creative jewish mom

Recycle Cups & Make A Fun Noise Maker For Purim (Or Your Next Rhythm Project!)

Here's a fun project to do with the kids today or tomorrow in preparation for Purim which starts Saturday night. (The exception being that Purim is celebrated Sunday night in Jerusalem.) I did this one, but kids can certainly have fun applying stickers and tape themselves. The noise maker or grogger is a classic Purim prop used during the reading of the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) to make noise every time the name of the evil Haman is mentioned. The reading takes about 1/2 hour, and during that time children who are old enough to come to the reading must sit quietly so that everyone can hear every single word of the story. So listening for Haman's name gives everyone a reason to pay attention!

You'll Need:

• Plastic cups, any size, clear works well too!
• Electrical Tape (my favorite new crafting supply)
• Beans to fill the cup
• Gold stickers
• A popsicle stick (you can make these without the handle too)
• Hot glue gun or other tacky glue

How-To:

1. Fill one of the cups about 1/4 full with dried beans or anything else you have on hand that will make noise when shaken.
2. Attache the popsicle stick to one cup with hot glue, and then join two cups together with hot glue. My new hot glue gun is so hot it melted the cup the first go around, so use the hot glue sparingly.
3. Decorate the cups with electrical tape and stickers
4. Enjoy making lots of noise on Purim!

Make Designer Purses from Recycled Plastic Plates (To Hold Treats For Purim or Any Time!)

Once upon a Purim a few years back I decided to make some designer purses from plastic plates! They're perfect for little girls to give to their friends on Purim, and they'd be great for birthday party favor bags!

Of course you could make the same thing from large plates, and your creations would then be large enough to hold a respectable gift. A miniature bottle of wine or grape juice together with some other packaged foods that are flat (how about a nice sandwich?) would make a nice presentation. And the truth is, with my experience most people would much rather receive something fun like this, than a huge basket!

Hopefully you can basically figure out the construction of the "bags" from the photos, and come up with some of your own designs as well. Pretend you're a handbag designer and have some fun!

I used hot glue to glue together the plates and planned ahead with straps and fringe, placing them between the plates before gluing. A regular hole punch works for the holes, and some Tulip fabric paint (in an applicator bottle) was used for the gold dots. All of these versions actually close with a ribbon tie, which of course is optional. Other than that, I think you'll get the hang of it in no time. And why not make some designer labels to go with your creations while you're at it!

I'd love to see what you come up with, so do take photos to share with us here on the blog! Happy creating!

Recycled Soda Bottles Are Great For Giving Treats!

When I figured out this earth friendly packaging trick a few years ago, I was so excited! The shiny bottle makes the hand printed paper inside look amazing, and as you may already know, I just love projects that involve recycling. I've used this idea several times for giving treats on Purim, but you can certainly pull this one out of your hat any time you need a packaging idea for home baked goods or even a small present!

I would recommend printing or stamping your own paper for a completely unique presentation, but if you just don't have the time or the inclination, so you could certainly use some gorgeous scrap-booking paper. For some ideas on how to go about creating your own patterned paper, I've described stamping with large foam stamps (bottom photo) here, printing with objects from the kitchen (top photo) here, making your own stamps here, and  making prints with styro-foam trays here. And of course you could also pull out the potatoes and do some potato prints as well. So get a head start on this project and print your paper now!

You'll Need:

• Clear soda or other drink bottles
• Patterned Paper (that you've hopefully printed yourself)
• Ribbon
• Cellophane
• A strong hole punch, my old fashioned metal one works great

How To:

1. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top curved portion of your bottle, and even it out with scissors. The height of your bottle is up to you, I've always used the maximum height that I could, but you could certainly make them short and cute to hold something small.
2. Cut your paper to the exact height of the straight portion of the bottle. Depending on the shape of the bottom of your bottle, you will probably not want the paper to extend to the bottom of the bottle as it won't lie flat in that portion.
3. Insert paper into bottle and secure paper to itself with a piece of tape.
4. You may want to use a few clothespins or bulldog clips to hold paper in place so that top edge of paper lines up exactly with top edge of bottle.
5. Punch evenly spaced holes through both the paper and the bottle at the same time
6. Lace ribbon through the holes moccasin style — the nicest finish I came up with given the rough edge of the soda bottle.
7. Place cellophane in bottle and then the present or treat, tie with ribbon and trim cellophane to desired  height.
8. Give to friends and family and get showered with a ton of compliments! Take credit if you like, but do tell them about my blog, would you?

