Palm Sunday
/This Sunday is the first day of Holy Week, Palm Sunday. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, our local church group is hosting a Palm Sunday Event for anyone who wishes to come. This program will feature 13 vignettes from the last week of the Savior’s life. I was asked to help come up with the design and fabrication of the sets, creating many additional props, and the use of my costume collection to dress 35 people throughout each vignette. I had about six weeks to make all this come to fruition and it’s taken a village in addition to more miracles than I can count, but it’s going to be amazing! We are surrounded by SO many talented people who take their relationship with the Lord seriously! They have the desire to serve Him using their talents and abilities. I can’t wait to show you how these good people used their time and talents to create the sets that will bring the last week of the Savior’s life a visual reality.
I wanted to highlight one of the projects I worked on last week. We were looking to make two 24” wreaths to be hung on the double doors going into the chapel for the short culminating choir program and talk from our stake president. We are trying to pull this event off on a shoestring budget, and wreaths of this size are not cheap. This is where one of those miracles came into place. I was asked if I could use a five-gallon bucket filled with fresh cut pussy willow branches. These branches were massive and taller than me! At first, I said no because I couldn’t think of what I would use them for. But then the thought came to form them into my 24” wreaths! And the best part is they were free!
I needed a large round container with straight sides. In talking to Ron about my dilemma, he suggested using one of my old, galvanized wash tubs! Brilliant! It worked perfectly! I divided the branches into two equal halves and began wrestling them into the circular tub one branch at a time. If you didn’t know this, in order for the fuzzy catkins to stay securely on the branches, you should never place the branches in water after they have been cut. Luckily, the wonderful woman who cut them, knew this and I received them in a five-gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom. No water at all. You’ll always have a few that fall off, but they are easily hot glued back into place. Items made from these branches will last for years!
My original desire was to weave them good enough not to have to use twine to tie them together. The stems were so thick and stubborn, I had no choice but to tie them in places around the wreaths.
It didn’t look as bad as I thought, making sure both were as close to the same diameter as possible as they will be hanging on a set of double doors. I set them aside to dry and started working on the design for the printed banner.
This was a challenge as I had to Google how to make the software for my Cameo Silhouette machine, print on a 12” x 24” wide piece of watercolor paper. It took a few tries, but I finally figured it out after a few failed attempts. My printer will print on paper this size, but I had to carefully hand-feed it through the rear paper feeder. The first time through on the Best quality print setting still wasn’t as dark and bold as I wanted it to be.
So I ran it through one more time, and it came out perfectly! Then I hand-cut each banner. Also, I did a horizontal mirror image of the first banner shape so they would angle in opposite directions on each wreath.
The span across the open center of the wreath made the banners droop. The solution was to glue a 5-gallon wooden paint stick stirrer across the back of each watercolor paper banner. This gave it the stability it needed without sagging in the middle. Then I hot glued them to the wreath. I ordered most of my creamy white ribbons from Amazon, some came from May Arts, and some I just had.
I love how the ribbon bundles turned out!
The wreaths will hang from 3” wide ribbon strips attached to upside-down clear command hooks at the top of the back of each door. The buttons on the hanging ribbon are antique Mississippi River clam shells from Muscatine, Iowa, over 175 years old!
I can’t wait to hang these up and see the finished product. I’ve learned a lot of new things as I’ve worked through each special project for this event. God is in the details and wants us to feel of His LIGHT! I have enjoyed working on this even though I will be ready for a big, long nap next week. We’ll see if that actually transpires. I will have a lot to do after this is over. 35 costumes to launder and put back into storage, not to mention all the sets, props, florals and trees. I’m going to take it slowly and be sure to enjoy each day of Holy Week! Easter is filled with LIGHT! And my favorite holiday of the year. I am grateful for the sacrifice our Savior made for us, that we might live with Him again in the eternities!
My wish for you this week, is to prepare yourself, your family, and your home even in some small way for Holy Week, beginning this Sunday – Palm Sunday! You could make a banner with the words “He Is Risen”. You could buy an Easter Lily. You could order a lovely print to display in your home of the Savior. I found some lovely ones from “Light Your Home”. They are offering 20% off right now with the code “EASTER20”.
I ordered this one for our home, as well as a monthly subscription for each of our three kids. They will receive this frame, and a new print to put in it every month for a year. I love surrounding myself with beautiful artwork, especially when the focus is on Jesus. We can all use a little more Jesus in our lives!
Have a wonderful week as you prepare for Holy Week!
Love Ya, Les 😊