creative jewish mom

Winter Tree From Recycled Cardboard

How about making some recycled corrugated cardboard trees to bring a little playful air to your home this winter? Tu B'Shevat (the New Year for the trees) is the next Jewish holiday on the calender, so I've got trees on my mind! I really love the graphics on the corrugated sleave from our flats of eggs and am so happy with how this little tree turned out. Simple to make and would look great parading down the center of a table.

As Spring approaches add leaves and blossoms or even little fruit to your little trees, bringing them to life. How fun is that?  

The tree is made by cutting out two identical trees and then making a slit in the trunk on one from bottom to top, and in the other from top to bottom. You then slide one piece down onto the other, and voila you have yourself a fun 3 dimensional tree that could be the start of so many fun projects. 

For more info and a diagram of a slightly different tree, but one that shows where to place the slits, see my cherry blossom tree craft from the archives. Enjoy!

Crocheted Children's Cloche With Giant Flower

Here's a fun crocheted hat with a giant flower to keep things a little cheerful right about now. Winter has finally arrived in our mountain town in Northern Israel, so I just had to crochet my daughter a few cold weather accessories. Plus she's now ready to wear large flowers on her head so I just couldn't resist! I decided to go with one color for the hat and the flower, but you could certainly have fun playing with color, why not?

You'll Need:

• Pattern for crocheted cloche from Aesthetic Nest, link here.
• Pattern for crocheted rosette flower, see my post here.
• Yarn of your choice and appropriate sized hook.

Note: I used two strands of worsted weight yarn and a size K hook to make a chunkier hat than the pattern calls for, so I had to play around with the pattern a bit, but that's not a problem as long as the person you're crocheting for is at hand! Enjoy.

Crocheted Flower With Button Center

I've got crocheted flowers on the brain! You know, not little delicate crocheted flowers, but big chunky crocheted flowers to make a fun statement this winter. This flower will adorn a crocheted ear warmer for my daughter that I'll share with you soon, but I'm thinking of making some more, even bigger ones for myself to adorn my winter coat or even as a pin to keep a scarf in place.  And one of the fun things about this flower is that you can certainly use all kinds of little yarn scraps to make it even more interesting! I used two strands of pink for the smallest flower, a strand of the same pink plus a lighter pink for the next round, and then two strands of some variegated yarn for the last round. Love the tweedy look!

You'll Need:

• yarn of any kind, I used two stands of worsted weight yarn crocheted together
• size K crochet hook
• flower pattern found here
• my crocheted button cover pattern, I used it without the button insert

The great thing about this pattern is that you can make flowers as large or small as you wish by adding on more rounds of petals, so have fun with this one! And of course, any kind of button could look great as the center, especially say a fabric covered button if you have the supplies for that.

On the other hand, the crocheted button only takes minutes so do give it a try. And one more thing, it just occurred to me that if you'd like to make the center shaped more like a bobble as opposed to flat, you can make the crocheted button and stuff it, how about that? There really is no end to the creative things you can do with crochet!

 

Giant Crocheted Rosette Flower

Okay, maybe not exactly a giant crocheted rosette flower, but definitely a very large crocheted flower. You know, the kind of flower that will certainly make a cheerful statement worn on a hat or a winter coat right about now. So I do hope that you crochet, since everyone could use a little wardrobe pick me up, especially one that's as simple and quick as this one! Of course, you don't have to make your flower in turquoise (this one is for my daughter) a more neutral color like gray or creme would be gorgeous too.

The reason that this flower is so simple is that it's made by crocheting a strip and then rolling up the strip and sewing it all together. And of course, if you use chunky yarn, or a few strands together like I did, you can make flowers just about any size, even to cover a pillow front, how about that?

You'll Need:

• chunky yarn, or in my case 3 strands of worsted weight yarn
• size 9mm crochet hook, or the hook size to suit your yarn choice
• large-eyed yarn needle
• rosette flower pattern, thanks to Lion Brand

If you're looking for another idea for making a flower of this kind, check out my rosette flower headband, which uses a similar, yet slightly different pattern. Have fun adding some crocheted flowers to your life in no time! And stay tuned for a few more crocheted flowers and the projects that go with them. Don't know about you, but winter in full force all I want to do is crochet!

Crocheted Ruffles In The Round

At long last I had the chance to try out this crocheted ruffles in the round pillow cover pattern. It's actually called the blooming flower cushion, a lovely pattern generously worked out by Lucy over at attic 24.We had to take a little road trip, so I grabbed some cotton (four colors: white, pink, peach and coral) I'd purchased in Amsterdam, quickly went on line to check out the pattern, and off we went. (Take note that the pattern is in English crochet terms as opposed to American crochet terms, but Lucy explains where to substitute the American terms.) 

Using the cotton does give a less dense look than her lovely cushion, but I'm happy with the results just the same. Just a few more rounds to go, and then on to the back! My first ever crocheted pillow cover!

I think this would be a great pattern to try in chunky yarn for a quick gift to whip up this holiday season. Hmmm, with Chanukah just two weeks away I'd better stop dreaming and start doing! See ya later!

Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Basket For Holiday Giving

Crocheting with t-shirt yarn is so much fun, and lucky for me I happened to have a few balls of t-shirt yarn on hand. I whipped up this basket quite quickly, which qualifies it as a great green gift for those on your list who'd appreciate such a rustic vessel. I think it would be great to give with a batch of homemade muffins, or holding a gift of toiletries, including maybe some gorgeous crocheted wash cloths. 

Just make sure to make a few, because you'll surely want to keep some on hand to enjoy in your home this holiday season. Really, you can never have too many catchalls......and great for guests to hold their little stuff, or how about one for each child to contain all the little things that collect in their pockets? And best of all, this little basket is of course totally washable!

