Faith and Felt Obsession

Thursday, 24 April 2025

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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Thursday, 10 April 2025

Exodus 14 - Crossing the Red Sea Quiet Book page

In Exodus 14, God provides a way of escape from Egypt by crossing the Red Sea.

Memory Verse: Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Exodus 14:28-29 (NKJV).

Materials needed to create the Crossing the Red Sea quiet book page:

A4 felt background sheet - I used red
Betty Lukens Felt book kit 06 Old Testament Stories, also available at Koorong
hot glue gun and glue
sewing thread to best match the page and pocket
scissors!

Cut out all the pieces for this page, and along the dotted lines where indicated to form two flaps that will open to reveal the Israelites underneath crossing the Red Sea. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Hot glue (or sew) the picture of the Israelites crossing in place behind the flaps, being careful not to get any glue on the flaps (or they might get glued shut).

Sew the page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the Egyptian army piece inside (or better yet, play with the page)!

Difficulty Level = Easy, Plus no-sew version!

One of the easiest pages to make! Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

Exodus 14 - God made a way to escape the Egyptian army even though it seemed like there was no hope - He wants to set us free
Imaginative Play - action the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to escape from the Egyptian army
Ordered Storytelling - remember and tell the story in order using the scene changes
Pocket Play - young children love pulling things out and placing items and putting them back (not always lol) into pockets
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

Exodus 14

Devotional

God can make a way where there seems to be no way. He enjoys displaying His strength and Wisdom against dire circumstances. The more dire your circumstances, the more His miraculous workings out are shown to be. So don't despair when things seem impossible, rejoice that God is preparing a miracle for you to bear witness of!

Moses’ Miracle - Radiant Mercy

Additionally, I think it is important to tell the full story, including the death of the Egyptian army. Sometimes people leave these kinds of things out, but without this part of the story, it is incomplete. It is a warning to those who defy God, and who think they can get away with treating others as slaves without consequences - there are always consequences! And can there be a true hero without setting people free properly? How can you triumph if your enemies are still casting their shadow over you? Kids are more resilient than you think. They rejoice when the dragon is slain.

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Do your little ones enjoy learning to plait? Comment below!

Thursday, 27 March 2025

Vintage Felts - Creation Circles Day 3

This is Creation Day 3 of a vintage Creation Circles felt board set.

You can build this set together in class by gluing on felt pieces to form a layered picture.

On Day 3 of Creation, God made dry ground to appear and vegetation covered the land. The following needs to be glued down during this lesson:

grass and tree
apples
pumpkin vine
red and yellow flowers

You can also place the correct number on or near the circle, but I don't think it is meant to be glued down, just matched for re-use.

A space for the beasts and mankind to inhabit has been made ready for Day 6.

I believe this set is a vintage version of these Creation Circles by Betty Lukens. You can get the new ones in a larger option with one circle and 17 pieces to form various overlays, or a smaller version with seven separate circles like this set.

You can get a cartoon type version, Beginner Bible Creation from Little Folk Visuals as well.

Once published, I will link the other Creation Circle posts below (you may find something different in each post):

Vintage Felts - Creation Day 1 - includes a photo of the information sheet
Vintage Felts - Creation Day 2
Vintage Felts - Creation Day 4
Vintage Felts - Creation Day 5
Vintage Felts - Creation Day 6
Vintage Felts - Creation Day 7

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Thursday, 13 March 2025

Psalm 85 - Righteousness and Peace Have Kissed Quiet Book Page

In Psalm 85, God provides a way for His justice and His mercy to prevail together.

Memory Verse: Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven. Psalm 85:10-11 (NKJV).

Materials needed to create the Righteousness and Peace Have Kissed quiet book page:

A4 felt background sheet - I used cream
my free template
felt scraps in royal blue and green
magnetic handshake keychain from AliExpress (not an affiliate link)
kissing lips button
alphabet beads
7 black grommets and tool set - I used 3mm inside diameter (perhaps 5mm height)
round hat elastic in black
4 small thin buttons
sewing thread to best match the page

Cut out your hill piece from green felt and insert grommets where indicated. Thread your elastic through to the front and thread your "mercy" and "truth" beads on at either side (remember to thread "truth" in reverse order so it shows correctly - a little ironic, I know!). Detach the magnetic hand beads from the keychains and thread them onto either end of the elastic before threading the elastic back through the "mercy" and "truth" beads and then to the back of the felt. Thread the elastic through a thin button and tie together to prevent the elastic knot from making it's way to the front of the felt, making sure the correct length is achieved for the hands to clasp each other without too much slack or needing the elastic to stretch. Sew the green hill to green felt to cover the back button and cut it out.

Repeat this process with the two cross pieces, although you don't need to double the elastic back through the beads (just thread them straight back through the other grommet to the back). Then addon your buttonholes where indicated.

Use the template pieces to position the green hill on your page and sew along the sides and bottom leaving the top open to form a pocket.

Use the template pieces to mark the position of where to place the kissing lips button. Add a grommet to the page background. Thread more elastic through from the back of he page and thread on your lips, then pass the elastic back through the grommet to the back of the page.

Again, thread the elastic through a thin button and tie together to prevent the elastic knot from making it's way to the front of the felt, making sure the correct length is achieved to allow both cross pieces to be buttoned on comfortably.

Finished! Now you can play with your page.