This is a fun DIY project for the Epiphany Celebration!

For some background on celebrating the epiphany, check out this article from the National Catholic Register.

Supplies Needed

• Wooden Centerpiece (I found mine at Michaels)
• Sandpaper
• Wood stain of your choice (or paint)
• Rag for staining and rubber gloves
• Chalkboard Paint
• Paint brush
• Scrap book paper (3 different colors)
• Mod Podge
• This Free Download: Three King Crown Cutouts

Start by getting a clean and protected area to work on since you will using stain and paint!

Sand your wood and wipe it down for staining! Stain all sides of the centerpiece.

Once the stain has dried, choose one side for the chalkboard paint. You will need to do a couple layers of paint to make sure it works well. I chose to have a rough edge, but if you like clean lines you can use some painters tape to make a perfect rectangle.

While the paint is drying you can print and trace the crown cutouts representing the 3 Kings. This is a free download (see the supplies section for the link!)

Then you will mod podge these to the opposite side of the centerpiece. Be sure to paint a layer of mod podge then lay the crowns down and then paint another layer of mod podge on top of the crowns to seal them.

Once it’s dry, you are done! Now all there is to do is the chalk blessing on the day of the Epiphany!

Here’s a short excerpt from Aleteia (full article with the blessing is here)

Take the blessed chalk and first write the initials of the three Wise Men, connected with Crosses, over the inside of your front door (on the lintel, if possible). Then write the year, breaking up the numbers and the year so that they fall on both sides of the initials. It should look like this, for example

20 C+M+B 20

with the “20 “being the millennium and century, the “C” standing for the first Wise Man, Caspar, the “M” standing for Melchior, the “B” standing for Balthasar, and the “20” standing for the decade and year. It is also popularly believed that the Kings’ initials stand for “Christus mansionem benedicat” (“Christ bless this house”).