Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Today is the day that we're all Irish, right?  There are plenty of secular St. Patrick's Day coloring pages, snacks, and activities online (which we love as well!) so I'm going to focus on a few religious items I found to celebrate this awesome courageous role model.

Short bio:  He was kidnapped from Scotland and was a slave in Ireland.  He escaped years later, was reunited with his family, and became a priest.  He went BACK to Ireland to spread his faith.  Here's a better bio:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89
You can print their Fun Facts card here if you copy/paste it:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/fun_facts_arch.php?image=/saints/ff_images/42.jpg&si=89&s=St.%20Patrick

Coloring pages/lessons/activities:

Stained glass coloring page.  If you color with marker and then dab oil lightly (we've used cotton balls in the past) it will have a translucent look to it.  You can then tape on a window for the full effect.
http://sjtbre.org/docs/St.%20Patrick.pdf

http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/files/colorpatrick.pdf (coloring page)

http://www.free-macrame-patterns.com/celtic-cross.html (macrame Celtic Cross)

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/luck-of-the-straw-841010/  (St. Brigid's cross with raffia)

Wow, Celtic knot cookies:
http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2010/03/celtic-knot-cookies.html

Wooden painted doll (we made some St. Nicholas ones and the dc really enjoyed making them):
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61482390/saint-patrick-catholic-saint-doll-made

Paper bag puppet with some Linkys (the Linkys are a must-see also; love the simple idea of a green paper shamrock with symbols on each leaf for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit):
http://catholicicing.com/2011/03/saint-patrick-puppet-craft-and-linky/
http://catholicicing.com/2011/03/religious-shamrock-craft-for-st/

Doll makeover:
http://www.equippingcatholicfamilies.com/2011/03/st-patrick-ty-doll-makeover.html

Clover Cookies:
I have a 4-H four leaf clover cookie cutter that I could use to make roll-out cookies.  My dye-free food coloring may be too old but I'll try it in some frosting left over from dd's birthday cake to test it. (I put the bit of frosting in the freezer).





I am absolutely going to get these when I can (which may be a few years but it's going on my wishlist now :) ).  I think they would last much, much longer than the liquid colorings and would be fine for our small-scale needs (occasional birthday cakes and rare sweets):



They have single packs as well but they are about $10 apiece.  Ouch.  Worth it, though, to avoid fake dyes.  If you haven't seen how colored frosting from the bakery killed our grass, here's an old post with a picture (scroll down):
http://eclecticlvng.blogspot.com/2010/10/montessori-chemistry-works-part-2-ive.html