All Souls

After the candy and fun of Halloween came Mass and prayers for the dead and still more crafting.  I set up a little altar on my mantle where I put various trinkets and icons, to which I added this skull:

It's a papier mache skull which I painted white, and onto which I glued beads, medals, floral doohickeys, and so on.

I had a pair of skull earrings I've worn for years, getting lots of compliments and even a few sales of duplicate pairs, but I finally lost one of them.

The lonely little guy

I found in my stash another identical skull (just one; wonder what happened to that guy's mate) and made a new pair for myself, with glass flower beads this time:

The floral motif is more obvious, but they are heavier, too.

I made white chocolate skulls for Beadboy2's class Halloween party:

Buying ready-made frosting flowers is so much easier than trying to decorate them myself with gels and icings!  I just used a dab of melted chocolate to attach them.  They were a big hit.

St. Gertrude's prayer for the souls in purgatory:

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

Eternal Father, I offer you the Most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/11/02/5-ways-to-pray-for-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/#sthash.m7WWWxJF.dpuf