So I’ve been working on some more crafts for holy week, and this is a craft where you make your own version of Veronica’s veil after she wipes the face of Jesus. It’s done using a faux batik technique for kids. Here’s the completed craft:

Supplies Needed:

• White scrap fabric (something “natural” and pre-washed)
• Non-washable tempera paints
• School Glue (NOT glue all) I highly recommend using the gel school glue because it doesn’t run, but the regular white school glue will work also.
• paint brush
• pencil

First, take your piece of fabric and tape it over a some cardboard. This will make working with fabric a lot easier.

Next, sketch Jesus’ face onto the fabric with a pencil. This needs to be very simple. Don’t get into small details.

Now you draw over your outline with glue. Again, I really recommend the gel glue- it will be easier to use and you will have more control over your picture. It’s very important that the bottle says “school glue” and not “glue all” because you need for it to be washable.

Here’s mine all “drawn in” with glue.

Let it dry completely before moving on. Normally I would recommend overnight, but mine dried thoroughly in just a few hours outside in the sun. I’m lucky it didn’t blow over- lol!

When the glue is dry, it’s time to paint it with your tempera paints! Again, make sure these are NOT the ‘washable’ verity. Go darker with your colors than you think because they will fade. I really wish I had gone darker than this with my skin tone.

Wait for the paint to dry completely, and then wash it with warm soapy water. Just keep scrubbing with your fingers until you feel that all the glue has come out.

It’s so much fun to pull it out of the water and see what it looks like! You’ll see that everywhere there was glue remained white. Here’s how mine came out:

This is a great project to do with kids, and could very easily be turned into a “shroud of turin craft” in stead of Veronica’s veil. This project could also be placed in your Stations of the Cross box, and could be a good craft for St. Veronica’s feast day. It would also be a fabulous prop for any “St. Veronicas” appearing in a live stations performance, or for an All Saint’s Day costume!