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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Don't Lego of Your Catholic Kids

Your kids need Legos for Christmas because it's going to make them better Catholics. Don't believe me? Why don't you ask Our Lady of the Legos?

Legos can give your children a love for the church.

Legos can help them learn to pray the rosary,

and they can even encourage your kids to go to confession.

Legos can give your children a love for Jesus.

Legos can help your kids realize their vocation.  

Thanks to the internet, your kids can read the whole bible in legos!

Your kids can also learn about important days such as 

Palm Sunday by watching the lego passion on youtube.

Hey, Legos can even inspire your child to become pope!

So as you're lighting the your lego advent wreath...

just remember that legos are making your kids saints. Especially if you start a Catholic Lego Club.

*Disclaimer- playing with legos won't actually make your children holier than children that do not play with legos. Building Catholic things from legos may cause a love for the church, fatigue, or dry mouth.

** If you actually want to order your kids some legos (or anything else for that matter) and like to shop on amazon, ordering from amazon through a link on my site actually helps support Catholic Icing because I make a small commission on anything purchased through this site's recommendation. Thanks for your support! :-)

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Catholic Coupon Codes and Cool Catholic Gift Ideas!

Happy Cyber Monday- I've been working for you guys! I'm sure you all know how much I like a great deal, and if I can't find a great deal on something, I'll just make it myself! So I decided I wanted to put together a big Catholic Cyber Monday extravaganza for all of my readers today! FYI- Cyber Monday is when you order everything online that trampling someone at the Shop-and-Save didn't earn you on Black Friday. Several Catholic businesses (large and small) have offered some special deals for Catholic Icing readers, and I can guarantee that you and your friends don't want to miss out!

Autom has provided a coupon code to all Catholic Icing readers- 29% off for the 29th! For those of you who have never heard of Autom, I like to describe it as the "Catholic Costco". They carry more Catholic stuff than you have time to look at, and have great deals! The code can be used once per customer and cannot be combined with other offers. It expires Sunday December 5 at 11:59 PM EST. Autom Coupon Code: CATHOLICICING.

Our next Catholic deal comes from CCC of America. They have provided a coupon code for free shipping! This coupon code will be good to Catholic Icing readers from today through December 10 - that's 2 weeks of free shipping! I have a review of the Catholic children's movies they make here. These would make great stocking stuffers! CCC of America's Coupon Code: CCC120810. 

Catholic Child Catalog also has a coupon code for Catholic Icing readers for 15% off of everything! This coupon code works for today and tomorrow (November 29 & 30) and expires at midnight, so don't wait! Catholic Child Catalog Coupon Code: 159115

St. Luke's Brush has a deal for all of you, too! On orders of $75 or more, mention that you're a Catholic Icing reader and you will receive a free 3.5 inch St. Therese peg doll! These guys really would make great Christmas presents, especially the St. Nicholas doll!

Holy Heroes is offering a FREE Glory Stories CD! This link will take you to the page with the deal. It really is free, you just pay the shipping! This free Glory Stories CD includes the stories of  Blessed Imelda Lambertini & The Story of St. Juan Diego. Everyone can also get 20% off their products by joining Advent Adventure. It's free to join and great for your kids and you get 20% off your purchases!

You guys know the lego rosaries- the most awesome kid's rosaries ever that I'm totally in love with? Well, they're 10% off with Coupon Code CatholicIcing10!!! Also, Mark from Memento Moose says if you mention you are a Catholic Icing reader when you purchase a lego rosary, he will include a free single decade rosary! I seriously love these rosaries. Not just for the child in your life, but also for your awesome teenager or nerdy husband ;-)

Family Christian Stores is having a MAJOR Cyber Monday celebration including 25% off your entire purchase of regularly priced items with Coupon Code 123056301.

 For the next part of this Catholic Cyber Monday post, I'd like to feature some cool Catholic gift ideas I've been running across. Cyber Monday is an actual thing, so you might find some good deals for these things today, or you might find that they're simply awesome enough to pay full price for. ;-)

I saw this Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving and thought - "Hey, look! Catholic Veggie Tales!". Lol! I haven't seen this movie, but my friends said it was cute. I'm thinking about getting it for my kids for St. Nicholas day. I'm also considering getting my daughter the Veggie Tales Princess Movie. I think it looks really cute and like a great alternative to the Disney Princess movies. 

