Custodians of Beauty

The floral rolling pin makes an appearance again! After testing it out on a rhubarb pie  I baked in the spring, I was eager to try it out a second time. I made shortbread cookies to bring to my family's thanksgiving dinner. To make the floral pattern stand out and be recognizable, I used basic circle and diamond shaped cutters... and I cut out a few turkeys, gobble gobble.  When rolling out the dough, I found it was tricky to keep it from tearing. I chilled the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling it out. Maybe it tore because it was too cold? I dunno. The cookies were eaten none the less.  Buttery and delicate, these cookies were delicious! No frosting or sprinkles needed. Tea and cookies, anyone? If there are any food safe paints out there for decorating, I would love to try them out on these cookies.  A spot of color here and there, maybe painting a flower or two on each cookie.  I found this charming tea...

St. Gianna Beretta Molla "The secret to happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day. "  - St. Gianna Molla

After pinning ideas for what seemed like months, I'm finally ready to start my first felt quiet book.  Honestly, the whole quiet book thing was intimidating. The books can get quite elaborate. The problem for me was narrowing down a theme. I've seen activity quiet books with intricate garden patterns, sorta like plant your own felt vegetables and pick felt apples. I've seen one with a chore theme. Hang your felt clothes on the line and bake an apple pie in a felt oven. Way too much assembly for my first go at this. I considered using hot glue to speed up the book building, but decided against it. Hot glued books can get lumpy and don't look as nice. I opted for sewing. It will take longer, but the end result will look fab.  The felt book that seemed the easiest was this fun  Animal ABC's book  from the blog Do Small Things with Love . I like the look of the simple animal shapes on bright colored felt. The way the book was held together looked pretty bas...

Respond, ye souls in endless rest,  ye patriarchs and prophets blest,  Alleluia! Alleluia!  Ye holy twelve, ye martyrs strong,  all saints triumphant, raise the song:  Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!  Hymn from "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" This year for All Saints Day I adorned our fireplace with votives and holy cards. I wove an autumnal leaf garland around a few white pillar candles and framed pictures. It was fun to mill through my tin of alphabetized holy cards (a homeschool project from 8th grade) and pick out my favorites. Didn't realize how many third class relics I have in my assortment; Venerable Fulton Sheen, St. Maria Goretti, Blessed Miguel Pro, and St. Padre Pio, to name a few. Coloring pages are the best. I found these wonderful (and free!) coloring pages online. I intend to make extra copies to save for next year.  This coloring page is from  Audrey Eclectic's website...