creative jewish mom

How To Wrap Presents That Are Thoughtful and Sweet And Handmade, Of Course!

I cannot take credit for these sweet packages, even though they really look like something I might have made! The credit goes to my Italian blogging friend Rosi, who generously offered to send me seeds for the gourd she used in this project, and I just noticed while looking through her blog that she also made vases from these same gourds!  Rosi told me that this gourd grows in Sicily, so given that I also happen to live in the Mediterranean (wow, that sure sounds great, doesn't it?) I got quite excited at the prospect of a little gardening experiment. Rosi told me the seeds were on their way, and little did I know that she'd taken the time to wrap them with love, and creativity, and she even included a small gift for my daughter! This is truly blogging at it's best!

I just love the hand colored paper (more on that tomorrow!), the little gift tags, and the colored twine which in the green present actually pokes through the paper! Thanks so much Rosi, you really made my day, my month, my year. Now if I can just figure out where to grow these gourds I'll be in good shape! Speaking of shape, have you ever seen seeds that look like this? And look how Rosi thought to punch holes in the inner envelope so that the Sicilian seeds could breath on their journey to nearby lands! Special. Truly.

Recycle Plastic Bottles & Make Super Cute Apple Shaped Boxes!

 

Apparently I have apples on the brain, which is not surprising given that Rosh HaShana is just over a week away! Last week I was looking at a plastic bottle and realized that the bottom of those that I have look very much like apples! After some complicated ideas involving spray paint, and only one bottle, it occurred to me that two soda bottle bottoms stacked look very much like an apple!  Yippee!

I'm so happy that I arrived at this cute and simple idea, that you can make in just a few simple steps with no toxic paint involved! You can use these apple boxes to hold treats or even a small gift,  and adjust their height depending on what you'll place inside. A perfect little surprise for Rosh HaShana, or any party, don't you think? And they're quick to make, so you can whip up a whole bunch after the kids are in dreamland, and place them on your holiday table for a fun surprise.

You'll Need:

• plastic soda bottles with bottoms that look like apples, mine are seltzer bottles
• pieces of real sticks
• red fabric or red tissue paper
• green felt in two shades of green
• ribbon
• a hole punch
• a hot glue gun

How To:

1. Cut the bottoms off of two plastic bottles using a sharp knife to make the first cut and then scissors.trim bottles to desired height.
2. Cut a piece of stick to about 1 1/2", and using hot glue affix to top of apple
3. Using a heavy duty hold punch, punch corresponding holes in both top and bottom at the front and back of apple. The back set of holes will be used to make a hinge, while the front set of holes is tied with a bow for opening the apple. You can choose to make your closures with either four holes or two holes, both shown in the photo above.
4. Wrap your gift or treats in fabric or paper, and place inside, or alternatively, glue fabric loosely to the inside of your apple, and insert gift, which will result in a more re-usable container!
5. Tie apple closed with ribbon, and make leaves from felt and glue to stem with a hot glue gun.
6. Hide your bushel of apples in a secret place until it's time for the surprise!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! I am running out of original things to say in this intro paragraph, so I'll just say that i hope all of you are well and great to have you here! Here's some really fun projects from last week's party:

 

Isn't this back to school vase from one charming party just great? All you do is sandwich the letters between two vases or jars, and place the flowers and water in the inner jar! Brilliant! And I just love this crocheted flower garland from Jo at about mo and me, really sweet! I'm thinking it could be a great idea for some Succah decor, especially if you crochet with the thickest yarn you can find!

Here's another  fabulous project from about mo and me, ever seen a granny square slip cover? Me neither and it's really special. I also love this fabric butterfly from Karen Marie Dehn, though the instructions are in a Swedish magazine somewhere at the moment, but I think the photo is enough inspiration to make something similar.

I'll be honest, I think I've seen enough bunting banners to last a lifetime, but the mini versions now popular for cakes look great! City cradle has a great tutorial for this one! And how about some super cute cuckoo clocks made from those blank wooden birdhouses from ever kelley? A whole bunch would look great, and especially as nursery decor!

I just love this driftwood and polymer clay mobile, a wonderful end of summer project from twig and toadstool. And Crafts by Amanda strikes again with this cute and colorful cardboard and felt bracelet for all your little princesses!

That's all for now, can't wait to see all the surprises that await at this week's party! Please link back with a text link or button, and visit some of the other contributors to give them encouragement!
 