I keep seeing Silly Bandz everywhere! Apparantley, they're the coolest thing ever! Lol! Anyway, check out these Religious Silly Bandz. I think they'd be great for a stocking!

Have you guys heard of Hairbows 4 Life yet? Her hairbows are charming, affordable, and 10% of all sales go to the prolife community! I am in love with this sweet Christmas hairbow with a metal of the Holy Family in the middle! (She also has non-Christmas hairbows, and headbands for babies!). I'm thinking about getting one of these for my Goddaughter (who's mother totally reads this blog. Lol!) Over at HairBows 4 Life right now its 10% off whole store and Free Shipping! Deal ends Friday.

I love getting board games on Christmas to play in the afternoon (and all year)! There are soooo many cool religious games now including Apples to Apples Bible Edition, Outburst-Bible Edition, Scattergories-Catholic Edition, Guesstures-Bible Edition, Taboo: Bible Edition, Mad Gab Bible Edition, and you can even get Catholic-opoly! There are more, but these are my favorites. 

This is a new Catholic book that came out for boys called Tin Cups & Tinder: A Catholic Boy's Little Book of Fire, Food & Fun. I'm thinking about getting one for my 9 year old brother. You can read a review of it here. I think this book looks really cool! 

How adorable is this Plush Mary Dollwith baby Jesus?!
This would be a really cute in-mass toy. 

Looking for a funny Catholic gag gift?
How funny is this Holy Toast Stamper?

Check out this Nativity Chocolate Candy Mold! You could
make presents for everyone with just one of these! I want one!
Your kids could also use a mold like this with play dough. 

Totally Catholic has tons of neat stuff including these
cool Catholic pencils for kids.

Please email this link to all of your Catholic friends and spread the great holiday deals!

*Updates!* More Coupon Codes and Deals!

Adoremus Books has 15% off until midnight Coupon Code: Thank10

Additional deal added to Hairbows 4 Life (above)

Additional deal added to Holy Heroes (above)

Family Christian Stores coupon code added (above)

10% off lego rosaries and a free 1 decade rosary with purchase from Memento Moose! (above)

Loyola Press- Click this link for a different deal each day this week.

Catholic Books and Gifts from The Catholic Company - The World's #1 Catholic Store- free shipping with code FALLSHIP. 


...Keep watching for new deals and email me if you know of one not listed! :-)

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Embroider the Saints

As many of you know, my daughter is named for St. Therese, so I'm really excited about her feast day being right around the corner! I wanted to show you all this adorable St. Therese doll that Violet's Godmother made her for her baptism.

Isn't it the sweetest little thing? She also embroidered Violet's name and baptism date on the back.

First she embroidered St. Therese's outline, then
cross stitched it in. Here it is before it was cross stitched:

I thought this was such an amazing and meaningful baptism gift, and I know it is something for Violet to cherish. I love the fabric rose embellishments that St. Therese is holding!

This doll was based on Charlotte's embroidery pattern, and you can print your own Saint Embroidery Patterns from Waltzing Matilda for free! Isn't Charlotte great to post all the printable Catholic stuff she does? She has many saint patterns available including St. Michael, St. Clare, St. Francis of Assisi, and Mother Teresa to name a few!

Here are some things I've seen other bloggers do with these Saint Embroidery Patterns:

Yes, this is a little Saint Dress!
Found this over on A Pew All Our Own.

Here's a St. Cecilia doll from Running with Perseverance.

A Pew All Our Own also made a St. Genevive and a St. Clare
doll for Easter baskets and embroidered prayers on the backs.

And I love LoVE LOVE this Saint quilt from 

Knit Together Designs! :-)

*Updated to Add this aborable Mother Teresa doll
from Joyfilled Family! I just want to hug her! :-)

If you start embroidering now you might have them ready to come marching in for All Saint's Day. God bless!

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