Archive for category: Crafts

By Captain Jan Pemberton
Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary – Cascade Division

This is a perfect craft for those like me who have trouble with traditional crocheting or knitting. This project is to have a warm blanket at the end of your craft and pray your way through each hand stitch. Each loop done for this craft will be covered in precious prayers given to the Father of Heaven for peace, comfort, and love. This blanket can be for yourself or given as a gift to someone special who needs God’s comforting love.

Supplies:
(Supplies are for a larger-sized blanket.)
6-7 skeins of chenille chunky yarn
Supplies for a smaller lap-style blanket.
3- skeins of chenille chunky yarn
Scissors
Needle and thread (optional) – to reinforce areas where new skeins of yarn are joined.

Steps:

Step One: Start a slip knot.

To begin, you need to tie a slip knot to start your first chain, then pinch through the center of your slip knot to grab your working yarn and make another loop. You will repeat this process until you have 30 loops. If you want more information on how to tie a slip knot, there are many resources you can find online, repeat this process until you have started your first chain.

Step Two: When you have your first chain finished, start your first row. Be sure to point your working yarn in the direction you are working in; this help with keeping your work contained and easily

Step three: Starting with your first loop, pull another loop facing upwards, then go into the top of every single chain and pull a loop through, keeping all your sizes consistent.

Step Four: This first chain and loops can be a bit bunchy; keep flattening it out with your hands to prevent more twisting and turning.

Step Five: Make sure you have the same number of chain loops; for example, since I have 25 chains, I will have 25 loops.

Now it is time to start our second chain! Make sure to point the working yarn in the direction you are working in; start in the first loop, then pinch your fingers through the loop and pull the working yarn through, making another loop.

Final Steps: This is pretty much your entire process! These blankets take me about 2 hours to complete, so ensure you are comfortable. As someone with a bad back, you will want to ensure this step is not missed because you do not hurt your back by leaning too much. Trust me!

You will do all the following rows in the same way. There is just one important step to remember. Always skip the first stitch in each row. It doesn’t matter if the stitch direction is going left-to-right or right-to-left. If you are on a brand-new row, skip the first stitch and begin working in the 2nd loop. By doing this, you will be creating a beautifully braided effect along the edges.

For each stitch, you just put your hand through a loop, grab the working yarn and pull it into the loop to create another loop. These loops can be quite loose or tight. It is up to you. I recommend trying to keep the loops on the side tighter rather than looser. Mine came out a little looser than I expected, but next time I will choose to keep the knitting tighter. Otherwise, the braided edges will look messy or too loose.
Keep working row by row until you have the desired length. It takes very little time to create this blanket.

Extra tips learned during this process:
There are a few ways to attach or join with new yarn. You will use at least three or four skeins of yarn and will need to attach new yarn to the piece as you go along. For me personally, I did a lot of research and tried to learn from some experts in this field. I found two recommended methods.

The way I attached a new piece was very simple. When I got close to the end of my skein, I pulled out a new one, took its end, and tied it to the end of my working piece. I then tightened it as much as possible and trimmed the ends. Since I used chenille yarn, this was nearly unnoticeable when I was finished.

An alternative method you can use is needle and thread (choose a color like your chenille yarn) and create several stitches through that very knot. When we are putting this much love into a blanket such as this, we would never want it to come apart, especially if this prayer blanket were a gift. If that happens to you and you made your own blanket without the thread reinforcement, you should just be able to use some extra yarn (if it wasn’t tightly knitted) and re-knot it where the knot came out. It should work just fine.

The alternative method is beginning a new row with your new yarn and weaving the ends of your old yarn into the back side of the piece. This might be easier in the long run but also time-consuming; it is your choice.

I hope you enjoyed this process as much as I did. I am terrible at traditional knitting and crocheting, but this is one that I can see myself doing for many others as a precious handmade gift. As each loop and strand were knitted together, I prayed that whoever received this blanket be blessed with the love of Jesus, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the grace and acceptance that only God can give.

Download Printable Instructions:

By Major Gaylene Yardley
Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary – Southwest Division

Note: This craft coordinates with this month’s devotional and Bible Study.

Supplies Needed:

• Bar of soap for each participant
• A nail (to carve the soap with)

Everyone will carve a cross, heart, Bible verse or anything that will serve as a reminder that forgiveness is an important part our our spiritual lives.

