Season Shelf :: Midsummer & St John’s Tide

Kelli Ann Wilson season shelf, summer 0 Comment

I’m a little late updating this shelf, but we’ve passed the solstice and it’s officially summer!

We just got back from a lovely week spent in Lubec, Maine. We visit Lubec several times a year, so I had to include the town’s famous West Quoddy lighthouse. For this replica, I gave a 5.5″ unfinished wood lighthouse (from Casey’s Wood Products) its signature red and white stripes with acrylic paint.

Midsummer / St John’s always makes me think of bonfires, so I made a bonfire candle holder for my little dolls to enjoy. I hot glued sticks to an empty glass jar and added flames with tissue paper and Mod Podge.

Art cards, from top, are “Juli” by Ruth Elsässer; “Sommer” by Eva-Maria Ott-Heidmann; midsummer deer card by Hearthstone Fables; and “St John the Baptist” by David Newbatt.

St John's Tide season shelf - 1 St John's Tide season shelf - 2 St John's Tide season shelf - 3 St John's Tide season shelf - 4 St John's Tide season shelf - 5 St John's Tide season shelf - 6

Season Shelf :: Early Spring

Kelli Ann Wilson season shelf, season table, spring , , 0 Comment
Season Shelf :: Early Spring

I have two naughty (but adorable) cats, and they like to be overly involved with my season table. So I’m trying something new: A season shelf.

This beautiful shelf is from Camden Rose. I’ve designed the first two shelves to be more nature-focused, while the bottom shelf is dedicated to the liturgical year. But it all feels very cohesive, in part because the liturgical calendar is a reflection of Creation.

One thing I have learned on my seasonal- and liturgical-living journey is that it’s okay for things to change. Living seasonally isn’t static, by definition. My kids are in high school and college, so I no longer have little ones who want to interact with the season table directly. This new iteration of an old practice offers a more passive experience, but it will still ground my family in the seasons of nature and the Church year, just as it always has.

Art cards (from top shelf down): “Farmer Plowing” by Ruth Elsasser, “The White Lamb” by Dorothea Schmidt, “I Am with You Until the End of Days” by Ninetta Sombart, “Golgotha” by Leo Klein.

Spring nature shelf 1 Spring nature shelf 2 Spring nature shelf 4 Spring nature shelf 3

Advent 2024 :: Week Two :: The Light of Plants

Kelli Ann Wilson season table , 0 Comment
Light of Plants 2024 - 1 Light of Plants 2024 - 2

This week we’re meditating on the Plant Kingdom, with which we share the qualities of living and growing. Usually I add some moss to our nature table this week, but my cats have been a little too involved with the display this year, so we’re just going with some well-secured evergreen sprigs and some wooden trees.

I also added my St Nicholas figure this week. Technically, he doesn’t belong in the scene yet (since we haven’t gotten to the Light of Humankind), but this year I thought maybe it would be neat to add the Advent Saints to the table as their feast days arrive. I’m going with St Nicholas & St Lucia, but other options could be St Barbara and Our Lady of Guadalupe. I like the idea of them accompanying Mary on her journey.

Advent 2024 :: Week One :: The Light of Stones

Kelli Ann Wilson liturgical season, season table 0 Comment

Advent is here again. This week, we’re meditating on the Mineral Kingdom, the world of the elements. Did you know: About 99 percent of the human body is made of just six elements? These are the very same elements that can be found throughout the Mineral Kingdom, in all the world’s “crystals, shells, and bones.”

We’re starting to build our Nativity Season Table this week by adding in some beautiful crystals, as well as our lovely Blessed Virgin Mary on her donkey. She will follow the star-lined path during the Advent season, leaving little roses in her wake as she passes.

Next week, we’ll add aspects of the Plant Kingdom to our little scene. Wishing you all a Blessed Advent!