Cornflake slice and an introduction!

Hi! My name is Kelly and I'm a new contributor to this blog. My husband and I have four children and we have been homeschooling for 7 years. I thank you all for having me here and hope I can make some positive contributions! If you would like to know more about me you will find my blog here.

Mother in Law's recipes are great - these ladies who cooked on wood stoves (and my MIL still does) and fed the hungry hoards (my MIL had 10 little ones to feed) really knew what they were doing. We "modern" homemakers can learn so much from their ways. This recipe is from my Mum in law :)

125g butter

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup cornflakes

1 cup desicated coconut

Melt butter and honey together, add to mixed dry ingredients. Place in a shallow slice tin, press. Cook in moderate oven until golden brown (about 15 minutes) and leave in tin to cool. Turn out and cut into squares.

Easy?

Beautiful art images for the daily rosary

Photo: All Beautiful Catholic Beads

I shared this posting a couple of years ago but it has been a constant blessing to our lives using these images in the recitation of the family rosary, so I thought this would be great to share for the month of the Holy Rosary ~ October.

I had mentioned recently that we have been using beautiful images to use for reflection and meditation during our daily, family rosary. Images that I know will sink deeply into the hearts of my children for life, creating cherished, prayerful memories. I know this can happen as I remember as a child, being facinated with my mother's daily prayer book. She knelt by her bed every morning with this book. It was filled with holy cards with prayers on the back and using them, she would recite her prayers for the morning. Inside this book (which I think from memory, might have been a latin missal) there were the most beautiful images of the life of Our Lord and Our Lady, many were the were work of Danish artist, Carl Bloch and it explains why I love his work so much. With the use of so many of the world's greatest artists work, it's also an effective way to cultivate in children, the love and appreciation for the finest art in history.

I remember in Maria Von Trapp's autobiography Maria: My Own Story she shares a similar childhood memory:

"In these first years of my childhood, God entered my life for the first time in a very gentle and loving way. My foster mother was a deeply religious person, truly pious. Every morning she would go to church, many times taking me with her, and I remember how I often looked at her rather than at the altar. Her face radiated kindliness and the love of God.

At home she would sometimes take me on her lap in the evening and go through an illustrated Bible in large print. I am sure I would think the pictures atrocious now, but at that time they were a source of great happiness. I remember a child Jesus in a pink gown with yellow curls, His mother all dressed in blue. I couldn't get enough of it. And then at the gruesome pictures of our Lords' passion, my little heart welled up in pity and misery. Once my foster mother found me in a corner curled up over the Bible as I pierced the eyes of those bad men torturing our dear Lord - with a crochet hook."



We have been using these images on our TV screen, just below our altar, for a couple of months now and it has been a wonderful help to us all. I find if I am reciting the rosary out of the home, I now recall images I love in my head to assist in my meditation.

I am at the present moment, sitting the children down and stepping them through the images, folder by folder, encouraging them to look for the symbols and images in the paintings, explaining to them what they all mean (similar to what they do in one of the Seton homeschooling Art books). It has been a wonderful learning experience for us all.

I have purposely chosen images that visualize the invisible spiritual world around us. You could have a painting that has only Our Lord being baptized by St John the Baptist in the river Jordan, very simple and straightforward, but doesn't everyone want to see the heavens open up, the God the Father and the Holy Spirit surrounded by beautiful angels, the light pouring down upon baptism? Catholic paintings emphasize the reality of the spiritual in a wonderous way. Catholic symbolisim also speaks strongly to us, so it is great to see it in a painting.

So I have finally shared here at Starry Mantle my 20 images for each decade/mystery of the rosary (20 mysteries all up). You can click open each image and it will blow up to full size, which then can save. I have one master folder on the desktop called "Holy Rosary" when I click it open, there are four folders, "Rosary 1" "Rosary 2" etc. Each of these folders are structured the same, click one open and there are four more folders, "Joyful Mysteries 1" "Luminous Mysteries 1" etc. When I click open one of these folders, say the Joyful Mysteries 1 for example, you will find 5 folders, "Annunciation 1" "Visitation 1" etc.

When you click open one of these mysteries, there are the 5 images and the Irfanview slideshow for those 5 images. It is this Irfanview slideshow I click open to display on our large TV screen (which is attached to a computer) ~ the TV screen is directly under our large family altar. If your TV is not readily turned into a computer screen maybe you can think of a way of placing the images on a DVD disk as a slideshow? I'm sure there would be a way. For some people their computer is a laptop and could be placed near their altar for the recitation of the rosary, or plug a cord from their laptop into their main TV screen and use the screen as the computer.