You'll Need:

• t-shirt yarn, how to make t-shirt yarn tutorial here
• large crochet hook, I used a 10mm
• a simple basket pattern, you can follow mine here, though note that because the t-shirt yarn I made was on the thick side, (and because I was winging it...) my first round of crochet consisted of 1 ch2 and 11 dc into a foundation ring of 6 ch.

Notes:

• I crocheted this basket such that the "right side" is actually on the inside. If your basket will be something that will be placed on a shelf and viewed mostly from the outside, so it is probably preferable for the "right side" to be on the outside. Decide what suits you (the "wrong side" is rougher looking) and when you start the rows for the sides, make sure you're crocheting such that you'll get the desired results. I didn't even think of this as I was doing it, but you can!
• When I crocheted a basket using sheets (which are not stretchy) I had to work at getting the bowl shape. In this case, I had honestly intended to make a straight sided basket, but because of the nature of the t-shirt yarn and the hook size, the sides naturally curved in, which is just fine with me, though I can't guarantee that the same thing will happen with you. Let me know! And now, go whip up some of these baskets and bring some green joy to friends and family!

Decoupage Art With Stamped Tissue Paper

Remember the stamped tissue paper project that I shared with you this past summer? Well, we used some of that tissue paper to make an adorable little piece of art that would look great just about anywhere. And since succot is right around the corner, you could even make a few of these to adorn your succah walls. I think they'd be a great complement to the plastic bottle flower ornaments, don't you? And if you'd like to make some sweet vases to complement your art, you can find that project here.

You'll Need:

• stamped tissue paper, tutorial here
• blank canvases
• mod podge or any decoupage medium

How To: Decoupage cut pieces of tissue paper to canvas by applying mod podge to the canvas and then gently laying pieces on canvas. Tissue paper tends to bleed, which is how we got the light pink and orange background color. Once dry, I'd advise giving your artwork a final protective coat of mod podge. Enjoy!

Crocheted Plastic Bag Doily Clock

Yes, I crocheted a doily from plastic grocery bags and then I realized that it made a really cute clock! Yesterday I shared with the you the 5 minute paper plate clock, so while this one does take just a bit more effort it's certainly worth it! Wouldn't these make great holiday gifts? Once you get the hang of crocheting with plastic bags you can whip up a doily like this in under an hour (or so) and attaching the clock movement is a piece of cake!

You'll Need:

• plastic grocery bags which you'll make into yarn, called plarn, instructions here
• a crochet hook, I used a J, but you can go just a bit larger too
• a clock movement— you can buy a quartz movement and other craft supplies at Factory Direct Craft.
• a doily pattern, this one coming soon 

How To:

Make  ball of plarn, I'd say you'll need roughly four or five large bags. Crochet according to the pattern. If you like the look of the cupped petals, which really happened by accident, switch to a smaller hook for the last round and crochet in the front loop of the previous row. 

Insert the shaft of the clock mechanism into the hole, attach the arms and voila, an adorable clock is born!

 

Paper Plate Clock In 5 Minutes

Here is it my friends, the five minute DIY clock using a paper plate! It really can't get much simpler than this, and you could change the plate as often as you like for a little fresh hit of color or design! I also think that a paper plate clock would make a great gift, or fill a whole wall with them! Clock mechanisms are quite inexpensive, you can get a cheap one for around $2 (8 shekels), so this could be a really fun project that you could take in so many directions! Have fun with it!

You'll Need:

• a paper plate, dinner sized
• a clock movement kit

How To:

Find the exact center of the plate, measure if necessary. Make a hole in the center with a metal skewer or a nail. Insert the shaft of the clock mechanism through the hole and attach the hands. You may need to secure the clock mechanism to the back of the plate with hot glue or double stick tape. 

And in case you hadn't noticed, a clock project is very timely today, as tonight we enter the final week before Rosh HaShanah! And this my friends is a very important week, because in this week we have the opportunity to make amends for things that didn't go quite as we would have wished during the whole year. Don't go crazy, just try to do your best in all the areas where you may have slipped a bit. Speaking of time, I gotta run, and really don't have the brain power at the moment to explain in greater extent what I just said above, so if any of you want further clarification, do drop me a line!

 

Wine Bottle Vases Decoupaged With Tissue Paper

Remember those wine bottles that I spray painted white and made a bunch of DIY wine bottle vases? Remember that tissue paper that the kids stamped on to make our own DIY wrapping paper? Remember these DIY pom pom flowers? Well, isn't it nice to combine the efforts from several projects and come up with yet another? Here it is— painted wine bottles decoupaged with printed tissue paper. So sweet and the perfect look for a birthday party, baby shower or really any time to bring a little joy into your home. I've actually had these on our Shabbat table for a few weeks!

You'll Need:

• recycled wine and liquor bottles, spray painted with a primer, and then white
• printed/stamped tissue paper, more info here
• mod podge or a mixture of white glue and water
• a brush to apply the mod podge

How To: You can choose to cover the entire bottle with tissue paper, as we did with the polka dotted versions, or cut pieces of tissue paper and decoupage that as I did with the large circles. Either way, brush some mod podge or glue onto your bottle and carefully place the tissue paper on top, gently smoothing with the brush. It you want a very smooth surface I would recommend working with fairly small pieces, as tissue paper is difficult to work with because it's so thin. Set aside to dry and apply an additional coat of modpodge as a protective layer.

And by the way, if you don't feel like going through the trouble of painting the bottles, you can of course decoupage the tissue paper onto clear bottles for results that will look our tissue paper decoupage on glass jars. And if you're looking for something just a bit more sophisticated, check out my black and white wine bottle vases. That should be enough to get you rolling, right?