Time to Celebrate: Jubilee Bead Cycle tutorial (plus bracelet craft) for the High Holidays

Often I have ideas brewing in my head for a long time. I've been thinking about the Jubilee Cycle for quite a while now, but when I saw this How the Church tells time post pinned on Pinterest, it immediately sparked the idea to make a floor or coffee-table sized Jubilee Bead Cycle.

In Bible terms, years are measured in seven year blocks called weeks. The seventh year in each block was to be a Sabbath for the land - it was not to be ploughed or planted. Seven lots of seven year blocks (49 years) was followed by a 50th year known as the Jubilee (Yovel in Hebrew). This was a complete cycle. The Jubilee was supposed to see any slaves go free and land sold during the 49 years return to the rightful owners as it was granted to by God after the conquest of Canaan. It is also a picture of what will happen on the New Earth.

I think this could be an appropriate craft for either Rosh Hashanah / Feast of Trumpets or Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement. The civil New Year starts on Rosh Hashanah, but a Jubilee Year is not formally announced until ten days later on Yom Kippur. And whilst Yom Kippur is generally not a fun holiday but rather a solemn fast, when a Jubilee is announced, it cannot help but be celebrated - slaves were to go free, land and property returned to the original owners as given by God, and families were reunited. I believe Jesus is coming again to announce the ultimate Jubilee.

How to make a Jubilee / Yovel Bead Cycle

I bought a large pack of 25mm round wooden beads - you will need 50.

Paint seven beads in one colour to represent the Sabbath years and paint one bead in another colour to represent the Jubilee year. I threaded them onto skewers and cut a 'v' shape into cardboard boxes to lay them in whilst painting and drying them. Round things can be tricky to paint and dry without getting them stuck or the paint uneven.

You can use polish or varnish to seal your beads if you like. I chose to leave mine so I can write Bible references on them if I want to later (which I have talked about at the end of this post).

Once dry, thread them on to a long piece of 2mm elastic in the following order:

• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 6 plain wooden beads, 1 painted Sabbath bead
• 1 painted Jubilee bead

Tie the ends of the elastic together and trim.

Finished!

Of course, we are also planning to make a quiet book page out of this idea too... 

So we have made a practice one already.

Some people believe that the Jubilee year was actually the same year as the last year of the 49th year, or it overlaps the last half of the 49th year and the first half or the 1st year. They think the Jubilee disrupts the seven year Sabbath cycle and interpret Jesus' parable of the fig tree to relate to Israel in the last days and the dating of the last seven years of Daniel's prophecy which they believe have been cut of and delayed until just prior to Jesus' second coming.

I disagree because:

1. The Bible specifically says "the fiftieth year"
2. Pentecost follows a similar pattern, with the celebration occurring on the fiftieth day following a period of seven weeks
3. The meaning of the word Jubilee relates to a period of 50 years. The Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee did not mean she had been ruling for 49 years!
4. Jesus' parable of the fig tree related to the dating of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, which I hope to discuss in further detail in a future post
5. The last week of Daniel's prophecy was not cut off, it was an accurate prophecy of the Death of Jesus our Messiah (who was the one cut off - not the week). This is the historical view of this prophecy if you want to look it up in the mean time, but it should also be the topic of a future post.
6. Including a fiftieth year into a cycle also rounds the seven year cycles up so that they continue to fit nicely into thousand year blocks, ensuring that sets of years remain fitting within a millennium. It is also consistent with the Millennial Day Theory where each day of creation represents a millennium of Earth's history. As Peter says - one day is like a thousand years to the LORD. It allows even measurements of years throughout the ages (an age is 2000 years). There are three ages, then the Sabbath millennium. 
7. I believe the Jubilee follows the Sabbath and interrupts the Sabbath Year Cycle in order to represent Eternity

We also made a Jubilee Bead Cycle bracelet, which could be used as a follow-up craft for a Bible Class after the kids see the larger version for the story. I panicked a little when I took this photo because I thought for a moment that I had put the beads on in the wrong order. I didn't, it just needs to be flipped over! And the elastic to be trimmed...