So why so many images? We discovered years ago when we use to have images in folders for the children, it was good to rotate images in a way that they were seeing the same image once every 10 days or so. The other reason is.....do you realise just how many BEAUTIFUL Catholic old masters paintings there are?? It's a very hard job to short list with only 5 or 10 pictures.

The opening for the TV cabinet has wooden doors which we can close and lock at any time. So we open them up for the times we want to watch EWTN, say the rosary or watch a video.

For those who do not want to place the images on the computer during the recitation of the rosary, you can just print some of the images and place them in folders, one for each of the children in the family, this is what we have done in the past.

Below are all the postings for each mystery of the rosary. Each mystery contains the twenty images (in groups of five) of old master paintings we have chosen to use for our rosary.

(The links below will take you to my personal blog, Under Her Starry Mantle)

The Annunciation

~oOo~

The Visitation

~oOo~

The Nativity

~oOo~

The Presentation of the Child Jesus

~oOo~

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

~oOo~

The Baptism of Our Lord

~oOo~

The Wedding Feast in Cana

~oOo~

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God

~oOo~

The Transfiguration

~oOo~

The Institution of the Eucharist

~oOo~

The Agony in the Garden

~oOo~

The Scourging at the Pillar

~oOo~

The Crowning with Thorns

~oOo~

The Carrying of the Cross

~oOo~

The Crucifixion

~oOo~

The Resurrection

~oOo~

The Ascension

~oOo~

The Descent of the Holy Spirit

~oOo~

The Assumption

~oOo~

The Coronation of Our Lady

~oOo~

Little Girl's Apron Tutorial

Written by Kelly @ Embroidery and Design by Kelly Casanova

To fit approximately size 5, but is also multi fit.

Start with:

From main fabric -

11 x 7.5 " - Cut 2 (bodice)

45 x 13.5" - Cut 1 (skirt)

From contrasting fabric - 

25.5 x 3" - Cut 1 (waist band)

45 x 2.5" - Cut 1 (bottom of skirt)

24 x 3" - Cut 2 (waist ties)

22 x 2.5" - Cut 2 (neck ties)

*Please note that I refer to serging as overlocking throughout the tute (cos I'm Aussie!)

Take all the ties and press them in half. Open out, then press each long edge in 1/4 inch. Press one end in 1/4 inch also. Fold over in half again.

Topstitch down the length of both sides of each tie (including across the short edge you folded in) Overlock the short raw edges that you didn't fold in on each tie.

Pin the neck ties 1/2" in from the sides of one of the bodice pieces. Place the other bodice piece on top with right sides facing. Pin, then stitch around 3 sides, leaving the bottom open.

Turn right sides out and press. Topstitch around the 3 sides.

Take the skirt piece and the bottom skirt piece. Sew them together, right sides facing. Overlock the raw seams, then press open. Overlock the sides and bottom of the skirt also.

Run 2 lines of gathering stitches along the top of the skirt. Gather up until it is the same length as the waistband. Pin the waistband to the top of the skirt, right sides together.

Now take the bodice. Measure and mark the centre of the skirt and place the bodice in the centre, on top of the waistband which will be wrong side up. The bodice will be right sides facing with the skirt. Pin on and remove pins from underneath where you pinned on the waistband so that you don't sew over them!

Sew along the waistband and over the bodice from one edge of the skirt to the other. Overlock the raw seams.

Press. Now topstitch the top of the waistband to the bodice, sewing along the line you made previously. No need to topstitch the full length of the waistband, just at the bodice to attach them together.

Take the waist ties and sew to the edge of the waistband on each side.

Your apron now looks like this. The last step is to fold in the overlocked edges on each side of the skirt and topstitch. When you fold in the edges the ties will face outward and will be caught in the stitching. Add an extra short line of stitching to the tie to secure it more to the waistband if you wish.

Now fold up the hem and stitch.

Lastly, give it to a little girl and make her smile!

I hope you enjoy this tutorial and make lots of pretty little aprons. I'd love to see what you make :)

You can use this tute for personal use and to make aprons to sell, provided you acknowledge me, Kelly Casanova as the original author. 

I'd really appreciate you letting me know of any mistakes or improvements - I'm no expert at writing tutes!

Please visit Kelly's blog, Embroidery and Design by Kelly Casanova, to see more of her beautiful creations

How to Make a First Holy Communion Cake Big Enough for a Crowd

Written by Sue Elvis

Six year old Charlotte couldn't wait to receive her First Holy Communion. Everything had been arranged: she’d learnt her catechism, prepared for confession, tried on her white dress and veil. Only one more thing needed to be done: bake a celebratory cake.