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Lessons Learned In Revisiting My Childhood Stomping Grounds with My Own Kids!

I am the person that I am today as a result of many life experiences— and especially those which occurred before the age of 12 or so (as I've started to realize lately!) So I found it particularly interesting to visit some of the places we used to frequent when I was a child, but with my children. Their childhood in Israel has certainly been quite different than mine was in Northern California, but I'm happy to say that they loved all the same things I did! Here's a little peek, which may be helpful to some of my readers (nearly 25% who live in California!) and hopefully an interesting (and possibly humorous) break from crafting for the rest of you?

First stop is The Little Farm in Tilden Regional Park, still sweet and well maintained. A nice introduction to real live farm animals. Just make sure to go in the morning or early afternoon, as the animals are put to bed very early. Lesson: If going to bed early is good for farm animals, it's probably good for our kids too!

At The Little Farm your children can hone their goat feeding skills with celery and lettuce (only) that you bring from home. Very good skills to have as an adult as apparently this left a big impression on one of my brothers and he now owns some goats (and now my children and I want some too, yikes!) Lesson: If you don't want your kids to own farm animals when they grow up, so don't expose them to the joys of goat feeding.

After you've had your fill of farm animals, so why not take a fairly short nature hike to Jewel Lake, just down the road from The Little Farm. While you can walk down the road to the lake with a stroller, the more scenic hike around the lake is great for little kids, but not stroller friendly. I don't think I ever really knew why this little lake was called Jewel Lake until we paused here— look at those amazing reflections! My kids almost didn't understand what they were seeing it was so beautiful. I remember saying "doesn't it look just like a painting? Lesson: Take the time to point out to your children how nature often reflects art!

The next logical stop might be a trip to the Tilden Park Historical Merry Go Round. I grew up hearing the faint music from this merry go round on clear summer days.....The merry go round was built in 1911, and all the animals are original and restored beautifully. There's a fantastic selection of horses, a zebra, a frog, a dog, a lion, a stork and more. I do miss the original organ which has sadly been replaced by taped music, nonetheless, it's still wonderful. And yes, I don't usually show photos of my kids, but this one of my daughter was taken 6 years ago at the merry go round, and I just couldn't resist. Lesson: Teach your kids that if they take care of something it will last—these animals are nearly 100 years old, and because they were treasured, and well cared for, we can still enjoy them today!  And just in case you hadn't thought of this, if you're going to treat your kids to more than one ride (and why not?) have them take a break between rides and just enjoy watching the merry go round while trying to decide which animal they'd like to ride next.

Now if live animals are more interesting to your kids than wooden ones, or if you happen to have another day in Berkeley,  you might want to consider a visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science (very near one end of the sprawling Tilden Park) located on the UC Berkeley Campus. The museum and education center has a planetarium and all sorts of interesting things to look at, but we got caught up in the petting lab, so we really didn't get to see too much else! But that's okay, since holding a spotted gecko, an unusual Iguana and a Mexican garter (?) snake, and petting a tarantula and cuddling a dwarf rabbit was a great experience. I'm so proud of my kids for not being afraid or squeemish! Lesson: If you plan to take your kids to the Lawrence Hall of Science, first raise them in the country side so they won't be afraid to touch the animals!

When they kick you out of the museum at closing time (5pm, too early for us!) your kids can have fun climbing on the giant DNA model/play structure in front. There's also a nice fountain and a breathtaking view of the city of Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay. If you sit for a while you may witness the interesting phenomena of watching "the fog roll in" until there's no view left to see! Lesson: Bone up on your own basic science knowledge before taking your kids to a science museum. That way when they ask you "What's DNA?" you may have a chance at explaining it to them!

An End of Summer Cupcake Party!

Those of you who follow this blog may know that the closest I've come to cupcakes recently is cupcake liner flowers! I prefer to spend my creative time making things that hopefully won't get eaten (the exception being birthdays, wherein I try to make it look like my creativity extends to baking, sometimes with success, but not always.....) but I do appreciate simple food decorating ideas like this sweet cupcake.

My daughter actually made this on a day camp stint with her cousins in New York, and I thought you might appreciate the idea. A beach chair made from chiclets, a beach ball made from a red gumdrop, marshmellow fluff icing colored blue for water and sprinkled with brown sugar for sand. It's that simple! Oh and of course the little umbrella which you can purchase or make yourself with a toothpick and a round piece of paper. (Cut a pizza slice out of the circle and tape or glue the gap closed to form the top of the umbrella.)

