Since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, and my kids are all old enough now to grasp the concept, I wanted to make a Crown of Thorns to help us to observe Lent this year. When I explained the idea to them, they all seemed eager to participate. The plan is that each time they do a good deed during Lent, they remove a thorn from the crown. I’m hoping it will prove a good way to get them to think about their actions a little more than they usually do.
The supplies for this are simple…a grapevine wreath (I found mine at the dollar store), some toothpicks, and some wood stain or ink refills to color the toothpicks. I put a few drops of Early Espresso reinker in a ziptop bag with a couple of tablespoons of rubbing alcohol, dropped in the toothpicks and made sure they were all soaking up the color, and let it sit for an hour or so. Then I just took the toothpicks out and let them dry on a couple of layers of paper towel overnight.
Once the toothpicks were dry, all I had to do was randomly stick them into the wreath. Ours is on a rustic wood-slice pedestal in the middle of the dining room table, so we see it everyday. I think I’ll be able to save the wreath and toothpicks to use year after year, too, so that’s a bonus!
This is a wonderful idea! I want to see the wreath on Easter.
I’ll be sure to take a pic, Mom! I remember Anne did this with a crown made of salt dough when her kids were little. So far they’re looking for ways to be helpful, so that’s good!