How to Make "Jesus Loves Me" Shirts with Kids {and a linky!}

Back in the Spring, I made these "Jesus {hearts} me" shirts with my whole preschool class, and they were a huge hit! The kids were so proud of them because they actually painted every part of the shirt even though they were only 2 or 3 years old. These shirts would be great to make at Sunday School, or even as a Vacation Bible School Shirt! Also, today is First Friday, so that means I'm hosting our First Friday link up! If you have a blog post (or several) you'd like to share with all of us this month, please scroll to the bottom of this post. :-)

Materials Needed to Craft Jesus Loves Me Shirts:

• White T-Shirts (I found ours at the Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paints (Don't waste your money on fabric paint- it won't matter)
• Letter Stencils (I actually substituted foam letter stickers for stencils because I couldn't find any actual stencils in the right size)
• Foam brushes or stencil brushes
• Cardboard (for inside the shirts)

Prep Work: Glue your stencils together in the words "Jesus" and another that says "me". Again, I used foam letter stickers instead. I did this by cutting a square around each sticker and removing the middle like this:

Also, put a piece of cardboard inside each shirt. This keeps the paint from bleeding through to the other side of the shirt, and also makes a nice, flat work area out of the front of the shirt. 

I then glued a poster board "shield" around them because the kids I was working with were very small, and I wanted them to have a bigger target to work with. 

 Back of Stencil

Front of Stencil on Shirt

I have a few classroom assistants, so I had one of them go around allowing the kids to stencil Jesus, another go around having them stencil "me", and I went around stamping their hand-prints into heart shapes. 

We used 3 different colors of acrylic paints in class, but if you have older kids you could actually stencil each letter a different color. Also, upside down hand-prints make a nicer heart shape, but you do what you can with little kids. ;-)

We ended up having a little trouble with our "Me" stencil, so I quickly went back over the letters with one of the foam brushes in a darker color. 

That's it! Let them dry and wash as normal. Acrylic paint is not going to wash out of clothes, so it's perfect for this project. Your only motivation for buying fabric paint is that it might dry a little softer than stiff acrylic paint, but even that totally depends on the brand you get. 

My entire class wore their shirts to the end of the year ceremony, and they were adorable! Can you guess which song we performed for the group? ;-) When my 2/3 year olds sing Jesus Loves Me, I have them point to themselves each time they say "Me" in the song, and this is a big hit! 

Again, I think these would be an absolutely great craft to make for VBS! Then the kids could wear them all week! :-)

Ok, now it's your turn to share your links! Feel free to share any blog post that you think would interest Catholic mothers or those working with children. Also, feel free to share more than one, and don't forget about your archives! I love to see the things you all link up! Just link back here so others know where to join in on the fun. :-)

<a href="http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/05/catholic-link-up-first-friday-every.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="First Friday Link Up" width="180" src="http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj427/bunnydeau/sacredheart3.jpg" /></a><br />

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Make a Giant Rosary with Kids

Since it's officially "pool noodle season" I thought I would re-run this post for making pool noodle rosaries (which was originally written last Summer). Have fun! :-)

My daughter and I made a giant rosary out of pool noodles! This project is so much fun, such a great counting exercise, and a really good way to get kids excited about the rosary- plus, you can make it with just $3! Here's my daughter with our completed rosary.

For making your own, you can pick up most of what you need at the Dollar Tree.

Supplies Needed:

• 2 Pool Noodles of different colors. (One for the "Hail Mary" beads, and one for the "Our Fathers". Using a third color for the cross is optional). I used 1 pool noodle that was flower shaped, and one that was not.
• Clothes line (or any small rope)
• Scissors
• Bread knife (or other serrated knife)
• Cool Glue Gun

First, take the pool noodle that you selected for the Hail Mary's and slice it into thin beads. You will need 53 total.

The pool noodle you have selected for the Our Father's should be sliced about twice as thick as the others. You will need a total of 6 of these.

Now you're ready to start stringing! String 10 small beads, 1 large bead, 10 small beads, 1 large bead, 10 small beads, 1 large bead, 10 small beads, 1 large bead, and then 10 more small beads. It should look something like this:

For the rosary center, you can use a slice of a 3rd color of a pool noodle, or an extra Our Father bead. Poke holes in both sides with scissors, and bring your clothes line through.

Tie the two ends together tightly, and trim one side off.

Make another hole with scissors in the bottom of the rosary center, and bring the clothes line through like so:

Next, string on one Our Father, 3 Hail Mary's, and one more Our Father.

Now it's time to make the cross. Start with 2 pieces of pool noodle, one the length you want your cross to be, and the other slightly shorter.

Make 2 cuts half way through the pool noodle. The cuts should be as far apart from each other as your pool noodle is wide.

Cut between the 2 cuts to connect them and remove a chunk.

Repeat with your other cross section. 

Fit the 2 pieces together like lincon logs to complete your cross. You can stick them together with your cool glue gun. (A glue gun that is too hot will melt the pool noodle).

Make a hole in the top of your cross, string the clothes line through, and make the completing knot.

Ta Da! Giant Rosary!

These are so much fun, and I have some future plans for ours (especially during "R" week this school year). My daughter was really proud of it!

If you think this is a cool project, but you're planning on doing it later in the year, you might want to go ahead and get some pool noodles now because you can't find them when it's not Summer time. More importantly, if you make one, send me pictures! ;-) Happy Catholic Crafting!

As always, use caution when working with children, and never give them an inappropriate toy for their age. I can't imagine that these are safe in pools, so use with caution. Watch for choking hazards. Don't give children knives or hot glue guns. Safety first!
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Celebrate Trinity Sunday with "Trinity Sundaes"

Ya, I'm pretty much obsessed with the idea of Liturgical Sundaes because they're so easy! This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday (the Sunday following Pentecost), so without further adieu, I give you the Trinity Sundae:

Neapolitan ice cream was no-brainer: 3 flavors, one ice cream. The trinity: 3 persons, one God. I also set out shamrock doilies left from St. Patrick's day because the shamrock is a very popular symbol of the trinity.

What a yummy treat for a hot Summer day!

A few years ago for St. Patrick's day, I made trinity shamrock bowls out the bottom of Sprite bottles. You can see the my post on how to make shamrock bowls here. I couldn't find our shamrock bowls for these Sundaes, but I did look for them. :-/ I'm seriously the least organized person in the world!

If you're in an ice cream sort of a mood this week, Spell Outloud has a whole post on playing ice cream shop with your kids with printable labels, menus, and recipes for ice cream scented play doh! Too cute! Your kids could run their own Liturgical ice cream stand! ;-)

So, Trinity Sundaes... easy? Check! Yummy? Check! Educational? Check! Giving your children a love of the church? Check! You have 3 shopping days before Trinity Sunday to pick up some Neapolitan ice cream, and your kids and I definitely think you should do so. ;-) How does your family celebrate Trinity Sunday? Leave your ideas and links in the comments!

Related Posts:

Easy Triangle Trinity Craft

Trinity Shamrock Craft

Trinity Shamrock Rosary Craft for Kids

Make a Shamrock Bowl

Divine Mercy "Sundaes"

Pentecost "Sundaes"

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