I am thinking of writing Bible verses on each wooden bead which can be talked about in order when showing the kids (and adults). I think us adults learn through visual stimuli just as much as the kids...

There are so many examples of seven year periods in the Bible:

• Jacob working for Rachel, Leah, and his flocks
• Pharaoh's dreams of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine
• Solomon's Temple took seven years to build
• The wicked queen Athaliah reigned six years and they were set free from her on the Sabbath
• Daniel's seventy weeks (works out to 10 Jubilee cycles)
• Hezekiah records a harvest lasting three years (probably over a Jubilee)... 
• and I haven't looked into events that might have lasted 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49 or 50 years yet!

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Have you made any other Rosh Hashanah / Feast of Trumpets or Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement crafts? Let me know below!

Genesis 41- Pharaoh's Dreams Quiet Book Page

  In Genesis 41, Pharaoh is sent two dreams and Joseph is pulled from prison to interpret them.

Memory Verse: "Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do." Genesis 41:25 (NKJV).

 

Materials needed to create the Pharaoh's Dreams quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used lavender
• Old Testament Bible Stories Quietbook - Betty Lukens Felt Book Activity Kit #6 (not an affiliate link)
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors!
Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.

I am afraid this kit pictures corn in Pharoh's dream
rather than grain as is much more likely intended.
A corn can also refer to a kernel of wheat or other grains
and is confused in modern day language.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 41 - God is in control
• Imaginative Play - was Joseph scared or confident when he appeared before Pharaoh? How would you feel?
• 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

Genesis 41

Devotional

The chief butler finally "remembers his faults" (not Joseph as requested), but he does get spoken of to Pharaoh. He doesn't include Joseph's innocence in his story as asked (I probably wouldn't either). Nor is the point of his story to help Joseph at all. I mean, I wouldn't be wanting to remind Pharaoh of my previous mis-favour either.

I wonder how much encouragement Joseph's dreams gave him when he was sold into slavery in a foreign land - the very land God had foretold Abraham his descendants would be enslaved in. His condition gets worse before it gets better and Joseph finds himself, not only a slave but a prisoner. Did his dreams still give him any comfort? I guess Joseph may have seen a chance to get out of goal when he was able to speak to the Chief Butler - someone with influence at court. And yet Joseph remains confident in interpreting the dreams of others, even though his own dreams are yet to be fulfilled and appear rather unlikely to come about. 

I enjoy hearing how Joseph structured his speech with Pharaoh. 

Of course, he cleaned up before coming into his presence. But after observing Joseph's favour with God, Pharaoh elevates him even further - even second in command! I can't help but feel that Pharaoh is continuing to represent God here in this chapter, and Joseph, Jesus. 

He clearly delivers the good news first, and promises a favourable outcome before he begins. I wonder at this, because there is clearly not-so-good news to come. But it looks like Joseph is employing the old feedback sandwich technique here. He puts the bad news in between two pieces of good news, and Pharaoh seems humble enough to receive it.

Joseph is only asked to interpret, but he also proposes a solution - a bold move, no? It seems rather rash to suppose that Pharaoh would listen to a suggestion from someone straight out of gaol, but Joseph has obvious confidence. And it may be that his proposal is the exact thing which convinces Pharaoh that his interpretation is true - see the following short post Why did Pharaoh accept Joseph's dream interpretations and not the others'? by Shmuel Kogan.

Another reason Joseph may have been believed revolves around the text of verses 1 and 17. In verse one, the banks of the Nile are not mentioned, but they are mentioned by Pharaoh in verse 17. It is theorised that Pharaoh actually dreamed he was standing on the Nile (a god in ancient Egypt), and in an attempt to hide this embarrassing and sacrilegious fact, Pharaoh says he was standing on the Nile bank. It is suggested that Joseph corrected this (another bold move if true), thus Pharaoh could see that Joseph had knowledge from God - see Why did Pharaoh believe Joseph's dream interpretation?

