Toddler Christmas Dress

Although I have done this in readiness for Christmas, you can use other fabric for this and make a dress that can be worn at any time of the year. You could even use a long sleeve and thicker skirt fabric for a winter weight dress.

What you’ll need: Girls t-shirt, 50cm fabric, 12inch of 1inch wide elastic, scissors, tape measure, iron, needle, button, pins, interfacing 2inch x 12inch, thread as well as a sewing machine. I used an overlocker (serger) as well but a zig zag stitch on a sewing machine will achieve the same result.

What to do:

I’ve made two sizes for my daughters. Size 0 and 2. For the purpose of the instructions I will write size 0 measurements first and size 2 in brackets eg. 10 inch (12inch).

Reduce length of t-shirt by 4 inch (5inch). Overlock cut edge.

Cut four pieces of fabric and 1 piece of interfacing 2x10inch (2x12inch) for waistband. Iron interfacing to the wrong side of one piece. Sew two pieces right sides together at short sides and attach elastic to seams at the same time. Join the two remaining pieces (one with interfacing) in same way, seams along short ends. Overlock seams.

Place the two pieces right sides together so that the 1x10 inch (1x12inch) elastic and the interfacing will be on opposite sides of the t-shirt. The interfacing will be at the back, the interfacing at the front. Pin the cut edge of the t-shirt in between these two pieces.

Sew. Fold down and press.

Cut two pieces 16x9inch (18x11inch) for skirt. Pin right sides together and sew side seams. Overlock seams.

Sew a gathering stitch along top edge. Attach right side, matching seams, to right side of outside waistband. Sew.

Using iron, fold over edge of inside waistband. Pin to stitched edge from Step 5. Turn dress right side out and sew. Sew another line of stitches along top of waistband.

Hem skirt ¼ inch.

Cut circle with a diameter of 3inch (5 inch). Hand sew a running stitch along edge and gather.

Use a button to cover gathering and attach to dress at the same time and voila! One dress complete!

If you keep the cut offs from the t-shirt you can use them to make a coordinating headband with another material flower and button from step 8!

Saint sketches

True to my word, I have been designing some more toddler friendly saint pictures. Here are a few:

Above: Saints Mary MacKillop, John Vianney, Therese of Lisieux and Michael the Archangel.

Above: Saints Monica, Augustine and Anthony of Padua.

Above: Saint Catherine of Siene, Blessed Mother Teresa, Saints Gianna Molla and Ignatius of Loyola.

Above: Saints Joan of Arc, Francis of Assissi, Teresa of Avila and Faustina Kowalska

 Above: Saints Kateri Tekakawitha and Patrick.

Above: Saints Maximilan Kolbe, Maria Goretti, Thomas Aquinas and Cecelia.

If there's any more you'd like to see let me know!

David and Goliath

This is a very quick activity and loads of fun to play with.

What you'll need:
1 toilet roll
1 cling wrap roll cut in half
coloured paper - plain and patterned
card
2 pipe cleaners
glue
scissors
masking tape
string
pen or texta

Instructions: Using skin coloured paper cut two strips about 5cm wide and long enough to wrap around your toilet roll and clingwrap roll (this will be the faces). Use another coloured paper cut into a wider strip to cover the rest of the rolls, this will be their clothes. We used blue for David, then cut another piece the same height but a shorter width to look as though David has a coat on. We used grey for Goliath so it would look like armour. Cut another strip of paper to cover half of Goliath's body and cut a fringe along the bottom and glue on about halfway up the cling wrap roll. Using brown paper cut a beard and hair for Goliath and some hair for David. In order to do this cut your strip of brown paper in the same way (and measurements) as you did for the skin coloured paper and cut out room for a face. For Goliath you can cut a beard out afterwards and glue on over the top. Using a pen or texta add details on the faces.
Using scissors punch holes in either side of both rolls and thread through the pipe cleaners for arms. Use masking tape to secure pipe cleaner on inside of roll. On some card draw a Y shape like this:

then cut out and attach string to make slingshot. Using the same card draw a sword and shield shape like this:

then cut out. We added a G on the shield but you can decorate it however you like.

Secure slingshot to David and sword and shield to Goliath using glue and bending pipe cleaner arms around firmly.

Detail of David and Goliath's faces:

Enjoy!

This book is for all women

Choosing beauty, by Gina Loehr $24.95

This book stems from the author’s realisation, one Ash Wednesday morning, that she was addicted to her makeup. In this book, Loehr outlines a basis for reflection, and plan of action through which women can be their most beautiful.

We will never reach the fullness of our physical beauty until we have reached the fullness of our spiritual beauty – food for thought, and the central premise of this book.

Through real life examples and friendly explanations of the teachings of the Catholic Church, Loehr exposes the myths of beauty and appearance and instead, explains what real beauty is, and how we can achieve it.

‘Choosing beauty’ helps girls and women work through issues like gossiping,  insecurities about appearance, and gives them practical tips for leading a virtuous life. Loehr explains: ‘whenever you choose virtue, you are also choosing beauty.’

It certainly encourages you to take stock of your life, assess your spiritual warts and wrinkles, as well as providing example of ‘beautiful’ women to inspire you.

This book is also versatile and can be used individually, or as a text for group discussion, as a resource for youth ministers trying to encourage inner beauty in the young women they work with, and it’s also a great book for mothers and daughters to work through together.

At times, the questions for discussion were confronting, Loehr encourages the reader to think, and break free from our slavery to social vanity. Through this book, teenage girls and women of all ages, can reclaim their ‘feminine genius’ and encourage others to do the same.

I highly recommend this book to all women over the age of 13 and especially for any female who has ever felt insecure about the way they look – this book will change the way you see yourself!

Get a copy here.

The Assumption of Mary

This is a really simple activity you can make without needing many materials at all.

You will need:
Coloured paper - green, blue and white
Cardboard (thin card like cereal boxes)
White pencil
Glue
Scissors
Craft or stanley knife

Instructions: Cut your card to A4 size and glue blue sheet of A4 paper on top. Rip a strip of green paper and glue to bottom of blue paper to form the land. Rip or cut out white paper to make clouds and glue on, then using your white pencil draw on lines to form a light coming from Heaven to represent God's assuming of Mary into Heaven. Then mark out a line running through the middle of your work like this:

And cut with your knife.
Next print out the template of Mary:

Colour and then using a strip of card about 3cm wide and 20cm long fold and attach to the back of Mary so that it looks like this:

Now you can simply push this through the slit on your background and you are right to go. For little hands clipping a peg onto the cardboard makes it easier to control Mary as she travels up and down your work.
Enjoy!

Saint Amelia and Blessed Yvette

A couple more dolls made as a present for a couple of cousins. Saint Amelia is on the left and Blessed Yvette is on the right.

The dolls are based on the original sketches below:

And also included a bookmark with details of the lives of each, their feastday and of what they are now the patron:

Saints for kids

My husband and I decided that we would give all of our children saints names as their Christian names, which many people do. But we wanted our children to really look to that saint as some one to emulate and when it comes to some saints it's hard to get information about them, let alone a picture.

Not being one that is daunted by a challenge I ended up finding information for Saints Jerome, Madeleine Sophie Barat and Georgia. However when it came to Saint Georgia I was unable to find a picture so based on her life story and the time in which she lived I ended up designing an image that was very kid-friendly for my own 2 year old Georgia. And of course, once you design one for one child...

So here are the pictures:

Which I transfered onto t-shirts:

And then converted to handmade dolls for the kids to play with:

Email me if you would like to see a design for your child's patron saint or favourite Biblical figure!