Ant farm, church toddler bag

Here is post one on my church toddler bags.

Here is post two.

Super handy to keep the supplies on hand and be able to pull these bags together easily.

I keep a supply of used church board books on hand from garage sales and resale shops. I can find ones in like new condition easily. I use those like new board books in my gifts, it helps keep cost down.

And these (lunch size) bags are always a hit. They are on topic (religious theme for a baptism). They are clever/unique. They are cute. They are appreciated.

The mom opened the baby gifts at the end of the day. The dad was busy with the older kids in the yard. When he came in later, I noticed my toddler bag was the one gift she showed him, saying how cute, clever and great.

The other gifts the baby got were actually clothes. This is fourth child and they are starting over. Everything was either donated or pitched after baby #3. But I noticed she got too many of the same sized clothes. Everything was in the 0-3 month size range. So while it is great, it is going to all be out grown soon. They should have planned (her mom, two aunts and grandmother) and gotten equal amounts of 0-18 months, in my opinion.

This was baptism and two birthdays party.

I had a picture post (below) of the pj's and sleeping bag set for the girl's bday gift. She is 6. That was a hit too. Makes a great package.

I got an ant farm for the boy. He is four. A mature and smart 4. That was a hit too.

First Communion Gift

I did not know I had a First Communion gift needed for this year.

Ours will be a little late, but it is on the way.

You may remember, I like having standard gifts for certain occasions.

We do swaddling blankets for baby showers (this may become a thing of the past with so many great products now made for swaddling).

I do Church Activity bags for Baptisms.

I often do water pitchers for weddings. This year I am trying Christmas tree skirts (made by me) as wedding gifts, I am hoping that is a keeper, because I think that is a unique and sort of stellar gift.

And now I am doing Guardian Angel pillowcases for First Communion.

I get them from Catholic Child.

I have the first and middle name put on the pillowcase (not saint name, their regular given names). To my knowledge, Catholic Child is the only place that readily puts the names on the cases. Plain cases can be ordered from Amazon.

And when I ordered this morning, I called the (Catholic Child) company and they gave me a discount code to use on my on-line order. I did not try to order over the phone because I had three unusual names and I did not want to risk spelling errors.

There are three kids (so far) in this family. Their oldest has First Communion this weekend. I did not not want to run the risk that this product would not be available by the time his siblings had their First Communions, so I ordered all three. I saved on shipping. It is done.

I already have one for our seven year old. I was not sure if she would be this year or next, so I ordered about a year ago, when I first saw this product.

I think this is a great First Communion gift. First of all it is unusual. And I know from experience that kids like pillowcases. And if they would happen to get two, that is okay, because many kids have two pillows on their bed.

I think there are other Saint pillowcases available. So their specific favorite Saint would be another good idea.

My little store

I think I may have mentioned that I cleaned out my closet, when my husband was out of town a couple months ago. It was a big job. I found a lot of things stashed in that closet. A lot. For example, I found Christmas gifts for middle stashed away, most of which I had forgotten were there. All her presents came from what I found.

I also found a lot of other gifts.

I used three cubby units, left over from Middle in college dorms, in the studio, to organize all these gifts.

I think of this as my little store. As in stored goods.

And I am very pleased with it.

It has come in very handy in the last couple weeks.

Example one -
On Friday, middle mentioned she was going to her boy's nephew's baptism today/Sunday. And I knew I had supplies for quiet church bags (post one, post two) in my store. When she looked, there were three canvas bags (from which to chose) and a variety of things to put in them. She customized (a combination of items for) her bag as her gift. It was very cute, very unusual, and very fast. And we would never have been able to put it together in time if I did not already have the items on hand. I (immediately) reordered a few things to replenish the quiet church bag stash. Many times there is not much notice for baptisms. This feels handmade, special.

Example two -
I had four autism T-shirts and flatware on hand as part of middle's graduation gift. I knew I had the flatware stashed. It is my traditional graduation gift for our kids. But I had forgotten I had the autism shirts. They are hard to find. I had found good ones long, long ago. I was very pleased to refind them in my closet.