Whatever the reason/s Pharaoh believed Joseph, we can have confidence that God is in control, able to influence world leaders, and churn out miracles in the face of dire circumstances. We also can have the confidence of Joseph when we are putting our trust in the LORD.

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5 Ways to Measure and Cut Quiet Book Pages

Which is the best way to measure and cut fabric for quiet books is a common question people ask when they are thinking of starting to sew a quiet book for the first time. I have compiled a few examples below so you can choose the method that suits you best.

Of course, for all the methods, it is best to wash and iron the fabric before cutting to ensure it doesn't shrink afterwards.

1 - Fold and Cut

Simply fold your material into squares (or rectangles depending on the size book you want to create) and cut along all folds. This works well for when you want to use the same fabric for all the pages of your busy book. If you want different fabric for each page, another method will suit you better.

2 - Template Drawing

This is the method I use. I have decided on the sizes I want to use a lot and have made templates out of some cardboard I had laying around. Then depending on how precise I want to be, or how slippery the fabric is, I simply place it on my fabric and either cut around it, or draw on the fabric and then cut using plain old scissors.

You can just use a kid's picture book to get the sizing right too. If you look at the age recommendation on the book, it will give you an idea of what a good page size for that age looks like. Just remember to cut extra for the hem.

3 - Quilting Ruler and Rotary Cutter

If you want to do a lot of fabric cutting, you may want to invest in some tools. This method is easier on the hands if you are finding you get strains, or you have arthritis or such.

4 - Clip and Rip

This method ensures that your fabric is cut straight along the grain, and is rather quick. You may not get as many squares out of your fabric as you thought though. The video demonstrates how to make strips, but you can definitely cut the other sides of the squares in the same way.

5 - Laser Cutting Machine

This last method is of course very expensive and is therefore suited to large scale production, which I am guessing most of my readers are not going to be into. But I know you are all going to be drooling in wishful thinking like I am! Of course, this is an example of the detailed cuts which can be done, but you can also cut plain boring background pages this way too.

Which method suits your needs best? Have I missed a method? I'd love to hear about it.

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How do you cut your pages? Comment below!

Revelation 14 - The Three Angel's Messages Quiet Book Page

The Three Angel's Messages of Revelation 14 are a reminder that God is our creator who alone deserves our worship, and that judgement is coming for those who don't.

Memory Verse: “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ” Revelation 14:6 NKJV.

 

Materials needed to create the The Three Angel's Messages quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used purple
• this image to use as a template/pattern
• felt in dark blue and white
• white 9mm ribbon
• gold 9mm ribbon
• three gilded pearl shank buttons - I bought this (not an affiliate link)
• black iron-on Velcro material (or use with double-sided interfacing)
• The hook side of some Velcro or diaper hook and loop tape material (like Velcro but doesn't wreck felt so much and is wider and can be cut to the size needed) - I bought this (not an affiliate link)
• Hot glue gun and glue
• sewing threads to best match the page
• marker and scissors!

Firstly, cut out an angel (you can sharpen the shape between the back of the head and the first wing a little) and the sections of the Earth to use as a template or pattern. 

Also cut out the entire Earth on the outside line. Use this to cut a circle out of your black iron-on velcro material. 

Cut about three 25-30cm lengths from the gold ribbon and melt the edges to prevent fraying - see my post on How to Stop Ribbons Fraying. Sew a buttonhole at one end of each (do a few practice ones first - you may find it easier to make the buttonhole and then cut the ribbon shorter). Alternatively, you could make ribbon loops at the end instead of a buttonhole. I make a larger buttonhole than I would for clothes to make sure it is easy to do and undo. I also marked where I wanted the buttonhole to start with a pen so I could line it up easily.

Place the opposite ends of the ribbon underneath the Velcro earth in the bottom left area with the backing paper removed. Make sure the buttonhole ends of the ribbon line up with where you want to place the buttons at the top right of the earth. 

Ensure the earth is in the centre of your page before ironing it down. Use the lowest iron setting that you can to iron it on to your background page. Mine melted slightly in one spot, but it still works and you can't notice it under the puzzle. Use a tight zig zag stitch to finish around the edge. 

