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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Feb 06 2013 at 10:21pm | IP Logged
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Went to go look in our wood stash today, because I found THIS cross that would be very powerful and not hard to make:
From this esty shop.
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Suzanne in ID
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lapazfarm
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That is lovely!
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Theresa
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LaPaz Home Learning
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CrunchyMom
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I just saw this pin, and while a little out there and not exactly Lenten, it was interesting to me how a modern decorating trend was adopted towards religious art, sort of like Mary's idea about the glass domes. I thought the crown was pretty and it made me think of how a crown of thorns might be incorporated artfully (if I had one  ).
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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Suzanne, I love the cross.
Lindsay, I keep thinking wouldn't the boys love to make their own crown of thorns? What a challenge!
We just use the grapevine wreath and insert brown-painted picks. I'm not feeling really crafty or creative.
What I am thinking is doing a gradual approach, both in decoration and activities. We need to have a different theme or add-on to the display to keep attention.
Of course, for Holy Week my whole dining room becomes a display of the Passion Scene and Tomb. I'd love to add the Procession into Jerusalem. And this year we will add the Last Supper because my son received a lovely statue that will be perfect.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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MicheleQ
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| I thought the crown was pretty and it made me think of how a crown of thorns might be incorporated artfully (if I had one ). |
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You can easily make a very realistic looking crown of thorns with a grapevine wreath and toothpicks (the pointy ones) stained with coffee. I find that halving the toothpicks gives the best look as well. We'll be making a new one this year as we've moved twice in the last 2 years and I cannot find our old one.
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Michele Quigley
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MicheleQ
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JennGM wrote:
| What I am thinking is doing a gradual approach, both in decoration and activities. We need to have a different theme or add-on to the display to keep attention. |
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I love this idea Jenn! Be sure and chronicle it on your blog!
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: Feb 08 2013 at 9:43am | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
| Lindsay, I keep thinking wouldn't the boys love to make their own crown of thorns? What a challenge! |
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I kept thinking about this in the fall when I was mercilessly pruning my rose bushes. They would make such a realistic crown of thorns but I kept thinking how the soldiers must have had their own blood all over the crown they made and placed on our Lord because it's nearly impossible to handle them without getting pricked. And I had heavy duty gloves on!
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Michele Quigley
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CrunchyMom
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MicheleQ wrote:
JennGM wrote:
| What I am thinking is doing a gradual approach, both in decoration and activities. We need to have a different theme or add-on to the display to keep attention. |
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I love this idea Jenn! Be sure and chronicle it on your blog! |
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It does seem to be what makes Advent "easy" with the wreath and candles allowing for easy landmarks and gradually moving toward Christmas. It feels natural when "preparing" for Christmas, but a little harder for me to conceptualize as relates to a full-on time of penance, especially when it culminates in the most penitential time of Holy Week. I'm SO interested in this.
I was thinking earlier about how I have a hard time with specifically Lenten "decor," and I realized it was because I don't really care for the color purple. I mean, I like ALL colors, but purple is pretty far down on my list, especially for use in the home.
Then, I thought of how much I like purple in nature. I LOVE Russian sage and lavendar.
Sooo, has anyone used or seen used dried lavender for lent? It seems its sparse but purple color would be appropriate, and yet, it would also mesh well with the more vibrant Spring flowers come Easter.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MaryM
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Then, I thought of how much I like purple in nature. I LOVE Russian sage and lavendar.
Sooo, has anyone used or seen used dried lavender for lent? It seems its sparse but purple color would be appropriate, and yet, it would also mesh well with the more vibrant Spring flowers come Easter. |
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That would be quite lovely and seems very fitting and symbolic as well - the dead/dry aspect as well as the purple for the color. Both are included in Mary Gardens as connected to Our Lady, too.
Russian Sage - Salvia officinalis, Mary's Shawl
Lavender - Lavendula, Mary's Drying Plant
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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JennGM
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If I was to build gradually, I would use the Sunday Gospels as reference points. I was revising the supplement on the "Lent for Children" and thinking about the Gospels. Ashes on Ash Wednesday and making the NOW Cross. Sand for the 40 days in the desert, and perhaps a few stones. Maybe my son would like to build a Lego Parapet?
Second Sunday is the Gospel of the Transfiguration, so perhaps a very white cloth.
In our parish we have many people in the RCIA program, so we always have the Scrutinies for 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays so that means the Gospels are from Year A.
Third Sunday without Scrutinies is the barren fig tree. The Year A reading is the woman at the well. So symbols could be a bare branch, dried figs for Year C, Year A some water jar or symbol of baptism, like a shell.
