As I mentioned previously, the theme for our First Friday gathering this month was Stations of the Cross. While the little people were busy with their activities the older children made these Stations of the Cross grottos. Lent is naturally the time we think about the Stations, but many people include them in their weekly Friday devotions year round, and some even daily, particularly during the three o'clock hour. I thought having a set of stations at home, whether on the family altar just for Lent or hung throughout the house, would facilitate and encourage this devotion of meditating on Our Lord's passion.
Making fourteen of anything may seem like a lot to do, but by having the children work together each family was able to complete a whole set. There was even one girl there without the rest of her family as they were ill, and everyone helped her to make a set to bring home to her family.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the craft and certainly felt a great sense of accomplishment when they were finished!
For each set of stations you need a set of Stations pictures. I used the cards generously shared by The Bookworm on her Liturgical Boxes page: Stations of the Cross Cards . I printed them out on cardstock.
Also needed are:
- wooden craft (popsicle) sticks - approximately 364 per set. I bought the economical boxes of 1000, though they have a few 'duds' that are bent or warped and unsuitable to use.
- jumbo wooden craft sticks (tongue blades), 28 per set. Cut these to four inch lengths. I used a pair of kitchen shears and they cut quite easily - just go slowly.
- small decorative pebbles from the craft shop. I got these tiny ones at Michael's.
- Tacky glue. I bought the good stuff as it sets up much quicker than regular glue making it much easier to work with. Also, I thought it would be better for holding the stones.
- 14 small wooden crosses as seen here: Lara's 1 1/2" laser cut wooden crosses. I found these at Michael's as well, and at eight for about a dollar they seemed very reasonable.
Step-by-step directions and pictures follow. I also have the instructions as a pdf file for download, as I had several copies of them printed out for our group: Download Stations of the Cross Grottos
1. Lay out 12 popsicle sticks together in a row. Apply glue to four sticks and place them perpendicularly to hold them together. Let dry a bit:
2. Add another stick horizontally to the top, going across the four. This will make a hanger so you can hang them on the wall if you wish:
3. Glue roof pieces (tongue blades cut to four inches) together at an angle, squaring up the edges. Let dry a bit:
4. Flip over your flat board you made in step one. Cut out the pictures, removing the label and leaving a white margin. Center picture left to right; vertically, the picture should be placed so the bottom of the colored picture is about one popsicle stick width from the bottom. You do not need to put glue on the picture as you don’t want it to ripple – the sticks will hold it in place.
5. Add a horizontal stick at the bottom and three at the top. All the white of the paper should be covered. Glue the three sticks in place:
6. Arrange two sticks vertically on either side of picture, covering all the white of the paper. Glue in place:
7. Glue one more horizontal stick in place at the top:
8. Take the pointed piece that you made out of the tongue blades and position it at the top. You want the open triangle to be small enough to be mostly covered with the title piece. When you are sure it is in the right spot, glue it in place using a generous amount of glue. Press down on it until it is set.
9. Glue on label.
10. Glue cross at the top. 11. Working on a paper plate, add glue and decorate with pebbles. Apply the glue very generously, making sure you have all areas covered as it is very difficult to try to add more glue and pebbles if you’ve missed spots (but try not to get glue on the picture). Press the pebbles into the glue firmly, and then shake off excess onto the paper plate, just like sprinkling cookies.
12. Place on a paper plate to dry so that the rim of the plate is supporting the cross. Keep pressing on the bottom of the ‘roof’ pieces occasionally so it dries flat.
We put ours in a basket to take them to church to have Father bless them. Michael had the foresight to tilt them forward in the basket so the holy water wouldn't get on the pictures and make the ink run. :-)
It was also Michael's idea to place them throughout the house so we could walk through the rooms meditating on the Via Crucis.