Sew your buttons to the top right of the earth - you can use pins to position them correctly.

Trace three angel shapes onto your felt and cut them out. Sew some white ribbon onto the right side just below their wings along the sides of the angel (not through their middles) to form a slot to thread them onto the gold ribbon later. Place the angels onto white felt wrong side down, tucking the ribbon ends between the two layers of felt and sew them down. Cut them out and thread each of them onto a length of gold ribbon so that the angels can be lined up across the Earth.

Cut out the Earth sections from your dark blue felt. Place the wrong sides onto some more dark blue felt, sew them down and cut them out. Cut some diaper hook fabric in sections slightly smaller than these and hot glue them to the back sides. I actually sewed them on first and then had trouble sewing the blue sections to each other, so I don't recommend that. Arrange them like puzzle pieces onto the black Velcro material.

Finished! 

Difficulty Level = Intermediate

The hardest part of this page is cutting out the little holes in the angels - use some sharp cuticle scissors to help with these sections.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Revelation 14 - It is wise to listen to the Three Angel's Messages:
  1. everlasting gospel preached to the whole world, for the hour of God's judgement has come
  2. Babylon the great has fallen because she caused all nations to drink the wrath of her fornication
  3. If anyone worships the beast, and receives it's mark, they will drink the cup of the wrath of God
• Imaginative play - slide the angels up and down the ribbon as they fly around the Earth giving their messages
• Puzzle - sort out the arrangement of the Earth sections
• 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

Revelation 14

Devotional

The three angel's messages remind me a lot of Noah's preaching. Or at least how I imagine the years leading up to The Flood. Noah had an urgent message to share. If everyone would only listen and believe. It was also a message from the God who made the Heavens and the Earth. And at least the animals took notice. I find it difficult to believe that anyone could have been an atheist or agnostic at that stage in Earth's history. But I think what they didn't believe was that God was going to actually punish them. Rather, they felt like "everything was going to continue" as it had since the beginning. 

In the same way, the three angels make reference to God's creative power. Creative power is much more complex than destructive power. Is it easier to paint a masterpiece or burn it? Is it easier to build a house, or blow it up? It takes far greater skill to fashion something, so why would you question God's ability to destroy it? 

Maybe they thought God was too soft, but let me assure you, Jesus had a tradie's beard, not a Soy Boy one. 

Rev 14:6-12 in song - 3 Angels Messages

(RevelationofGod)

Today, people believe that everything will continue until either we destroy ourselves, or we evolve enough or develop better technology to survive under harsher conditions. Not many are expecting the soon return of Jesus. But, in the same way that the World was destroyed the first time, the end of the second is decreed. Better to listen to the Good News of the three angels - for indeed it is good news if you are saved from the destruction due Babylon (who has already fallen). We know the outcome, Jesus already scored the winning goal and demonstrated His ability to raise from the dead. If you know which is the winning side, why not join it?!!

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Quiet Book Experiments - Epic Fails

Today, I want to share some of my Epic Fails with you. Making busy books can be a bit of an experiment, and sometimes the experiment fails. Anyway, I hope it will be an encouragement to know that we all make mistakes. A blog is generally full of all the good things, and usually the mistakes don't make it here. In fact, it is easy to hide mistakes by careful photography, and I have been guilty of that as you can see below if you are a Faith and Felt Obsession fan.

Epic Fails may make a comeback in future posts, but for now, here are the first 5 that I am willing to share!

1. Hot Glue Gun Epic Fail

Whilst this page remains one of Tahlia's favourites, I still count it as a fail. I was trying to cheat and make a quick and easy page with hot glue and a few old lids from baby wipe packets. The hot glue has not worked very well and the page threatens to fall apart every time we use it. But the idea is LOVED. You have to guess which door the pig is hidden behind. One person looks away while the other person hides the pig. Loads of fun to a child. I may have to make a better version out of felt some day, but for now, this will do until it finally does FAIL completely.

2. Speckled Felt - for Speckled Eggs Epic Fail

This was my attempt to make felt with a bit more character. In Australia there are not many options when it comes to buying patterned felt. Of course there are more options if you buy online, but I still don't see the options I have seen available in the U.S.

