Sunday, June 3, 2012

18. Catholic Design

Everyone (That has the utilities, space, and supplies) likes to make their room reflect who they are. Sometimes people put a picture of them and some friends on the wall and call it a day. Some go all out, with posters and photos, chairs, rugs and wall ornaments.

So when I had my reversion, naturally I wanted to change my room a little to reflect who I had become and to inspire me when I need inspiration. So I started looking online for some ideas on how to decorate a Catholic house - I had decided that once I found that, I could down-scale it a little and just do my room.

And what did I find?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing that I could do. Some sites said to use holy water fonts (I don't have one, nor do I have a holy-water-well in my backyard...), or to hang rosaries on your wall, or to add a picture of Mary. This was not exactly what I was looking for. And no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find any great ideas for my room. So I did it on my own.

I have taken pictures of what I did for my own little space, and I have decided to share them with you. I hope these give you some ideas, and some inspiration to redecorate your home. :)


Okay, so this was my sewing table (because at one point in my life, I wanted to learn how to sew), but I now use it as my little prayer table. On it you will find my old Children's Bible, a glass bottle with some palms in it, a box with a rosary, prayer/devotional cards, a candle that I never light, a poster I bought in Spain, a picture I printed out and framed of the two Hearts, and a jar with verses in it.

This is the jar with the verses in it. What I thought of was this - I would scour the internet and read the Bible to find some great inspirational Bible verses. I took them down in a notebook and typed them up (I'm still adding to the list. It's HUGE!). I printed them out and cut them out individually and folded them up. They sit in the jar, and whenever I'm feeling down or whenever I need inspiration, I go and pick a verse out of the jar and look it up. It's a great way to get inspired, and it looks cool!

Here's a sample verse, surrounded by the rosary that's in the box:



These are my cards. Some are from a retreat I went to, from Graduation, from a Church in Spain, and some are just random cards that I found in my parish...



This is a picture of the glass bottle, palms, rosary box, and a drawing I did. The glass bottle is significant to me because I got it at a Flamenco show in Spain :) The palms are also from Spain - they were tied to a tree by the beach and I took them. I don't know if they're blessed or not, but I thought that they'd be nice for my little corner :) The box with the rosary in it is a gift from my sponsor for Confirmation, and the drawing is of St. Therese (in black and white, though) with the bible verse Proverbs 31:30 around it.

This is the wall above my table. It's still in progress, but it's coming along nicely...
At the top there is a rosary that I made myself (Probably in the 5th grade) and next to it is a picture that I printed and framed of Our Lady. Below that is a picture of Jesus, and a ceramic angel from a set that I found while going through my closet. Under that, there is a palm that my dad tied into a cross, there are two more angels, and there's a rosary hanging on the wall. I have had this rosary since before I can remember... 
The cross in the middle is significant to me, and the photo on the bottom right is a print out of an icon of Jesus.


My wall, closer up...

This is the crucifix that hangs on my wall. Draped over it, you will see an extremely long rosary. The story behind this is actually kind of silly. I was in Spain (of course. I got most of my Catholic decor from that beautiful country <3). I was in the famous Plaza Mayor. In the Plaza, people sell little trinkets, medals, keys and antiques. When I had arrived in Spain I had made up my mind that I would not leave without a rosary from Spain. So when I saw this rosary coiled up on a table, I decided that I had to have it. As a newly passionate Catholic, it didn't cross my mind to question how many decades were in this particular rosary. So I hurried up and paid the small price, and walked off happily with a Spanish rosary in my bag. When I got to the hotel later that night, I decided to look at it some more and maybe pray a bit. When I took it out of my bag, however, I realized, 'hey, this is kinda long for a rosary...' I decided to count the decades. To my amazement, there were fifteen - fifteen - decades in this rosary. 



The crucifix from my extremely long rosary hanging over a candle that reads, "Hope Faith Love." (Got it during the Christmas season at CVS)

Next to my table I have this cute little zebra-striped box that holds a ton of my paper stuff. This is what you see when you open it...

And digging further, you find...


The booklet from the retreat that I went to in July...

Print-outs about faith, God and evangelizing. Mostly for answering those difficult questions that atheists ask me, and even those questions that I sometimes have too... If you want, I can include a link to where I got them in a later post.... 

MOVING ON...

More of my simple artwork...

a pamphlet about the "Seven Daily Habits" (that I probably should be doing), a devotion book from Lent that I don't want to throw away, and more reading materials. :)

SO! I hope this helped you out, gave you some ideas, and maybe inspired you to create your own little space, and to make your room a reflection of who you are! :)

I hope you enjoyed reading this and looking at the pictures! Have a great week, and don't forget to comment and share!

{doGtoGevI}

God Bless!!

~Kylie~

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