He Is Risen Centerpiece

My sister-in-law sent me a photo a couple of years ago of a clever “empty tomb” centerpiece, and I made one for our home last year, and again this year. I love that it’s such a perfect visual for the kids to understand what the tomb looked like and how the stone was rolled away. Here’s my “how-to” from last year’s post:Tomb-Centerpiece

To make it, I used a table-top fountain I already had, since the purple pottery bowl looks amazing for an Easter table. The one my sister-in-law saw was made in a large pottery plant saucer.  I actually tried to buy one of those, but the garden centers here are still buried in snow and there’s no pottery to be found. Happily, I spied the fountain and realized it would work.

Anyway, I took the fountain parts out, leaving the bowl almost full of small river rock gravel.  I half-buried a clear plastic punch cup in the gravel and arranged large rocks from the fountain around it.  I covered the whole thing with green Spanish moss (from the floral crafts department at Walmart) to represent a hill.Tomb-Cup

Tomb-Grass

To make the crosses, one of the kids chose twigs from the yard (fortunately there were a few sticking out of the snowbanks) and I bound them together with some fancy yarn. Then we could stick them through the moss and into the gravel so they were pretty secure.

Once I figured out I could use the rocks and bowl from the fountain, this project took us about half an hour to complete.  Until I saw those rocks in the fountain, I was stymied as to how I could find appropriate rocks under the foot and a half of snow we still have in the flowerbeds.

It’s been a tremendous source of conversation as the kids see it each evening, which makes it simple to emphasize the true meaning and discussion of the events of Easter.

Speaking of Easter, here’s a little Princess Thundercloud story to brighten your day.  At Mass this weekend, during the Sign of Peace, I turned to exchange Peace with my husband first, as I always do.  Apparently she forgot that we shake the kids’ hand after that, as I heard her exclaim, “Mama, I’m tryin’ to give you your piece of the Lord!”  After she offered pieces of the Lord to all those around us, they all wished me extra peace. Heaven knows I need it!

Signature

About Megan

My various hats: mom to three crazy teens and one quirky dog, wife of 27 years to my retired GI Joe, and high school math teacher. After my husband's retirement from the Army, we've settled in the Pacific Northwest. Crafting, cooking, photography, and reading keep me sane (that's a relative term!) and I hope you'll enjoy following along as I navigate the chaos of life!
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5 Responses to He Is Risen Centerpiece

  1. Stephanie A. says:

    LOVE IT!! God wanted me to see this today. This will be my display for the Chrism Mass luncheon Tuesday. (Don’t tell anyone, Anne)

  2. Stephanie A. says:

    Megan, I made my version for the Chrism Mass luncheon and everyone loved it! I gave you all the credit. I had a perfect basin, I found the rocks around the grounds at work, as well as the twigs. I had yarn in my purse (imagine that!). I couldn’t find that spanish moss at work so I used something that only a cook might think of: Parsley. We were having our Seder meal at school the next day so I happened to have an abundance of parsley! It turned out wonderfully. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your awesome ideas! Oh, and they wanted to use it as display in front of the over-flow alter for Mass on Sunday.

  3. Stephanie A. says:

    Happy Easter! Blessings!

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