By Captain Leilani Armendariz Hemet, CA Corps – Southern California Division
This craft coordinates with this month’s devotional: His Precious Child.
Directions:
Paint a background on a canvas. Be as creative as you want. Let it dry. I would suggest painting first, letting it dry as the rest of the program proceeds and saving time at the end to finish it.
Using either a Circuit, print outs or your own handwriting, add the lyric from “Who You Say I Am” that says: “I’m a child of God, yes I am.”
While you are crafting, enjoy these songs, reminding you of who you are in Christ – you are a child of God!
Hello, My Name Is Child of the One True King
On my best days, I’m a child of God. On my worst days, I’m a child of God. Oh, everyday is a good day, and You’re the reason why.
By Lt. Helen Reyes Women’s Ministries Executive Assistant – Del Oro Division
Haku Lei Making – A Hawaiian Crown of Flowers
A haku lei, or lei po’o is a lei made for the head (haku literally means “to braid”). The tradition of making and giving lei stems from ancient Hawaii, where lei were used for ceremonial purposes, as adornment, and to signify rank).
Nowadays, wearing a haku lei is a symbol of Aloha – it can be worn on special occasions such as graduations, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, honoring, or welcoming a friend.
The Haku lei reminds me of God’s agape love. The beautiful crown of flowers represents people living in a community bonded with unselfish love by being a good example to others.
Supplies List: ⦁ Flowers, you can use any flowers listed here: Mums, bougainvillea, mini roses, carnation, ⦁ Greeneries: ferns, eucalyptus, baby breaths ⦁ Raffia ⦁ Bowl ⦁ Scissors ⦁ Water
Instructions:
Step 1: Grab a bowl and fill with water (half full)
Step 2: Grab a few strands of raffia and soak in bowl filled with water. Set bowl aside.
Step 3: Grab more strands of raffia and tie at end (see photo), separate the strands into three sections and start braiding the raffia. Halfway through braiding measure the crown of your head. Once finished with the braiding, tie a knot at the end. Leave about 2 inches on each end of the raffia – the excess raffia can be used to tie the haku.
Step 4: Separate your greens and flowers.
Step 5: Start separating the greens and leave a stem (1 ½ inch) for each green.
Step 6: Separate the flowers and leave a stem (1 ½ inch) to be used when wrapping into the raffia.
Step 7: Grab a string of wet raffia and tie into the braided raffia 5 inches away from the end. Take a leaf or two and wrap around the raffia using the wet raffia tightly. Take a flower and do the same process. Alternate wrapping the greenery, flower, and baby’s breath around the braided raffia. When you come across at the end of the wet raffia, grab another one and tie it to the end and continue wrapping the flowers.
Step 8: When you are done wrapping the flowers tie the two ends together and you are finished. Enjoy your Haku Lei!
https://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sept-craft.jpg493342Beth Desplanckehttps://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/uswLogo-300x75-300x75.pngBeth Desplancke2024-08-13 10:40:072024-08-19 09:51:27September 2024 Craft: Haku Lei Making
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.
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.
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.
By Major Harryette Raihl Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary Southern California Division
Supplies Needed: (6) 6 mm beads (smaller beads or larger beads vary the size of the cross) (10) spacer seed beads Gold/silver jump ring (found with jewelry making supplies in stores) Jewelry Wire (wire sized to fit through the beads are used) *Necklace chain if you want to attach the beaded cross pendant.
There are many different ways to do these beaded crosses. You will find some designers harder to follow and some easier. The following directions are the ones that work the best and quickest for me and look the nicest in my opinion!
Instructions:
1.Fold the cut wire in half. (Cut wire about 8 inches to allow extra)
2.Lace one seed bead on the wire then twist tight.
3. On BOTH wires put one big bead, then one little seed bead, then a big bead, etc. so three big beads and three seed beads are on the wires.
4. Separate the wire. On one wire string, place one seed bead, then one big, then one seed bead THEN…skip seed bead and put wire through the big bead very tight with no slack. On the other wire do the same.
5. Then add one seed bead on each wire and twist very tight.
6. Add big bead through BOTH wires and then add little seed bead.
7. ON one wire add the jump ring and thread wire back through the large bead. Then wrap several times around to secure the jump ring. Cut the wire and if necessary, thread back through hold so that no sharp wires are exposed.
8. The wire that is left can be twisted around the large bead and then cut off so that no shape wires are exposed.
Once the cross is completed simply lace through the necklace chain.
These directions seem a little complicated at first, but once you have done once and experienced what ways work best and easiest for you, the crosses can be made rather quickly. This is a relatively inexpensive craft since you usually buy the supplies in bulk so that you may make many at a time.
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.
By Captain Hilda Parks Renton, WA Corps Northwest Division
A great way to unplug is to craft. Here is an easy craft that you can make and enjoy during your “unplugged” times.
Materials: Plant Mug Decorative Napkins Mod podge paint brush
Instructions:
Pick any small plant from your patio or buy a small one at any grocery store.
Chose any mug and floral napkins that you like, preferable ones with flowers so you can cut the pattern.
Once cut attach one by one to the mug, using the mod podge, then cover the mug entirely with your patterns in a thin layer of mod podge using a brush or even your fingers.
Once all covered add a full coat of mod podge.
Allow to dry 24 hours then enjoy with your favorite plant.