Fourth Sunday first reading is about the manna in the desert, and then the Prodigal Son. For the Scrutinies it's the Man Born Blind.
Fifth Sunday is the woman caught in adultery, and Scrutiny Gospel is the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Then comes Palm Sunday.
Brainstorming ideas welcome. 
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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SuzanneG
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JennGM wrote:
What I am thinking is doing a gradual approach, both in decoration and activities. We need to have a different theme or add-on to the display to keep attention. |
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Yes, love how Caroline did this last year....I'm planning on using her meditations and centerpieces ideas this year! Love how they change to keep the discussions, meditations and thoughts flowing throughout Lent.
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Suzanne in ID
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CrunchyMom
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I was looking for dried lavendar at Etsy and found this. I think something like this would be lovely, especially since the dried oats reminds me of the scripture about how the grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to bear fruit.
Thinking about the wheat reminded me of a friend's tradition of planting wheat in the children's Easter baskets at the beginning of Lent so they have real grass for Easter morning. It could be neat to incorporate that into a centerpiece, perhaps with stones over the potting soil.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MicheleQ
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CrunchyMom wrote:
I was looking for dried lavendar at Etsy and found this. I think something like this would be lovely, especially since the dried oats reminds me of the scripture about how the grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to bear fruit.
Thinking about the wheat reminded me of a friend's tradition of planting wheat in the children's Easter baskets at the beginning of Lent so they have real grass for Easter morning. It could be neat to incorporate that into a centerpiece, perhaps with stones over the potting soil. |
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Lindsay I love this centerpiece. After the starkness of winter I have a hard time with Lenten decorations being stark as well (not that they have to be they always just seemed to be for me). I hung lavender to dry at the end of summer. It isn't very colorful anymore but with a few other purple flowers (and the wheat) it will be nice.
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Michele Quigley
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MaryM
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Yes, that centerpiece is lovely, Lindsay. I agree with Michele. thanks for sharing it!
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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lapazfarm
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I really like that lavender! Great idea. And what a coincidence as I just ended up going with sage-colored candles for my lenten centerpieces! I also have some fabric that looks sort of rocky/desert-like and I need to whip it up into a table runner. Now if I can just find some lavender to add a bit of purple, I'll be set!
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Theresa
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CrunchyMom
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I'm glad you liked the wreath. I have both Russian sage and lavender seed to grow some plants to put out, but the lavender is unlikely to flower this first year, so it will be a while before I have any of my own to collect and dry, thus my looking to buy on Etsy. That wreath makes me want to plant a plot of wheat or rye, though, just to dry some for decorations next year.
The cross Suzanne posted is already unavailable from the Etsy seller, so I went ahead and pinnedthe wreath, for posterity 
There are so many good ideas here, I also pinned to this thread using Suzanne's photo.
Also on the 4Real Pinterest board for Lent and Easter is this Ressurection scene for Easter that looks similar to what was in my head regarding the wheat. I wonder if you couldn't incorporate that idea as the end product of something similar to Caroline's interactive centerpiece or what Jenn describes, maybe starting with ashes and dirt (ashes are sometimes used in soil preparation--is that possibly symbolic somehow?), adding the grains of wheat, then stones, the crosses, etc... culminating with Easter?
You would (if it worked) have your bits of green emerging during Lent (plus, you would continually need to water it!--the sacraments?), but I think that if it is symbolic of the fruits of our sacrifices, that would be appropriate.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MaryM
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We did that resurrection/empty tomb scene with the grass last year. I love it.
You don't want to plant the wheat (or other seed, rye, grass, chia) too early as it sprouts in under a week and is a decent length in about 10-12 days. If you plant too early you will have towering (and falling over) grass at Easter.
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JennGM
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SuzanneG wrote:
JennGM wrote:
What I am thinking is doing a gradual approach, both in decoration and activities. We need to have a different theme or add-on to the display to keep attention. |
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Yes, love how Caroline did this last year....I'm planning on using her meditations and centerpieces ideas this year! Love how they change to keep the discussions, meditations and thoughts flowing throughout Lent. |
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Wish I remembered this. Would have saved me some time in typing....
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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Lindsay, I do love purple, so here's where we differ! Love that wreath, so lovely! I dried lavender, but not on the stems this year. We were making sachets.
The grain of wheat is one of the Lenten presentations in the atrium, and it's so beautiful and powerful. The big box craft stores do sell dried wheat stalks, because we used them in our presentation.
I was thinking of the same thing...adding gradually to the scene. I like your ideas, Lindsay. I keep wondering if there's a way to add some symbols that will start hinting or building to the Resurrection. Symbols of baptism, light, water, etc.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Lenten symbolism/decor