Example three -
I had bought four really great hats at our church craft show. I picked up three first and then went back and got the fourth so each girl had a choice. When our friends' college girl was here, I let her pick hers first (and take it with her, she wore it to middle's graduation). It was our Christmas gift to her. While we had them out, I let youngest pick one, I wrapped that one and added it to the stash under the tree. That left two. I wrapped the one I thought Middle would like best for Christmas. She opened it and loved it. I showed her the remaining one, the fourth, so she still had a choice. She kept the one I had picked. She had seen the college girl's pick and youngest's pick. Middle liked her own the best. But, honestly, no girl ended up with the one I originally thought they would like. They picked differently than I would have picked, choosing for them. So the four hats for three girls ended up being very smart. The remaining one goes back in the stash. These were handmade, just not by me.

Example four -
Middle and my close friend both used cherry pit bags (links to two posts) for gift giving this year. I made 36 bags between the two of them, 18 each. Two shipments of cherry pits used. Middle used these as thank you gifts for student teaching and as Christmas presents for all her boy's family this year. My friend used them as teacher, therapist, tutor, coach gifts for the seven year old's people. And as gifts for her very hard to buy for sisters, brother in laws and parents. I have a few (of middle's 18) left in my stash for future giving. Again, handmade, which people love.

Example five -
I have (lots of) swaddling blankets and baby books in my stash. We use them, all the time, for baby shower and "congratulations on the birth of your child" gifts. I even shipped three blankets to oldest to use as a new baby gift. People really like homemade. Swaddling blankets are hard to find.

Example six -
I have two toddler towels put away for middle for next year. If all goes well, another one of her boy's siblings will have a new baby by then. Toddler towels will be great Christmas gifts. Huge hooded towels, handmade, for both babies.

Example seven -
My dishwasher was down and out for a couple days. I had a house full. I gifted a 9x13 glass pan out of the stash to myself.





There are many, many more gifts in my stash. A very wide variety. Some I will be very glad to see used/gone. Others I will restock as they are used, like the cherry pit bags, toddler towels, swaddling blankets and quiet church bags.  I always keep a few card games on hand too.

Cleaning out drop box

I bought the hat in Charleston in 2013, I think, in the gift shop at one of the plantations. It is nice and thick. I like the colors. I wear it all winter. Middle found the same company (Solmate Socks) in her wanderings over Christmas break and got me the mittens. I am not easy to buy for unless you are very clever. This was very clever. A total surprise. Notice how long the mittens are, they go way up my wrist and "no, air gets me".

I first looked at the mall. No slippers to be found that went way up the ankle (no air getting me) and had great traction. None. So, then I started looking on line. I ordered several pair from Kohl's and Target. These were the winners. I almost didn't order them because they were only available in an XL and I wear an 8 usually. But, oldest has taught me to always read the reviews. And one woman wrote how she had ordered several pairs of these in various sizes as Christmas gifts and they consistently ran small. I looked at my last pair of Totes/Isotoners and they were an L. So, I took a chance and ordered them. Very warm, very good traction, fit perfectly with athletic socks. And they are very fun.

Middle bought this at the Catholic Conference she attended last week. Not quite sure where I am putting her, but loved it. The book is going in my church bag collection. 

They were out shopping. This is just the regular grocery store. Not sure if they were headed somewhere, like a children's party or if they just do this for fun. From the looks of the crowd, it must have been a day or two before Christmas, it was packed.

I added a lot of pictures/ideas on the quiet church bag topic

Here is the first post.


Things we learned (about the bag) -

Put a small pack of Kleenex in the bag.

Read the board books, at home, a lot, so the child knows them by heart and can "read" them at church as they flip the pages.

So, I think having books that are prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary, like we discussed) is actually the best plan. I have those two, will be looking for more. ADDED LATER - I found some possibilities, pictures below. Please let me know if you find any others.

I think an I Spy church book would be really great. ADDED LATER - I think I actually found some, they are not board books, but they look like an educational version of I Spy for the bible. Pictures below.

The extra pages/scenes in the magnetic set are paper, and are meant to be placed against the inside of the tin to have things stick. (Not a fan of that concept) So, I am taking the pages to the hardware store to see if there is something (not sharp) metal that I can glue on the back. There are a lot of great animals in the set, four places to stick would be better.  ADDED LATER - nothing that would work at hardware store (and it is a huge one) so trying teacher supply store.

Lacing cards were big hit. Middle had to tie knots on one end of each string so they did not pull through the starting hole.

I also think the bags should not come out until a set time at Mass. Maybe it is after the Entrance/Greeting. It might be fun to have the kids watch for the priest and recognize them by name, and then get to open their bag. Maybe it is much later. But I think a delay and tying it into Mass would be smart.

