Gospel Wheel Bracelet Craft

I have been on the hunt for more Gospel Wheel related activities and crafts.  For this one, I wanted to combine the Gospel Wheel with the Wordless Book.  It took a while to find all the beads I had in mind (Etsy was a great resource for this!) in the quantities I needed them - I have fifty Sparks this year so I needed quite a few!  I put together each kit in a snack size bag so it was easy for the kids to put them together as their leader went over the Gospel Wheel with them.  I LOVE how visual and tactile this bracelet is in re-enforcing the Gospel message.

I got the chain in bulk from Amazon with the connectors and cut them to size for the kids (I did a six inch length and that was great for almost everyone.  I did bring the wire cutters to adjust for anyone who wanted that.)

Gold smile and gold beads for the character of God being holy.

Black heart and black beads for the character of man being sinful.

The metal cross bead with red beads for God's action of the cross. (I did have to drill the cross bead hole bigger to fit the chain)

White heart and white beads for man's action of trusting.

The green heart and beads for the heart of the Gospel message.

 

Missions Craft

I saw these awesome plastic button keychains at Hobby Lobby and knew they would be perfect for a Sparks craft.
We are doing a couple mission themed nights so I created a small circle picture (google docs makes it weird, but I used Microsoft Word and washed out the globe and then used text effects to curve the verse to fit the circle) that fits inside that they can color and then add heart confetti in the keychain.  I love how they turned out!

Best kind of craft - simple, inexpensive, not too messy, and it shakes!

Learning about Earth's Atmosphere

We are currently studying Apologia's Astronomy and this week's chapter talked about Earth's atmosphere.  I've seen lots of ways to visually show this on Pinterest, but this is one useful way that I came up with after finding different colored granulated wax and clear jars at Hobby Lobby.
Granulated wax is perfect for kid crafts because it doesn't need to be melted before using.  You just pour it!
Each family (which for our class is two or three kids for the most part) got a glass jar and I explained that each color wax would represent the different layers of the atmosphere.  We had just gone over what all the layers are and information about them and all, so this project was to visually cement the idea in their minds.
They started by putting a glue dot on the end of the wick and gluing it to the bottom of their jar.  Makes it much easier to keep the wick straight while you are pouring layers of wax around it!
Then, they were allowed to take turns filling their jar with the different layers of wax and label which part of the atmosphere it was.

You can see in this picture that I did melt a little bit of the wax to pour over the top to seal it so the wax wouldn't spill for the car ride home with kids.

Pretty cool right?  Earth's Atmosphere Candles = fun and useful science project :)

Awesome Baby Shower Gifts

When I was a kid and my mom was still having babies, there was a lady in our church that would make the most soft and beautiful blankets for every baby that was born.  She kept llamas and would spin and dye the wool herself.  Each blanket was a super treasured heirloom and whenever she came to a baby shower you knew exactly what gift she had brought.
Sadly, by the time I began having babies she no longer kept llamas or made blankets :(
My goal has always been to have some amazing gift that I can bring to baby showers like that.

A Diaper Wallet to throw in a purse, stroller, or the car

Holds about a day's worth of diapers, wipes, and butt cream

Wooden, silicone, and crochet bead teethers - all natural and very, very fun to play with!

My niece's birthday gift

I used a pattern from Etsy to make this darling house for a family of bunnies!  The bunny pattern is from Creativity in Pieces and I made up several carrots and a little water dish as well for them.  I also made each bunny make noises (one rattles, one squeaks, and one jingles).
I had SO MUCH FUN decorating this little house!  I added craft foam between the pieces of felt to make it strong enough to stand up to lots of rough play and made one side of the roof open to easily get the bunnies in and out.  My niece turned two, so she was more thrilled about the bunnies, but I think she'll become more enamored with the house as she gets bigger.  Even if she never does, it was really fun to make :)