Jesse Tree cont.

So here is my Jesse tree setup.  Actually I used three little trees that I picked up from my mom in her massive Christmas decor downsizing.  I think she got them from Hobby Lobby.

As you can see I put a bit of a woodland theme spin on it.  The felt mushrooms were a quick addition...

This is a reindeer my husband made when he was kid- he never wants to pull it out with the Christmas decorations, but I think he is super cute.  So he is living in our little woodland tableau...

 Each Jesse tree ornament is wrapped in it's own lidded box.  I wrapped the lid and the bottom separately so the kids don't actually unwrap any of the boxes, they just slip off the ribbon and open the box.  That way we can reuse all the boxes again next year. 

We've been reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible for as many of the ornaments as we can. 

Here's the list of the readings we are using:

Day 1: World - "The beginning" p. 18

Day 2: Apple & snake - "The horrible lie" p. 28

Day 3: Arc & rainbow - "A new beginning" p.38

Day 4: Camel & tent - "Son of laughter" p. 56

Day 5: Lamb - "The present" p. 62

Day 7: Colorful coat - "The forgiving prince" p. 76

Day 8: Ten Commandments - "Ten way to be perfect" p. 100

Day 11: Slingshot - "The young hero and the horrible giant" p.122

Day 15: Crown & dove - "Operation 'No More Tears'" p. 144

Day16: Sheppard crook - "The Good Sheppard" p. 130

Day 17: The Cross - "Operation 'No More Tears'" p. 144

Day 20: Fiery furnace - "Daniel and the scary sleepover" p. 152

Day 21: Brick wall - "Get ready!" p. 170

Day 24: Angel - "The Light of the whole world" p. 184

Day 25: Nativity - "He's here!" p. 176

 

Felt Jesse Tree Ornaments Continued

So here are the rest of my Jesse Tree ornaments.  Overall I like the way they turned out, though there are a couple I might change out in years to come.  For now these will do just fine.  I've included verses to read with each ornament that I have found online.  I haven't read through each day's verses yet, so I don't know if we will follow these verses exactly.  For example last night was day three for us, Noah's arc and the rainbow.  We read the story of the arc from our Jesus Storybook Bible instead of regular scripture.  I think I'll try to use that version when we can for better understanding.

Still to come... our Jesse Tree(s) setup- trees, boxes, etc.

 

 Day 7: Coat of Many Colors - symbolizes Joseph - read Genesis 37:3-4, 12-24, 28

 Day 8: The Ten Commandments - symbolizes Moses - read Deuteronomy 5:1-22

 Day 9: Grapes - symbolizes the Promised Land/Canaan - read Genesis 17:7-8, Numbers 13:1-2, 17-18, 20, 23, 27

 Day 10: Sheaf of wheat - symbolizes Ruth - read Ruth 1:15-2:3

 Day 11: Slingshot - symbolizes David - read 1Samuel 16:14-23; 17:12-51

Day 12: Scroll - symbolizes God's forgotten scroll - read 2Kings 22:2, 23:1-3

 Day 13: Stump - symbolizes shoot from Jesse - read Isaiah 11:6-10 

Day 14: The Lion and the Lamb - symbolizes the New Creation - read Isaiah 11:6-10 

 Day 15: Crown - symbolizes Prince of Peace - read Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

 Day 16: Shepard's crook - The Good Shepard - read Ezekial 34:2b, 4-5, 10-12, 15a, 16a, 23-24

Day 17: The Cross - symbolizes the Suffering Servant - read Isaiah 53:4-7, 9, 12b

 Day 18: Heart - symbolizes The New Covenant - read Jeremiah 31:31-33, Hebrews 9:13-15

Day 19: City - symbolizes Bethlehem - read Micah 5:1-5a, Luke 2:4-7

Day 20: the Firey Furnace - symbolizes exile and persecution - read 2Kings 17:23, Daniel 3:19, 21, 28

Day 21: Brick Wall - symbolizes return to Jerusalem/ prep for Messiah - read Nehemiah 1:3, 2:18, 6:15-16, Revelation 21:10-14

Day 22: Star- symbolizes Jesus/ star that lead the Magi - read Numbers 24:17-19a, Matthew 2:1-6, 9-11

Day 23: Candle - symbolizes the Light of the World - read Psalm 27:1-3, John 1:9, 8:12

Day 24: Angle - proclaimed miraculous birth - read Matthew 1:20-25, Luke 1:26-38, 

 Day 25: The Nativity - symbolizes the birth of Christ - read Luke 2: 1-21

Felt Jesse Tree Ornaments

Last year my friend Mandy posted her beautiful set of Jesse tree ornaments on her blog, Everything Beautiful.  They are truly gorgeous, don't you think?  This year in my continual attempt to bring more meaning into Christmas I shamelessly copied her ornaments for our own little Jesse tree.  I thought briefly about trying to come up with my own Advent tree curriculum and ornaments, but it made my head hurt.  Thanks to an early Thanksgiving I had a whole week to whip these up, and now on December 1st I am almost done. 

Here's my version of the first six...

Day 1: The World - symbolizes Creation - read Genesis 1

Day 2: Apple and Snake - symbolizes the Fall - read Genesis 3

 Day 3: The Arc and the Rainbow - symbolizes Noah - read Genesis 6:9-8:22

 Day 4: The Camel and the Tent - symbolizes Abraham - read Genesis 12:1-7

Day 5:  The Lamb - symbolizes Isaac - read Genesis 22:1-18

Day 6: The Ladder - symbolizes Jacob - read Genesis 28:10-22

 

I will post the rest after I finish them up, hopefully soon! 

 

In reading a bit about Jesse Tree/ Advent traditions on the Internet I found that the Jesse Tree is actually an older tradition and there are a lot of variations of the theme of following the lineage of Jesus through out Advent. 

Little Guys Christmas Ties

These are the ties that I made for I and M last year.  I'm thinking they might still fit and they can wear them again this year.  I think this is the pattern I used, but it's been so long I could be mistaken.  For M's tie I remember cutting the pattern down just a little bit to fit him better.  My oldest had just turned six and M was almost 1.5 at the time.  M might have worn his for Easter, too, but I's looks very Christmas-y.  Maybe you could use something like this if your little guy has a formal date for Valentine's Day!

 

 

Cathcing Up & Felt Tea Set

I'm trying to catch up on a year of craftiness now that my computer is "well" again.  It's been so long since I've posted here that I've forgotten about projects I've done- like this one.  I made this felt tea set for my niece for Christmas last year.  Four little teas cookies, a couple of lemon slices, and four tea bags.  Yummy!

 

 

The gift included this plastic tea set made from recycled milk jugs.

Felt Christmas Stockings

I've been a busy little elf working on products to sell at Sprout this season.  I just dropped off more Christmas stockings.  If you are a Durango local stop by to check it out!

Christmas Crayon Roll

I made several of these crayon rolls for the craft fair. Isn't it cute? I want to put this one in my daughter's stocking- I'm just trying to figure out how to convince her it's from Santa and not Mommy! I think it'll be great for coloring in the car during our road trip after Christmas.

I looked at several tutorials online... I like this one from Skip to my Lou. This one from V and Co. is very clever with the hair elastic and button as a closure. As you can see I used a ribbon to tie it up, and I skipped any flannel lining or interfacing. I used this fabric from Hobby Lobby. I LOVE it! Owls plus Christmas-too much fun!