was wanting to teach good money management - to divide your income between spending, saving, and tithing. I have to confess there are only 9 coins featured here because I lost one of them. How embarrassing. Steph says it is very easy to make another and she has more felt to do it with. Sorry Steph! Also, I'm not sure why I arranged them this way, with all the money going to tithing... it is not very accurate or true to life. Oh well, at least they are learning generosity?

Page five was inspired by my Luke 12 - Where is Your Treasure? Quiet Book Page. Instead of using a heart button closure, Steph included a heart bangle inside.

Page six is an I-spy page for "if you seek Me you will find Me" (which is actually from the Old Testament) but let's not get caught up in semantics - there might be another reference elsewhere too. It was inspired by my Deuteronomy 4 - Seek Me Find Me Quiet Book Page.

Page seven is Zacchaeus up in his tree waiting to see Jesus.

Page eight is the lame man who had faith and was healed when Jesus told him to take up his mat and walk. I love the use of a dishcloth here. Such a simple and effective material.

Page nine is a little out of order but it is the story of after Jesus was resurrected and appeared to the disciples who had gone back to their fishing boats. They had been fishing all night and caught nothing, He told them to cast their net on the other side and they caught the biggest haul of their lives!

Page ten is the empty tomb with a cross in the background. You can learn to spell the word "RISEN" and open the door of the tomb to find the graveclothes which were left (something a robber in their haste would not do).

Page eleven is a dress-up page with the Armour of God from Ephesians 6. Steph hand drew hers with a Posca fabric marker, but there is a free template from the Laura Thoughts blog.

Page twelve has two racing cars, a race track and a medal. There are a few Bible verses that talk about running a race (Hebrews 12:1, 2 Timothy 4:7, and Galatians 5:7).

Page thirteen is very fun and bright! Tell the World (the good news of Jesus Christ)! Steph used my Matthew 24 - Gospel to the Nations Quiet Book Page tutorial as inspiration.

Page fourteen is to do with the Second Coming, but remains a secret for now because it deserves it's own post (link at the end of the post once published)!

Page fifteen and sixteen are a tissue box and dress-up face for God drying all our tears. The tissue box was made by inspiration from my Isaiah 25 - God Will Wipe Away Our Tears Bible Quiet Book Page, but Steph has used it for Revelation 21:4. You can find a free tissue box pattern at my link, but Steph likes to free cut her pages because it is quicker.

I like that she included a booger (snot) for her son's enjoyment! Boys will be boys.

Also another confession - I broke the beautiful eyelashes. But I did give Steph some stronger felt to make another pair. I know I should have made them for her myself, but I didn't want to hold the books back from her for any longer than I already had.

Page seventeen is a mirror page for God loves me.

There are an odd number of pages because this project was planned to keep growing.

You can see the Alpha (Old Testament) Quiet Book and a secret page that got it's own feature post instead of being included here by clicking on the links below (once published): 

• Alpha (Old Testament) Quiet Book - by Steph
• Felt Bible in 8 Verbs - Interview with Steph
• Simple Bible Second Coming Quiet Book Page - by Steph

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What inspires you most about the Omega (New Testament) Quiet Book?

Chametz Hunt House - Easter Hat Parade

You may mistake this hat as the Easter Bunny's house, but that is far from reality. So without further ado, we present to you the Chametz Hunt House Easter Hat.

I didn't get around to sharing this Easter Hat we made for the Parade at school last year. It was close to not happening due to lock-downs, but it did go ahead, and parents were even allowed to watch. It was the first time I have been able to go to school for the Easter Hat Parade. I was able to take time off work for it because I have been permanent long enough to have some leave built up.

Anyway, it felt a bit weird sharing an Easter Hat too long after Easter, so I figured I would just keep it for this year and this year's hat can be shared next year too. It gives me a bit more time to get the blog post done.

After modifying the same paper mache hat we made for the last three years, it was time to make something new. The last three years were a sort of trilogy, with a prequel (Hosanna! Palm Sunday Easter Bonnet), the main event (Spectacular Spring Lamb Easter Bonnet), and a sequel (Magnificent Butterfly Resurrection Easter Bonnet). 

I intend to do another trilogy of hats for the next three (although not re-using the same hat), but we'll see if Tahlia remains interested.

The foundation of Jesus death, burial and resurrection is presented in the Biblical feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First-fruits respectively. In anticipation of fleeing Egypt, the Israelites ate unleavened bread as instructed by God because they did not have time to wait for the yeast to rise. Yeast also represents sin as it causes dough to puff itself up (like pride) and so when God gave the instructions for commemorating the flight from Egypt in the festival of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites were told to rid their homes of any yeast (Chametz in Hebrew) and yeast breads ahead of celebrating those feasts.

As part of the festivities, a game for the children developed called the Chametz Hunt. The mother cleans out the yeast products from the house, but hides 10 pieces or crumbs for the Dad to help the children find. They go on a hunt using a candle for light and when they find the crumbs, they use a feather to scoop the crumbs onto a wooden spoon and take them out of the house to be burned.

In a similar manner, we need to seek out our sins and get rid of them. Perhaps there are 10 pieces of bread to remind us of the 10 Commandments.

There are plenty of hiding spots on this hat to hide bread. Thankfully, I had made way too much bread to go into Pharaoh's Baker's baskets in our Genesis 40 - The Baker's and The Butler's Dreams Quiet Book Page so we used that to hide behind doors and windows. 

Tahlia sewed the windows and doors on. The completed roof was hot glued onto the walls rather than sewn. 

I think I sewed the walls and roof together. The chimney idea worked, which was a relief! I sewed the chimney together leaving about 1.5cm open at the bottom to fold out underneath the roof and sew down around the edges of the chimney hole in the roof.