I discovered, on Cafe Press, can search by the emblem/image/artwork and find all the products using it. So, I was able to find all three, on the style lunch box I loved.

AND

I found some additional books for consideration.

NOT board books, and I have not seen them, but looks like the I Spy concept I was pondering.

Kids Quiet Bag for Church turned into my GO TO gift for Baptisms

Here is the second post on the quiet church bag topic.






I must like having "go to gifts" for set occasions. Actually I guess it is more accurate to say - I love having a great idea for a gift and then being able to fine tune it and give a variation of this gift each time this occasion arises.






I have mentioned my current favorite for weddings is a pitcher. They are very rarely given/thought of any more and I think much appreciated.

My "go to" for baby shower/new baby is swaddling blankets which I make out of flannel. Again, not likely to get duplicates and much needed for a baby.

Our favorite for confirmations is a (15") beaded cross. We love these. We do not make, we buy.

Our standard for high school graduation recently has been letters hand painted by middle. We have given lots of these. (If we are invited to baby shower, we give the blanket. If we are sending new baby gift to the same family, we do letters.)

I still do not have a set gift idea for First Communion. So if you have ideas, I would welcome them.





I now have a set gift for Baptisms - Church Quiet Bag. And I love it. Very original and not likely to be duplicates. I put a note (below) with it explaining to save for preschool years. Sometimes there are grandma/first grandchild baby showers and one of these bags would be a really, good idea.

I mentioned this quiet bag for church way back here, asking for ideas. I got great ones.  Thank you. Which lead me to do a little web searching.

Remember, my goal was to only include church related things. And I tried for Catholic too.

Since I have been garage sale-ing, this has been especially fun.





This bag had a bit of an evolution, here is my thought process -

This (below) ended up being my inspiration piece. I did not buy it. Although one could, use it as it is, or add to it. It is a very reasonable price.  The bag I bought is the next picture. My bag is bigger. And my bag being bigger lead to different bags.

Love the illustration on this bag (below). Can't beat the price. I kept this one for myself. Very roomy. Too roomy in fact. Which lead to me buying the next bag(s) as my gift(s). In fact, I ordered three.

These are lunch bags. I thought I was going to like the brown handled ones best. But these were made to roll the top edge over a couple times to secure the Velcro. This is just awkward. I ended up taking them apart, attaching the velcro at the bag's top edge, and moving the handle higher. Yes, a lot of messing around. I did it for the two brown handled bags I had already ordered, below. Not ordering any more of this style. It is the third picture (below) that I love.

I had also ordered this third bag, because I loved the picture. I did not think I would like the style of the bag, but I really  did. Very good handle for little hands. There is velcro at the top to hold everything in the bag. The bag is actually very roomy.  I ended up using this bag as my Baptism gift  this past weekend. My RCIA sponsor's daughter had a baby over the summer. We (husband, middle, middle's boy, and I) went to the Baptism and then back to their house for an Open House. 

This is the first thing I put in my gift bag this weekend -

 I do not think any of my kids had these type of magnet sets, so it was a totally new to me idea from the comments on my original post. The tin box is 6" x 8 1/2" x 1" so it is a very nice size for a church bag.

I also put this lacing set in my gift bag this weekend -

Ordered these lacing shapes (Noah's Ark theme, so still church related). This was in comments too, I think. And also in my inspiration bag. I think I was picturing heavy felt, for some reason, looking at the Amazon listing. It is very nice, durable, strong, firm plastic. Very easy to hold and lace. The aglets (or eiglets) are nice and long, for easy stringing. Really nice set.

 I also put this little set of books in my gift.

Other books sets I have ordered and now have on hand for Baptism Church Quiet Bags -

These (below) are all board books. I found them at used book stores and garage sales. These are in my bag (that I am keeping, now you know why I kept the big bag).

These first two are most definitely Catholic. 

Second set of two clearly Catholic also.

Patricia Pingry has some really excellent board books. These are not Catholic books (per se) but I really like what she does.

 These two are also not Catholic. Youngest went through them at the bookstore and said that there was nothing in them that was confusing, and we loved some of the pictures. So we were very pleased to add them to our little collection.

These are just sort of universal themes. And they 'go' with my Noah's Ark magnet set.  

I can see having several sets of themed stuff which is switched out regularly to keep the bag fresh and interesting. I would not load my bag with all of these things at the same time, but mix them regularly.