Now there is nothing difficult about baking an ordinary sized cake, but what about baking a cake big enough to feed a crowd? Charlotte’s First Holy Communion took place at a homeschooling camp. There were thousands (really only a hundred or so!) children there. And all those children loved cake.

This is how we solved the huge cake problem:

I decided I would make a very simple cake using bought packet mixes.

I bought two large rectangular tins to bake the cakes in. (The kind used for roasting potatoes or chicken.)

I worked out how many packet mixes were needed for each large tin. To do this, I had to compare the capacity of one large tin to an ordinary sized cake tin, by filling the larger tin with water using the smaller tin as a measure.

I then decided how big a cake I wanted, using the large tin as my basic unit.

I can’t remember the exact measurements but let’s suppose…

One large tin equals 4 small cake tins…

And I wanted a cake 4 times the size of the large tin…

Then I had to buy 16 packet cake mixes.

Is this getting confusing? I feel like I'm doing a homeschoolers' maths problem…

I made up the cake mixes, poured them into the large tins and cooked them in the oven, two tins at a time.

I then wrapped each cooked-and-cooled cake in plastic wrap, and froze them until the day before the First Holy Communion.

Andy bought a large board from the hardware shop, and a packet of prepared white cake icing.

He designed some simple and appropriate decorations to go on top of the cake: a chalice, crosses, the Host… He drew them on baking paper and cut them out to make templates.

Andy then divided the icing into three pieces. One piece was coloured blue and one yellow, using food dyes. The third piece remained white. The icing was rolled out and the decorations were cut out using the paper templates. The decorations were then wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated.

On the morning of the First Holy Communion, we made up a large batch of simple butter icing: we creamed together softened butter and icing sugar to taste. (There are lots of recipes online.)

The thawed cakes were placed on the board. They were covered with the butter icing. The decorations were added to the top of the large cake. Voila! The cake was ready to be eaten after the First Holy Communion Mass.

Of course, if your cake doesn’t need to feed such a large number of people, and you want it to be very special, you could bake your cake from scratch. Here’s our favourite celebratory cake recipe.

You could also make a Confirmation cake the same way, using prepared icing Fruits-of-the-Holy-Spirit decorations. This is only a small cake but a larger rectangular cake could be made...

Or a baptism cake.

How about a simple wedding cake? This is the cake Imogen made for her big sister’s wedding. Each cupcake was decorated with silver balls and white icing flowers.

Charlotte’s First Holy Communion cake looked impressive. No one realised it was a packet mix cake. There was plenty for everyone. It was a great success. 

One very simple but delicious cake. And one very happy First Holy Communicant.

I blog at Sue Elvis Writes. Please visit to share more of my posts!

The Life I Dreamed

Written enthusiastically by Sue Elvis

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from my blogging friend Kari with the title Sharing my Joy… I knew Kari’s novel, The Life I Dreamed, had been published!

Kari and I both took the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge last November. We had to write a novel of 50 000 words in 30 days. Even before the month was over, we’d both reached our goal and were proclaimed NaNoWriMo winners. Then Kari did something I didn’t. She went on to edit and fine-tune her novel while mine is still sitting in a file on my computer waiting for attention…

Kari told me a little about the theme of her book and I couldn’t wait to read it. So as soon as Kari’s email arrived, I headed off to the Kindle store and purchased a copy.

This is the Amazon book description of Kari Burke’s The Life I Dreamed:

Motherhood is a gift.

Children are a blessing.

Marriage is a sacrament.

Emmy O’Brien knows all that. There was even a time she fought to promote those very values and beliefs. After having four children in rapid succession though, the demands of home and family have blurred her strong convictions. Tired, overwhelmed, and dissatisfied much of the time, she struggles each day to meet the needs of those around her. When her husband receives a phone call from a 16 year old girl, unexpectedly pregnant and suddenly homeless, Emmy’s world is turned upside down and she must now decide, are her old-fashioned values and beliefs still worth fighting for?

Doesn’t that sound worth reading? I couldn’t wait to begin.

From page one I was engrossed in the story of Emmy O’Brien. I won’t tell you the plot. There is enough of a hint in the Amazon description. Any more would just spoil the story for you. I will say all the characters are thoroughly believable. They came alive for me. I cared about what happened to them and so I kept clicking pages, not wanting to put my ereader down. How was the book going to end? It didn’t take me long to find out. I can’t share the ending of course! All I can tell you is this: I was left with a warm satisfied feeling. 

And now I am hoping Kari will write another novel!

Kari, November is not that far away. How about taking up another NaNoWriMo challenge?