At Tahlia's request, rather than securing it we made the hat to fit over the top of this felt St Patrick's Day Hat we had in our dress-up collection so it could still be used separately from the Easter Hat. I covered it in plastic food wrap to prevent any hot glue accidentally getting on the other hat while we were gluing the roof and things on.

We made a bin to burn the bread by covering a plastic shot glass I obtained from a supermarket sampling stand with some grey corduroy, securing it with hot glue. We scrunched up some red cellophane for the fire. 

We added pom pom bushes, a rik rak vine, and embroidered flowers as a decorative touch. They were all hot glued onto the side of the felt house rather than to the base St Patrick's Day hat.

Our fake battery-powered candle, toy wooden spoon, and feather all fit nicely into the chimney for storage.

We hope you will use our free Chametz Hunt House - Easter Hat Parade - Template Pattern to make your own version. It is a great way to help your kids share their faith in an exciting way. Why not seize the chance to develop their witnessing skills?

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Inspire us with your Christian themed Easter Hat ideas!

John 13 - Jesus Washes the Disciple's Feet Quiet Book Page

In John chapter 13, Jesus washes His disciples feet.

Memory Verse: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14 NKJV.

 

Materials needed to create the Jesus Washes His Disciple's Feet quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used mid blue
• my free John 13 - Jesus Washes His Disciple's Feet Bible Quiet Book Template Pattern
• the free template (first one) available at Nederig zijn - voetwassing by Alie Holman on the geloven is leuk blog - for the feet and bowl
• felt in light blue and white
• 1mm elastic in white
• rooster button - I bought this (not an affiliate link)
• button which looks like communion bread, or painted with nail polish and varnish to resemble some
• nail polish in bread colours (optional)
• varnish (optional - be careful, some varnishes can dissolve nail polish)
• white face washer
• sewing threads to best match the page

Firstly, cut out your pattern pieces from the templates. You may need to print the wash bowl a few times to be able to cut all the pieces.

Cut out a right and left foot from skin coloured felt and sew them down onto more skin coloured felt. Cut them out.

To create the back section of the bowl, sew the light blue water section to the white bowl back. Then sew the white bowl back onto more white felt and cut it out.

To create the front bowl section, sew the white front bowl section to white felt and cut it out. Do not attach the front section to the back section yet.

Repeat this process for the water jug, sewing the front section to the back section along the sides and base leaving the top open as a jug would be.

I chose a square button for the communion bread because that is the shape used by my church, and also the shape used for matzah in a Passover Seder. Matzah must be both striped and pierced (just like Jesus was), so I figured a button is already pierced, and the button I chose also had ridges - I just accentuated them when I painted it. You can of course use a round button if that is what your church uses. I imagine that matzah was round back in Jesus's day because that is an easier shape for people to make it at home.

Paint your button with the nail polish to look like communion bread. You may need to do more than one coat. Seal it with the varnish. Try to keep the holes in the button from being blocked so you can thread them onto elastic. Create a circle with the elastic and tie a knot to secure. Fold the circle onto itself to create a double loop and pin it in place underneath where the bowl will be sewn. Roll up the face washer and check that you have the right length to pull the elastic loops over the buttons on the other elastic loops to hold it in place for storage. Use zig-zag stitch to secure the elastic to the page. Repeat this with the rooster button.

Sew down the bottom section of the bowl along the sides and bottom to form a pocket for the jug behind. Sew down the top section of the bowl along the sides and bottom to create another pocket (inside the bowl) for the feet.

Finished! 

Difficulty Level = Intermediate

There are quite a few layers on this page, especially if you like things double sided like I do. To reduce the layers and make it easier to sew, you could just use the bowl to store the feet and jug and only make a single layer of white felt for the bowl back, sewing it down around the whole perimeter.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• John 13 - Jesus demonstrates the servant attitude He wants us to have at the Last Supper
• Imaginative play - wash and dry the Disciple's and one another's feet
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

John 13

Devotional

I had planned to have communion bread and wine as the buttons holding the face washer to the bottom of this page, but as I discovered when I read the chapter... there is no wine mentioned in this chapter! That was a surprise. I ended up switching the wine for a rooster, as the prediction that Peter would deny Christ before the rooster crowed three times is mentioned. 

I made another page for a church quiet book
using the bread button and wine charm

Rather than focusing on the communion aspect of the supper, John focuses on the foot washing, and the last instructions of Jesus (in this chapter, the New Commandment to love one another).

I guess when Jesus says that if the whole body is washed, we just need to wash the feet, He is giving advice and comfort for when we find ourselves sinning even after we have been baptised. 

Foot washing was offered to guests when entering a home as a common courtesy. To not offer it would have been very impolite. Rich people wore sandals, but I think commoners had bare feet, and no mention is made of soldiers gambling for Jesus' sandals... so I think He probably didn't own a pair of shoes. You can imagine how dirty sandal-ed feet would get, let alone bare feet walking along a dusty or muddy road. It was probably littered with donkey and camel excrement as well. So I imagine having your feet washed was something both the host and the guest would appreciate, as well as all the diners next to them. I'm sure the meal tasted much better without that stench around.

Sacrifice of Song ~ HE WASHED 

THEIR FEET ~ Michael Crawford, Vocalist

If Jesus didn't own a pair of shoes, and borrowed a room for the Passover meal, asking his disciples to prepare it, I imagine that the room was not furnished with servants to wash anyone's feet. Not that I can imagine Jesus using servants anyway. Nevertheless, Jesus took the servant's role and washed His disciple's feet - something they were shocked to see. As usual, Jesus took an everyday object and used it to teach a profound lesson - one we are still pondering today.

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Does your church participate in the practice of foot-washing?