So why not celebrate the end of a great summer with a little cupcake party?

How About Woven Paper Apples For Rosh HaShana?

You may have seen woven paper hearts, or paper hands with a woven insert, but have you ever seen woven apples? Me neither, until this idea popped into my head and these cute apples materialized on our dining room table a few nights ago. (You see, I told you a new pack of paper would be great inspiration given my self imposed art supply starvation!)

A whole bushel would look great strung garland style together with some other simple shapes, or paste some back to back and hang as parts of a holiday mobile. And for those of you who don't celebrate Rosh HaShana, well I do believe the timing is great for some back to school and early fall crafting!

How To:

1. Draw an apple shape about 4" wide (10cm) or even larger, depending on who will be doing the weaving. If you'll be making some yourself, so small and delicate could be really beautiful. If you'll be doing this projects with kids, so larger is better so that they'll be able to handle the actual weaving of the paper strips.
2. Turn your apple over to the wrong side and draw and outline within the apple shape, about 1/2" from the edge. This will be your guide for cutting slits. (I know you'd love a photo of this.....)
3. Using a craft knife and  metal ruler on a cutting surface, cut diagonal slits on the apple within the outline you've created in step 2
4. Cut strips of paper the same width as the slits you cut in the apple
5. Weave strips, you know, under over, under over until you've filled the whole shape.
6. Strips who end on the front of the apple should be trimmed such that they end in a square, and affixed with glue. ( I used a glue stick.)
7. Glue ends on back of apple down to secure.
8. Mount woven apple onto another background piece of paper (yellow here) add a leaf and trim leaving a small colored border around your apple.
9. I know you're going to try this, so don't forget to send photos! And I was thinking how very lovely these would look in neutral colors like beige, white, gray, for a sophisticated take on this project, especially if you make the slits and strips delicate!

 

Make Festive Rosh HaShana Cards With Bubble Wrap Printed Paper!

 

Wouldn't you like to make some sweet cards like these to send to friends and family for Rosh HaShana? There's still plenty of time if you get started now, and you can even send them to your loved ones across the seas or where ever they may be! All you need is some colored paper, some bubble wrap, a bit of white paint and a glue stick. Oh, and of course the desire to create something special. I know you can do it!

I have to say, I don't always love everything I create, but there's just something about these cards that makes me happy! Though it's preferable to make cards with card stock, these were actually made with paper from a pack of colored laser printer paper that I just picked up at my not so local Office Depot. Love these colors, and it's truly amazing how a new package of paper can inspire someone like myself who tries to steer away from purchasing craft supplies except where necessary. Suffice it to say, you'll be seeing lots more of this color combination in the upcoming projects using paper!

How to Print With Bubble Wrap:

It's really so easy and with quick and wonderful results!

1. Apply not watery gouche or acrylic paint to a piece of bubble wrap with either a large paint brush or a dense sponge.
2. Gently place painted side of bubble wrap on paper, burnish with your fingers, and lift off to view the results. The quickest printing I've ever done with predictable results!
3. And as a side note, I've found that when using colored paper, white paint always looks the best. You know, fresh, clean interesting. Experiment if you like, but I think you'll see what I mean unless you really hit on some great color combo, which is possible but may take lots of experimenting.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Thanks so much for dropping by from wherever you happen to be. One of the most exciting parts for me as the hostess of this party is the international aspect of it. Last week alone we had contributors from New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Ireland (though formerly from Spain) as well as the United States! There are also regular contributors from France, England, Italy, Canada, and India. I just love "meeting" all of you and seeing how you've made creativity a part of your lives, and I'm sure all those who gather here feel the same way!

As for the featured projects from last week, I'm just completely speechless (wow!) when it comes to this crocheted flower adorned lamp from about mo and me, in the UK. And these painted houses from Lilla in Denmark look like paintings themselves, a super great project to do with the kids, that I've actually wanted to do too. The original idea comes from Cassi (Of The Crafty Crow), over at her blog belladia, — her version is a bit less painterly and very lovely.

This rocket mobile is amazing and simple to make when you follow Meggity's directions over at how does she. This re-vamped vintage secretary is fabulous, and also from about m0 and me. And no, she doesn't have a crocheted carpet, she put it on the floor for her very  artfully propped photo! Smart girl, it looks great!