I know I am useless at writing book reviews but I hope you sense my enthusiasm and excitement over Kari’s novel.

If you'd like to read an entertaining story with strong Catholic themes, please share Kari Burke’s novel ,The Life I Dreamed. It is available from Amazon as a paperback book or Kindle ebook.

And please visit Kari’s blog Overflow.


(I blog at Sue Elvis Writes)

Fulfilling a dream

 
         The "profile" on my blog starts out "Me? I am 'just' a mom."  And, for almost 14 years that is exactly how I have seen myself.  I am a mom.  I love being a mom and I love being home with my children.  I wouldn't change being "just a mom" for the world.  Still, there is one other thing I have always wanted to do in my lifetime.  I have always wanted to write a book.

           Last August, I stumbled upon a brief reference to novel writing and “NaNoWriMo” while reading a home school blog that I have never since visited and cannot even remember the name of.  Nevertheless, that old desire to write a book came rushing back to me.  I went straight to the website for NaNo and was intrigued by the idea of writing a novel in a month.
  

It was summertime though, months away from November, national novel writing month, (which, if you have not figured out is what NaNoWriMo refers to). I thought about it, and prayed about it and mulled the idea over in my mind.  Could I write a novel?  Could I do it in four short weeks?  And more importantly could I write a novel in a month and still manage my home, care for my 5 children, home school them -- you know, maintain a relative amount of real life responsibility at the same time?  

The whole idea sounded completely crazy!  But, I decided, now that I knew about it, there was no way I could not at least try.  And, I actually did have a story idea.  An idea I felt God had sent me.  I prayed and promised God this would be His project, not mine, and I let Him know He would have to guide it all.  

So for months I thought about plot lines, character names, and how to fit in novel writing between cooking dinner and folding laundry.  Over and over, I reminded God I would need His help if this was to be and asked again and again for His guidance and reassurance. 

I did not write down one single word of my story before November lest I break a NaNo rule and render my novel illegitimate.  But very early on the 1^st of November, I finally sat down to write, competing with my two oldest children for computer time because they, too, chose to participate in NaNoWriMo and had stories to compose as well.

Three weeks into the month, I reached the goal of 50,000 words.  By month’s end, I finished the entire story- beginning, middle, and end.  

Then, the real work began….editing, editing, editing.  Rewriting, reworking, revising.  But, God answered my prayers and so many things fell into place.  Along the way, I have been blessed with the support and assistance of many wonderful professionals and friends.  Through the grace of God (and the help of a friend), I was put in touch with a professional copy editor who agreed to edit my story.  Later, a friend who is a brilliant graphic designer, agreed to design my cover.  Perhaps the most valuable thing I received, though, was the support of my wonderful family who allowed me the time to work, believed in me even when I doubted myself, and enthusiastically cheered me on every step of the way.  

And now, I can say  

I am truly an author!

My novel, The Life I Dreamed, can be found here in paperback, and here in Kindle edition.

I do not want to give anything away, but I will say my book is a pro-life novel about a young Catholic family who is trying to do what is right and follow God's plan for their life.

North Coast Catholic Homeschool Camp

For many Catholic Home Educating families in Australia homeschool camps are an integral part of our lives.  Lifelong friendships are formed, isolation is eased, support is given. This year our family will be attending (and hosting) the North Coast Catholic Homeschool camp for our 12th year!  Excitement is building in our home, our children are asking, "what activities are we doing this year, who is coming? Will my friends from last year be there, will we have new friends?"

We warmly invite you to consider joining us for our 12th year!:) we still have a few cabins available.  Held on the 10-14th September we are located at  Lennox Head (Lismore Diocese), near the Gold Coast. Two hours south of Brisbane, nine hours north of Sydney.
At the core of our week is our shared Catholic Faith, our day begins with Mass, ends with the Rosary and Benediction and is woven throughout with Spiritual Talks and the opportunity for Confession.
This year Fr John Rizzo (FSSP) will be our Camp Chaplain.



On the Tuesday Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett (Lismore diocese) celebrates Mass offering the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

 It will be a wonderful week of making, renewing and building friendships. Impromptu games of soccer, dancing, fun and laughter into the night are our 'stock in trade.'  Icebreaking games at the beginning and a time for parents to share ensures we all get to know one another.


Every day we enjoy swimming at one of the beautiful nearby beaches, we also enjoy a sand castle building contest, 




each year we hold a sports day, 






a concert and on the final night we have a grand finale with a bonfire.


If you are interested please don't hesitate to contact Erin with further questions or for a brochure with more details at
aussiethreads@gmail.com.  We'd love to have you join us:)