Sweet Honeycomb Scroll

I found this adorable fabric and knew I had to use it in some kind of project.

There are a couple of stories in the Bible that feature scrolls that are eaten and taste like honey (see Ezekiel 3 and Revelation 10).

Alternatively, here are a few Bible verses you could use:

• Psalm 19:9-11 (NKJV) - The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
  The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
  More to be desired are they than gold,
  Yea, than much fine gold;
  Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
  Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
  And in keeping them there is great reward.
• Psalm 81:16 (NLT) - But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
  I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
• Psalm 119:103 (NKJV) - How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
• Proverbs 24:13-14 (NKJV) - My son, eat honey because it is good,
  And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
  So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
  If you have found it, there is a prospect,
  And your hope will not be cut off.
• Proverbs 25:16 (NKJV) - Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit.
• Proverbs 25:27 (NKJV) - It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one’s own glory is not glory.

So I had to make this cute mini scroll. 

I used a couple of dowel rods and some beads to make the "Etz Chaim" or "Tree of Life" wooden sticks of a Jewish scroll. I sewed the top and bottom edges of the scroll together, leaving enough room to get the beads through if I need to wash it. Although it is tight enough not to slip through easily.

I'm sure it will come in handy for a children's story at some stage. 

I envision it becoming part of a bee themed sensory bin to inspire imaginative play. Perhaps I'll link it here later.

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What things could I include in a sensory bin?

Mini Sealed Scroll craft for Bible Class

These are a great craft to do with your Bible class if you want to encourage them to learn memory verses in a fun way. The wax seals really give a certain charm about them.

A page I recently wrote about, Letters to Early Christians quiet book page - Interview with Jessica, has inspired a whole lot of scroll creations. This was not the first, but it seems to be the first I am going to post.

I kinda really like these Mini Sealed Scrolls and I kinda don't. 

They are really cute and fun, but they don't demonstrate that a seal can't be re-sealed after it has been opened...

(Have I mentioned before that I like toys that "work")?

Oh well, they are helping us learn more memory verses.

We used a Posca fabric marker to write the Bible verse. You need to iron it to set it so it doesn't wash out if you need to clean the scroll. But I have used regular pen before and it seems to work fine as well (not sure about the wash-ability though).

Here is a tutorial on how to do the wax seal (I just used felt instead of paper):

Wax Seals for Beginners - Everything You Need to Know! Channel: Katrina Crouch

For the first version I tried making I sewed press studs down on a single sheet of felt, but then I realised that the cotton showed through to the other side - right in the middle of where I wanted to write the Bible verse.

I tried hot gluing the press studs onto felt instead. That seems to have worked, but I am not confident it would last, and this is of course dangerous for small children, so I didn't proceed with that idea.

I tried using Velcro dots instead. Just make sure you set the pen with an iron before adding the Velcro dots or the iron will melt the hot glue and it may come through onto the side with the Bible verse written on it (as you can see below).

I had hoped that using a Velcro dot would make the seal sit flush with the rest of the felt underneath so it looked like it was doing more of the job a seal should be doing, but it is rather thick and the press stud actually looks better.

My stick of seal wax ran low pretty quickly, so I looked up if you can use candle wax instead. You can't - it's not flexible enough. So now I am hankering to try using cheese wax... wish me well!

Now we can't wait to make a bunch of these with everyone in Bible Class!

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Which Bible verse would you choose to write on one of these?

Letters to Early Christians quiet book page - Interview with Jessica

Today I would like to introduce you to Jessica and find out how she came up with such a simple Bible quiet book page that keeps kids entertained for ages. When the pages are so easy to make, you might have to start coming up with other reasons for not making a start on a quiet book project!

Carissa D: Hi Jessica and thanks for letting me share your Letters to Early Christians quiet book page. I know you made this page as part of a New Testament quiet book swap because I participated in that swap and received this page (among others) back. 

You can read about what a quiet book swap is in my post about my participation in a Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap.

Carissa D: I must admit that your page was probably Tahlia's favourite from that swap, and she absolutely LOVED this page at around 5 years old. I can't remember if topics for each page were already chosen and we picked from a list or if we made up our own page topics, but this is a unique idea I haven't seen anywhere else. So I am wondering how you came up with the idea?

Jessica: I do believe we had topics for the pages. If I remember right we swapped about 10 pages but I ended up making a bunch more at home to complete an Old Testament Book and a New Testament book. I think the idea was just that the new testament letters are so hard to capture unless you only represent one single powerful verse such as John 3:16. But I wanted to capture all of it. The concept was that the original letters were written on scrolls and to provide the kids an image of a scroll and then they could point off the ABC's or trace over the letters on the page. For very young kids they can use a pretend feather pen that was tucked behind the scroll, and trace the letters. For older siblings they could practice reading the name of the Letters from the Apostles or even memorize the names of the books.

Carissa D: I love pages that can suit multiple age groups and can sort-of grow with the child. What significance do the New Testament letters hold for you? Was there a particular attraction to the topic of this page?

Jessica: I think I chose this page simply because I had an idea I thought I could do. I don't consider myself very artistic and so if I had any idea for a page I went for it!

Carissa D:  What do you think of quiet book swaps and would you recommend people join them?

Jessica: Many many mother's struggle through going to Mass with little ones. I love Quiet books because it is an activity that the kids can do that still keeps them at least in some way thinking about God, while not letting them have a toy that they can bang into the pew and make us Mom's worry about disturbing others. Little ones need to be active and they do belong at church with us. Anything that makes it easier for them is a worthy effort. We have made four quiet books now.

Carissa D: Well done! Could you explain how you made this page please?

Jessica: Supplies- 

Background color of your choice in Felt or Fabric
1 sheet of white felt
1 feather
1 bottle black puffy paint

To recreate this page is easy. Cut out a piece of felt in the shape of a scroll (maybe practice on paper and then transfer to white felt). Sew all sides down except one so that you can tuck in a feather behind it. If you feel conformable with a sewing machine sew your lines across to give the appearance of a scroll like you see in a line drawing or you can sew the edges and use puffy paint for the lines. I used a google image for "scroll line drawing" as an example. Once your sewing is done, write out the names of all the letters in puffy paint (hopefully your handwriting is better than mine), and keep a feather behind the white felt, on the side your didn't sew for kids to practice tracing with.

Carissa D: It does sound easy. I love the embossed felt you used (we don't have such a variety of felt available in Australia). It looks like you painted the tip of your feather as well which really makes it feel authentic when you are pretending to write. Was there anything about this page that you would change if you made it again?

Jessica: I would probably have someone with better handwriting write the names!

Carissa D:  What encouragement can you give to others who might be thinking of starting a quiet book?

Jessica: I think I would have never started quiet books if it wasn't for my crafting group. Getting the unique ideas from so many different people and only having to come up with one or two unique ideas yourself makes the entire project so much more manageable. Find a community online and start from there.

Carissa D: Did/do you use your quiet books to keep your children quiet in church or do you use them elsewhere? Do they live up to their name?

Jessica: I keep at least 1 in my car at all times when I have children under 2 years old, but we use them during car rides or at church most often. Quiet books work for us unless the kids decide to argue over who gets to hold which one. We have a Mass book, Old Testament, New Testament, and a generic baby book (that my 8 year old made for my infant when I was pregnant, it is a great project to teach young ones how to sew).

Carissa D: That sounds amazing, I am really hoping my daughter Tahlia wants to start making quiet books one day too. Thanks so much for sharing your page idea with us. Sometimes getting the ideas is the hardest part!

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Do you have any simple busy book pages that your kids play with for hours? Comment below!