Forty Days of Crafts: Thirty Pieces of Silver

“And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.”
— Matthew 26:15 (KJV)

Although this craft serves as a reminder of the betrayal of Jesus, it can also take on a more positive light: children can return a silver coin for every good deed they do during Lent, changing something used to betray Jesus into something that would make Jesus happy. The goal would be to get rid of all 30 coins before Easter.

Materials:

• A sheet of felt cloth
• String
• A darning needle (or a hole punch)
• Scissors
• 30 silver or grey coins

Step 1: Cut out a rectangle of felt.

Step 2: Fold the rectangle back onto itself, leaving a flap no bigger than 1/3 the length of the felt rectangle.

 

Step 3: Hold the edges of the folded felt together, feeding the needle through the back of both layers of felt. Pull the string completely through, then bring the needle back to the back side of the coin purse and push it back through both layers of fabric again. Continue until you get to the bottom of that side. Then push the needle through the felt into the inside of the coin purse. Flip the bag inside out and cut the string. Leave a tail a few inches long on the string so you can secure the string onto the bag with a knot. Repeat the same process on the other side.

Step 4: Weave string onto each side of the inside of the coin purse so that the two ends meet in in the middle.

Step 5: Cut a slit on the top flap of the purse. To close the bag, pull both strings through the slit on the top flap and tie them into a bow.

Step 6: Fill wallet with 30 silver coins.

DIY Silver Coins

Materials:

• Silver coin template
• Silver marker or gray paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Tape (optional)

Step 1: Print out 30 silver coins. You can print them out on grey paper, or you can color them with markers or crayons. (Hint: Print the template out as a wallet sized picture. This will allow you to print nine coins on one piece of paper.)

Step 2: Fold paper so the back and front of each coin are on top of one another. Then fold the left-hand row of coins over to match the middle row of coins. Flip paper and fold the right-hand row over and match it up with the middle row of coins. At this point the paper should be folded into a skinny rectangle with a row of three coins. Take the left-hand coin and fold it over so it is on top of the middle coin. Then flip the paper over and fold the right-hand coin so it is also on top of the middle coin. You should have a smaller, fatter rectangle at this point with one coin showing. The ends of the paper that was folded over will hang over the side a little. Hold the rectangle so the head of the coin is facing up. The right side will be only folds, and the left side will have the unfolded ends of the paper. Hold the folded paper together and cut around the coin. Make sure not to cut completely through the right hand side because it will be easier to glue the coins’ front and back together if they are still attached by the small folded edge. You should end up with nine coins that look like little clam shells.

Step 3: Place some glue in between the two sides of the coin and press the sides together.

Step 4 (Optional): To make the coins a bit more durable, place the coins in a row on a flat surface and place a piece of tape on top of them. Then flip them over and place more tape on the back of them. Cut out each coin. This will make them last a bit longer; they should almost feel laminated.