Ramadan Decor: Moon-Phase Garland

The month of Ramadan is set to begin this week and I have been brainstorming countless ways to make it more special and festive for our family. Decorating is obviously one really fun way to do this (especially if you have young children) but it seems the selection of Ramadan decor out there is a bit too generic (think green and white and palm trees). Since as Muslims we follow a lunar calendar, and Ramadan begins and ends with the sighting of the new moon, I thought it would be really nice to capture the beauty of phases of the moon. Not only is this garland super cute and simple to put together but making it is a great way to bring the family together for a creative activity that inspires reflection on the wonders of astronomy.

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Supplies
Paper (plain white textured and assorted colors)
Acrylic paints (Any shades of gray, white, clear glitter, and yellow)
Paint brush and foam brushes
Scissors
String
Adhesives (tape and glue)
Mini clothespins
Glitter

Directions

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Gather your supplies

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On the textured white paper, paint with the foam brushes beginning with the darkest gray colors and ending with white.

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Make sure you let each layer dry before painting the next. By the time you are done, you will have a pattern that resembles the surface of the moon.

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Cut out  6 circles to the size of your liking. You don’t want them too big so the garland doesn’t droop when you hang it. My circles had a radius of about 2 inches.

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Cut 5 of your 6 circles down until you have the 9 moon phases. These pieces will be arranged just like this on the garland.

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Cut out some rustic looking stars and decorate with glitter (optional) and arrange the pieces for assembly.

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Using glue, tape, clothespins (or a combination of them), assemble your stars and moons on a sturdy piece of string, making sure they are evenly spaced.

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Hang up your beautiful garland prominently in your family room.

 

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Enjoy the lovely view!

“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding [3:190].”

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Urban Jungle Bloggers: Botanical Zoom

Spring is just around the corner and what better time to zoom in on plants than now! Our house plants are very dear to us. So much so that before we had our baby, we talked about our plants as though they were our children. Yes, they were (and still are) that important to us! We didn’t really know anyone that took their plants as seriously as us until we came across the awesomeness that is Urban Jungle Bloggers. Urban Jungle Bloggers, hosted by the inspiring Igor and Judith, is a monthly series inviting bloggers to write and share anything and everything plant-related. Every month there is a different theme and this month is all about zooming into the hidden beauty that is often taken for granted.

So here’s to taking pauses; to setting aside the chaos of daily routines and endless to-do lists. Here’s to being one with the pieces of earth that coexist with us in our homes.

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“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.”
Henry David Thoreau

There is something serenely beautiful about the way the sunlight streams in and filters through our plants. It illuminates the most intricate of details, serving as a reminder that within us lies an unimaginable and incomprehensible vastness. It is truly humbling.

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“Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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