I have my eye on these last three magnet sets (below). I think they would be great additions. I am making note of them here. BUT I think they are too big to fit in the lunch size bags. They would have to go in the big bag. -

To give you an idea of the (larger) proportion of the bag I kept for myself -

These are the items I included in the Baptism gift this weekend, I just put them in the smaller lunch bag with the exact same picture. And there was plenty of room in that bag for a lot more things.

And two more items (below) I noticed. Not for my Church Bags, but as good gift ideas for small children for religious events.

Rosary

A nicer copy is here.

My card box

I looked back a couple years and did not see a picture of my card box posted. I can't remember what year I did this, so it might be a repeat.



We keep empty bins in the attic. I am talking about plastic storage bins with lids. Our life with bins changes. Sometimes bins are still good, but are no longer needed or have been replaced. I KEEP those outdated bins, because they almost always come in handy again.



My cards were stored in a bin, in no particular order up until a few years ago. Just piled in a bin. If you needed a card, you had to dig. Envelopes had gotten separated from their matching card. A mess.

One day I decided the "no order" part was really bugging me, probably after I bought a card only to discover later that I had one for the same occasion.



I would not say I use cards a lot. But I do use them on occasion.

I might have bought a storage bin to reorganize the cards, but I think I actually found the perfect one in the attic.

I also already had the hanging file folders.

I remember sitting upstairs, watching TV one night, sorting cards, finding matching envelopes, and making my box.

You can tell we are Catholic from this box. Of the seven sacraments, I have file folders for four.

Seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders.

Interesting fact - Last Rites has been replaced as Anointing of the Sick. I do have sympathy cards, but I didn't count that as part of my four.




Every card in the box is with its matching envelope. The envelope file has extra envelopes.



Everyone in my house now uses this file box. It lives in the cupboards in our computer room. Extremely handy.




If I buy a cards, in advance, for a specific person/event, I use a bulldog clip to attach it to the right page on my big calendar that hangs on the refrigerator. Right now there are two birthday cards there, for upcoming months.




I also bulldog clip tickets to calendar pages. We go to a lot of events. A lot of tickets come through this house. If anyone needs them, that is where they always are.

Kids' church bag and story of my paternal grandmother's purse

Added later - this is my follow up post with my own church quiet bag and the Baptism gift that followed.

We have sat in a pew in front of a desperate dad, with a grouchy toddler, and only one toy in the diaper bag which happened to jingle.

Last week we were at mass with our six year old who wrote notes, attached star stickers and passed them around (there were 7 of us in pew/together).

Neither one of those particularly bothered me. But I NOTICED.

I am collecting stuff for a Kids's church bag as I see it.

The rule on my bag is only one thing at a time. If you want the next great thing, have to put the first great thing away (no passing).

And all my things will be pretty silent.

And if they can be church related, that is preferred.

Board religious books (with great pictures, maybe no words) are the first thing to come to mind.

Other ideas please?




Story of my paternal gradmother's purse.

I remember my grandmother well. But actually I do not remember this "magical" aspect/fact about her purse (at all).

My mother has always said, very fondly, that my paternal grandmother could easily, quietly passify many children with her sort of magical purse.

My grandmother had a sixteen year spread between between the oldest and youngest of her own four children. And her first grandchild arrived when her own youngest was about 4-5. So I think she never got out of "mom thinking". Her head stayed in the game.

My mom said magical things would appear out of grandma's purse and be passed down the pew or across the table. Colored pencils, bits of fun paper. I am not sure what all. I do not think any of this would have been purchased for kids. I have a feeling she kept her eyes open and picked up samples and bits and simply stuck them in her purse.

My mom did not actually do a lot with kids. She really never got IN the game, so I can see how obvious things in a purse would seem magical to her (and normal to me as a child).

And if she was somewhere with a fussy child (and had nothing) and her MIL always had an answer in her purse, it would seem great.




To this day, and starting very, very young, my own kids ALWAYS bring things with them. A book, homework, earbuds/music/audio book, something.

I do not care for a fidgeting, bored kid. We are a busy family. Sometimes there is a wait or delay. Sometimes one thing leads to another. They all have learned to think ahead, bring a sweater, wear the right shoes, bring a water Kanteen and perhaps a snack, and something to do.

The religious medals project of 2014

As I was in my local bead store, sorting this religious medal project, an older woman came into the shop.

She looked at my pieces, all over the counter, and said it looked a lot like her mother's jewelry box.

