Friday, October 26, 2012

The 2012 Saint-O-Lantern Link Up!


Since 2009 we have been hosting an annual Saint-O-Lantern Link Up here at Catholic Cuisine.  With All Hallows' Eve and All Saints' Day coming up next week, it's time for the 2012 Link Up!

Our family will be heading to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend to choose our pumpkins to carve as "Saint-O-Lanterns" like we have done every year.  You can scroll through all of our past pumpkins from 2006 and on over at Shower of Roses.  We always have so much fun and it is such a wonderful opportunity to tie in our Catholic Faith!

In addition to all the pictures and links which can be found in the archives, here are some themes, and links to templates found online, to help get you started with creating your own "Saint-O-Lanterns" this year:

.: Saintly Symbols :.


Have you all noticed yet how much we love incorporating Catholic symbolism, especially symbols of the saints?  Last year my children all decided to carve pumpkins in honor of their Patron Saints!

You can find the links to images and templates for the carvings above (St. James Cross, Flaming Sword for St. Michael the Archangel, Chalice and Serpent for St. John the Apostle, Rose for St. Therese, Heart and Crown for St. Catherine of Alexandria, and Chalice for St. Clare)  over at Shower of Roses.

How about this beautiful Celtic Cross for St. Patrick, a Knight for St. George, a Bird for St. Francis... and so much more!  Do some research to find out more about the symbols for your favorite saint (Illuminated Ink, CHC and Fisheaters are all great places to start), search for inspiration through google images, and be sure to share the results!

.: My Catholic Faith :.

 

In addition to the saints, there is so much to choose from for inspiration when it comes to our Catholic Faith in general!   I've shared our  IHS Symbol (link to template) in the past.  Other ideas include images of Jesus, The Apostles, various events from the Life of Christ including The Crucifixion,  NativityLet the Children Come Unto MeThe Last SupperGethsemane, Bible stories including Noah's Ark, images the represent the sacraments, this White Dove and so much more!

A few of my new favorite (beginner) templates this year include the free templates of a Church, the Alpha Omega, and the Trinity from Squidoo!  I also really love this image of a child praying. So pretty!


But don't limit yourself... Sometimes the most unique pumpkins are created without the use of a template!



.: Our Lady and the Rosary :.


The month of October is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary.   A pumpkin carved with a rosary or in honor of Our Lady would be most appropriate!  The pumpkin of Our Lady of Guadalupe above was carved by a friend of mine's daughter.   You could carve one of many images of Our Lady, or even just a rosary circling the pumpkin.

If you'd rather pull out paints, instead of carving knives, Tiffany has a lovely tutorial for making a Rosary/Pumpkin Centerpiece for this month!


.: Pro-Life :.


October is also Respect Life Month! How about carving a Pro-Life Pumpkin?  Our family has used the free template from American Life League a couple times.  The results are always beautiful and inspiring!  Additional Inspiration can be found in this photo album on the American Life League Facebook Page.

Raising {&Teaching} Little Saints also has created 4 additional free Pro-Life Pumpkin Templates that can be downloaded here based on designs she has seen online, including the beautiful pumpkin carved by C & S Nicholas for our 2009 link up!


.: One Nation Under God :.


With the upcoming Election, how about carving the "One Nation Under God" like my son carved in 2009?  We purchased the template for this carving from The Pumpkin Lady, adding a halo to Jesus.


Additional Links for Religious Pumpkin Templates found on these websites:

Other ideas for celebrating the feast of All Saints can be found over at Shower of Roses (scroll down to the bottom of post), as well as in the archives under the labels for All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

If you carve a Saint-O-Lantern this year, we'd love to see it!

To Add Your Post:

1. Create a post about your Saint-O-Lanterns.
2. Using the Mr. Linky below, enter the exact link to your post.
3. Link your post back to this post. (Please feel free to include the Saint-O-Lantern Button!)
4. Be sure to visit the links and check out everyone's Saint-O-Lanterns!
5. The linky will be open through November 6th.
6.  If you would like to share a picture but do not have a blog, please email it to catholiccuisine[at]gmail[dot]com or post it on our Facebook Page.  


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3 comments:

  1. Jessica,

    Oopsie. It's my first time using Mr. Linky and I believe I goofed up and linked to my "draft" version of my Saint-O-Lantern link up . Would you mind terribly deleting my link? It's labeled "Andrea." I'll try again later. Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  2. No problem, go ahead and add it again when you have a chance! Happy All Saints Day!

    ReplyDelete