Here are easy instructions on how to do soap carving: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Soap-Carving

By Lt. Katherine Hernandez
Salinas, CA Corps – Golden State Division

As we discover the power our tongues have and identify ways in which we can better control it, let us create a lovely door hanging wreath. As we gather together and begin to create something beautiful, may we be reminded how important it is to be intentional about using the words that come out of our mouth in a way that will bless and uplift others. As you create this door hanging decoration, be reminded how powerful a simple “hello” or “welcome” can be to someone when done out of love.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Grapevine wreath (the one I used was 18” in diameter)
• Mix of faux flowers and foliage
• Greenery
• Wired Ribbon
• Wooden lettering (optional) I used the word Hello.
• Paint for the wooded lettering (I used white, but you can paint the lettering any color you want) (this is optional as well)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Floral wire
• Wire cutters
• Jute rope for hanging wreath (optional)

Step 1:
Start by painting your wooden lettering (this step is optional, as you do not need to add lettering to your wreath. I did, as I wanted to give my wreath a little something extra). You only need to paint the front and the sides, don’t worry about painting the back part (no one will see it). You may also need to give the lettering two or three coats of paint, depending on how dark you want it to be. Once painted, set aside and let it dry.

Step 2:
Cut the flowers and greenery. Then roughly arrange them on the wreath- this will give you an idea of spacing and placement. You can arrange the flowers and greenery however you like. I arranged mine on half of one side of the wreath. You can arrange them on the bottom, top, all around, etc.
When I begin to arrange my flowers and greenery, I start with the greenery first, then I add the flowers and other foliage. Once I like the placement of it, I start to hot glue it all to the wreath. Again, I begin with the greenery, then move to the flowers, and lastly the other foliage.

Step 3:
Make a bow using the wired ribbon. Once you have your bow made, you can attach it to the wreath using floral wire or using the glue gun.  

Step 4:
It’s time to attach our painted wooden sign. You can attach it using floral wire or using the glue gun. You can place your wooden sign wherever you like.

Step 5:
Cut some jute rope and hot glue it to the back of the wreath in order to hang it, unless you already have a metal door wreath hanger.

There you have it! you just created a beautiful door hanging wreath. You can now hang it on your front door (or any other place you like around your home).

I hope that you had a fun time creating this beautiful door decoration. I pray that it blesses your heart, as well as those who enter your home.

Download printable directions:

By Margaret Grieco
Territorial Women’s Ministries Department

“That I may know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…being conformed to His death.” Philippians 3:10

Beauty from brokenness is shown in this beautiful craft that highlights Christ’s journey to the cross. By letting His body be broken for us we experience the transforming work of His love within us.

Supplies:

• Unfinished wood cross: Amazon
• China or ceramic dishes in various colors that work well together: SA Thrift Store
• Grout (bone): Home Depot
• Adhesive Hangers: Amazon
• Craft Sticks Michaels
• Hammer
• Measuring cup
• Water
• Bowls for mosaic shards
• Plastic gloves
• Plastic jewels (if desired)
• Tacky Glue (if needed)
• Paper grocery bags (or another bag)

Step 1: Set up your table (cover it with a plastic cloth for an easy clean up).

Step 2: Using a brown paper grocery bag and hammer, slowly break apart the plates.

Step 3: Place your shards into a cross to line up how you want the finished piece to look.

Step 4: Mix the grout to the consistency of pancake batter. Using a craft stick, carefully pour the grout into the cross (try to avoid getting it onto the sides – you may need a few paper towels for this step).

Step 5: If you have two crosses that you’re working on, you can place them side by side and transfer the shards from one cross to another.

Step 6: Carefully press the shards into the grout and let dry overnight (place an adhesive hanger on the back.

Download printable directions of this craft:

By Major Stacy Cross
Director of Education & Continuing Education
College for Officer Training

Journal Pages

• Create the journal pages in MS Word
• Use 8.5 x 11″ paper landscape
• Print lines on both sides of the paper
• Fold 5 pages in half together

Journal Cover

Use scrapbook paper or any heavy weight decorative paper to make cover.

• Cut the paper for the cover 8 3/4″ by 12″
• Fold it in half
• Add decorative binder paper

Be creative!

Binding

To hold the pages inside the journal:

• Use a sharp object to make holes through the journal pages and cover
• Thread craft cord thorough a needle with a large eye
• Sew the pages to the cover and tie the ends inside the journal

Download a printable version of these instructions