These fabric baby shoes are just the cutest, and The Tao of Craft was so generous to share the pattern on her blog! I'm adding this one to my list! (First gotta fix that old sewing machine.....) Fowl Single File shares yet another great project, a set of counting sheep bean bags! Clever and cute, who can beat that?

This cardboard giraffe from my sweet blog friend Meni over at Dalle Un Colinho (who now lives in Ireland!) is such a simple and great project to do anytime, and I just love the idea of making washer bracelets as a project at a girl's party, thanks to crafting coco-nut from Poland.

And at that same girl's gathering somewhere in Poland they also made these adorable crepe paper wreaths, a really super idea! And yes, I already shared with you Lilla's houses, but I just couldn't resist showing you her simple hobby horse as well, it does have that wonderful Scandanavian flair don't you think? (And she just told me she's a Finn living in Denmark and blogging in Swedish, wow, puts those of us who aren't multi multi lingual to shame, I mean that means she speaks at the least four languages, since she wrote to me in English!)

Last of all, I just love how Georgia's son invented his own artwork by etching family portraits into painted foam pizza plates, over at all things children in South Africa, and look how great they look above the couch! One of our newest contributors, Kathy, over at Polwig shows you how to make a guitar from a milk carton! From what I can tell, Kathy speaks Polish, so maybe you can ask her to translate crafting coco-nut for you! Though of course Google-translate will be happy to do it too, with sometimes strange results. I could go on and on, but I think that's enough inspiration for one party!  Thanks again to everyone who participated last week!

Now it's time to see what's been going on over at your place! Don't be shy!

A Chicken For Yom Kippur! (And Cute Anytime.....)

I know, Yom Kippur may not exactly be on your mind, but it's on mine, as you can see! My daughter was looking for a quick project the other night at midnight! (Can you believe it? Not our normal schedule, we just were still not adjusted to the clock here.....and I'm still not, a week later, yawn.....) And so I came up with this simple yet cute chicken. I'd just love to see a bunch of them! And though we do use white chickens for Yom Kippur, they certainly would look great in a bunch of colors!

And in case you are wondering what chickens have to do with Yom Kippur, so I'm afraid my brain is just too foggy right now to come up with a suitable explanation, and there are tons of places on the web where you can read about it. That said, if possible I highly recommend making the effort to use chickens rather than money, it makes such a memorable impression on everyone, adults included! (And please support organizations that handle the animals with care.)

How To:

Cut a chicken shape from a piece of recycled cardboard, and embellish using felt and white glue. If you'd like to make one yourself, (a nice little project at midnight!) so I'd advise cutting the feathers in half moon shapes and layering them as you work from the neck down. You might want to start with smallish half moon shapes and make them bigger as you get to the belly area of the chicken. Have fun!

Yarn Pictures For Rosh HaShana Make Nice Succah Decor Too!

Okay friends, Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year is in just three weeks, so guess what that means? It's time to get even busier! Bring in the New Year with a blast of crafting, and may your whole year be infused with creativity! Okay, you're right, I'm only half serious, but for those of us in the know, doing crafts with your kids and with yourself can add a whole new important dimension to everyday life. (And that happens to be one of the major messages of this blog, in case you hadn't noticed!)

I just love these simple yarn pictures, which you can hang with a ribbon, use to adorn a sign for your door, or to embellish a gift or New Year's card. And I think they'd make great gift tags for a bottle of wine or a homemade honey cake. And to top it off, once Rosh HaShana is over you can use them in the Succah, just fourteen days later! How's that for crafting efficiency?

You'll Need:

• yarn, chunky is the easiest for little fingers to work with and gives nice quick results
• white glue
• cardboard, I used a cereal box
• some basic Rosh HaShana shapes like: apples, bee's, honey jars, pomegranites, carrots, fish, a shofar, just to give you a few ideas.......
• a thick black marker

How To:

1. Draw shapes on cardboard for younger children, encourage older children to draw their own.
2. Shapes can be cut out either before you decorate them or after, but I think it's more exciting to decorate the shape once it's been cut out.
3. Apply glue to shape and lay yarn on glue. Set aside to dry.
4. Encourage kids to fill in their shapes completely with yarn. As you can see I wasn't able to impart that message to everyone successfully, but the results are still sweet, just as I hope your New Year will be!