I wanted to make speckled eggs for a hen quiet book page I was making (will link to it once published). Now my felt just smells like bleach and did not turn out speckled at all. Thanks to Murphy's Law the bleach did not work when I wanted it to, but no doubt it would work very well if I spilled bleach accidentally on a finished page.

I tried using a spray gun to apply the bleach and left it overnight. That didn't work, so I tried wetting the felt first so it would soak into the felt better instead of sitting more on top. I dabbed it on in larger spots. That also didn't work. So I ended up with no change in colour, but a definite change in smell. I wanted speckled fresh eggs and ended up with a FELT FAIL that smelled more like century eggs!

3.  Quiet Book Binding Epic Fail

I like a good finish, but I am willing to cut as many corners as I can to get there. I had seen Irina Sorokina's YouTube tutorial on how to bind a quiet book, but I was still feeling intimidated and overwhelmed. But I liked the finish so started thinking about how I could cut a few of those daunting corners off. Pun intended.

I decided that I could get a similar look by sandwiching the pages and wadding between a folded ribbon and sewing that down. You can see my efforts in my blog posts Easy Peasy Pocket Page 8"x8" Material Quiet Book, Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap, and Post Binding Quiet Book Closure.

You may notice that I didn't post many pictures of the completed book. That is because I didn't want to show off my epic fail. I didn't allow enough ribbon in the spine for the book to open properly, so when it lays flat, the pages overlap instead of laying alongside each other.

Honestly, I still find the traditional binding method daunting. And that is why I keep trying to share alternatives with you all. Why not give some of them a go:

• Ribbon Quiet Book Binding Method
• How To Ring Bind Felt Quiet Books - Free A4 Buttonhole Guide
• Hand Stitched Quiet Book Cover 

4. Buying a Heat Press Epic Fail

As I spoke about in my Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test post, I finally got around to purchasing a heat press so I can transfer sublimation prints onto felt. Actually this was the second one I bought. The first purchase was an EPIC FAIL too. I first bought one from AliExpress, where I buy a lot of craft supplies such as buttons, beads and ribbon. Apparently the postage was too great and then there were taxes etc - the supplier kept asking for more money. After expressing my dis-satisfaction they agreed to refund the purchase and gave my money back, thankfully.

My second purchase was from e-Bay. It was not much more expensive than the Ali-Express one and was coming from a company based in Australia, so it would be easier for me to make arrangements if there were any issues. It also included delivery. I thought I was doing great this time, but when it arrived I found more problems...

I stared at the box for months. It looked complicated to put together and I didn't have the mental energy to approach it. I was scared. Then when I finally opened the box... I found it was already put together and I only had to change it if I wanted a different attachment. But, it was too heavy for me to lift!! Now I felt I would have to nag my husband to move it for me if I want to use it 😁.

After he did lift it out for me, I have discovered I can move it from one place to another, so ling as it is already at bench height. So it is now in my garage on a shelf and I can get it out onto a bench if I want and put it away. although I am still yet to order any sublimation printed paper from Digitextiles as planned and am now considering getting a sublimation printer too so that I will actually use the heat press... watch this space.

5. Sewing Pleather to Felt Epic Fail

Okay, so this one is rather embarrassing. 

I completely massacred this death mask. I guess that's a little ironic. At least it makes for a good Epic Fail post. I hope you can see all the tiny stitches from the pleather not feeding through my sewing machine properly, and all the skipped stitches which resulted in me going over the same area several times in an attempt to save it.

Stretchy pleather is a nightmare to sew. That is all.

I was able to do an acceptable job by using glue to secure the pleather to the felt prior to sewing, which helped a lot. You can see the results in my Genesis 50 - Joseph's Bones Quiet Book Page post.

I'm thinking I might buy some glitter felt for the next gold project...

Ultimately, if you don't give it a go, you won't give yourself the chance to learn and improve.

Epic Fails can teach you a lot!

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Have you had any Epic Fails? Comment Below!