She asked who was getting all the necklaces. I said three were for youngest, two were for me, one was  for middle. (It might be middle has other pieces with her at school that we will be redoing next week . . .)

Older woman (at the bead store) said she was going right home and digging out her mother's box. She said she could think of all kinds of girls, in her extended family, who would love to get necklaces like I was doing.



Jewelry 101 -
The more intricate chains (below) are from the bead store. They are all soldered chain. That means each link in the chain has been soldered shut. So, every link in those chains started as a jump ring with the ends pressed together and then was sealed/soldered. (I have no idea how they do it.)

Jump rings have the two ends pressed together, but are not sealed. When a charm is added to a bracelet it is added with a jump ring. I always have those jump rings soldered shut at the jewelry store so they do not come lose nor catch on clothing.

All three of us girls are (very) hard on jewelry. A very thin chain or a chain made of open jump rings is not going to make it with us.

(The other term in case you are trying to think of it is a split ring. A key ring is a split ring. The ring over laps on itself several times over so nothing can slip off of it.)

I buy lengths of soldered chain from the bead store. All the jump rings and lobster claw (clasps) below are sterling. After we put the necklaces together, I took them to the jewelry store to have every jump ring soldered. So the jump rings attaching the clasps are soldered, so are the jump rings attaching the crosses and medals. Everything is sealed.

If we add more items to these necklaces, I will just take them to the jewelry store, they have jump rings available.




Catholic Medals 101 -
A crucifix is a cross with Jesus on it. This is a very Catholic thing. (There are some Protestant churches that use crucifixes also, but not all.)

The plain, silver cross (below) is also Catholic, it actually came from the Vatican. The one in the picture is youngest's. I put it on a new chain. Middle has a cross just like this (from the Vatican), we might be replacing her chain after she sees youngest's .  .  .

The cross with the stones in it is also Catholic because it came from the Catholic bookstore at the Diocese.

Not all crosses are Catholic. All bibles are not Catholic either. I can't tell you which are and which aren't. My personal trick is to only buy from Catholic locations.

So if you don't know the difference and are buying for a Confirmation, First Communion, Baptism, Wedding or another Catholic occasion, buy from an actual Catholic store (not just a religious store) and then you will be sure.

Catholics tend to love holy medals. Not all Catholics, but many.

Many Catholic Schools and groups give medals to commemorate participation in events. Two of the medals on middle's necklace below were from school or diocese events.

The crucifix on youngest's necklace (below) was given to her for 8th grade graduation.

When you think of  holy medals worn as necklaces, it might be that the first one that comes to mind is St Christopher. I did not know, until I read the link, that St Christopher is no longer on the official calendar (of saint days). There was not enough documentation to determine he was real.

One common occasion for medals is Confirmation. Each person (usually, not always) picks a Confirmation Saint. This saint holds special meaning for the person, or is a source of inspiration. Middle and I both chose St Brigid of Ireland, because we feel very close to Ireland (potato famine immigrants). Youngest chose St Agnes. Her feast day is on youngest's birthday. Youngest did a report on her in 4th grade and has been attached to her ever since. Oldest's is Sebastian. Husband is trying to remember . . .



This project started because my very good RCIA sponsor gave me a St Brigid medal for confirmation.

I wanted it as a necklace with a cross.

So, I started digging out things we had, made a trip to the Diocese Bookstore, came home and hunted for more things.






This is what I ended up with for myself -

This is youngest's St Agnes medal (confirmation) with the cross she got for 8th grade graduation from the church/school -

This is middle's collection. She has not seen it yet. The cross is new to her. I got it (three actually) at the Diocese Bookstore. Two of her medals are from past activities (St Martin and St Vincent). St Brigid is her confirmation saint. The other Mary medal was a gift from a neighbor and was blessed (by a Dominican Priest) at an event in Washington DC. As the bead store lady was helping me with these, she loved this set for middle. Middle tends to like slightly off beat things and she definitely likes different, collections, on the same (soldered) chain.

This is also mine. Soldered chain from bead store. I love the blue -

This is youngest's Vatican Cross on a new (soldered) chain, it is a lovely, simple cross -

This is youngest's blue cross with a second Mary medal from the neighbor (blessed/Washington DC). They are on a soldered chain from the bead store. If you can't read it, it says "O Mary who was conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee" (that is not a typo, it is Mary who was conceived without sin, not Mary who conceived without sin) -