Package Treats In Festive Boxes Made From Recycled Baby Formula Cans!

 

When there are babies, there is very often baby formula! Hopefully not in place of nursing, which we all know is the best for any baby, but every mother has to make decisions about how to raise her family that are for the good of everyone! That said, Materna (baby formula) is quite popular here in Israel, and so there are lots of cans floating around begging to be used for craft projects!These metal cans have wonderfully strong lids which make them ideal candidates for recycling as gift containers for any occasion!

It's true, you can't pack too much into one of these, but I think everyone appreciates a beautiful container that they can use again more than an abundance of treats which they really don't need! So ask your neighbors to save their Materna cans if you don't have any, and for those of you in the rest of the world, well I'm sure you can find a nice substitute. Just make sure the cans you choose have smooth sides, and choose a color scheme that works with the color of the lid!

You'll Need:

• Metal baby formula cans (or of course any type of can with a lid, or not)  Materna has two sizes, the large ones are really great!
• Sparkled contact paper (tepet in Israel)
• Metallic silver tape (mine was from the hardware store!) or metallic silver contact paper
• Round metallic silver stickers in two sizes, I like to use the largest together with some that are about the size of a shekel (penny)
• Purple ribbon for the decorative bow on the top
• Thin ribbon to wrap around the box and to hold the card

How To:

1. Preferably using a metal ruler and a craft knife, cut strips of contact paper no wider than half the height of the can. The thinner the strips the easier they are to apply. Trying to cover the whole can is generally a mistake as you'll end up with lots of bubbles and creases. That's with the product I used though. With thick American style contact paper you may be able to do the whole can in one strip. Try both and see what works for you!
2. With most cans you'll want to start applying the contact paper to the can just beneath the area covered by the lid, though it definitely depends on the type of can you'll be using. The main thing is that taking the lid off and putting it back on won't dislodge the paper.
3. After you've covered your cans in the base color, add strips of silver tape or paper to disguise seam lines and add some interest.
4. Finish off your work of art with metallic stickers placed evenly around the circumference of the box.
5. Make the bows for the top by simply looping ribbon back onto itself, and securing in the center with a staple. Secure to the top of the can with a piece of double sided tape.
6. Make small cards from some interesting paper, punch a hole in them and tie onto can. (This was paper I'd stamped for another project I'll be showing you soon.)
7. Line up all your creations and enjoy looking at them before you give them away!

Create Gorgeous Gift Boxes From Recycled Cereal Boxes! (For Purim, Of Course!)

Looking for an earth-friendly and gorgeous solution for mishloach manot (gifts of food for the Jewish holiday of Purim) packaging this year? Here's your answer: cereal boxes! Or for that matter any type of box with a non-printed side, and that can be easily opened and reassembled inside out. Start looking around and I'm sure you'll find lots of options in your very own kitchen.

You'll Need:

• cereal boxes
• light blue acrylic craft paint and paint brush
• round objects to use as stamps:large bottle caps, wine corks etc.
• purple puff paint or glittered fabric paint in a bottle applicator
• glue: tacky craft glue or a hot glue gun
• lavender ribbon

How To:

1. Find seams where cereal box is glued together, on one side and bottom.
2. Carefully open seams with a sharp knife, being careful not to tear box as much as possible
3. Flatten box on work surface and print with polka dots in this manner: Find a flat round object to use as a stamp, using a paint brush apply paint to object and firmly press onto box. Make sure you don't use too much paint and that paint is sticky, not runny.
4. Here's a photo of printing in this manner on paper:
5. Once paint has dried, decorate painted circles with dots of fabric paint. Keep it simple as shown in the photo of the finished box.
6. Once fabric paint is thoroughly dried (at least five to six hours, best overnight) reassemble box using original tabs, just inside out this time! You'll need strong tacky craft glue or a hot glue gun to handle this.
7. Decorate box with ribbon and make a tie closure by punching two holes in top of box just underneath slit of top tab (when tab is closed and on top of box.) Thread ribbon through the holes and up through the slit and tie a bow.
8. If you'll be using your box to hold heavy items, reinforce the bottom of the box with another piece of cardboard cut to fit exactly into the box and glued in place.
9. You can choose to make closed boxes as shown here, or cut off the top portion and make shopping- bag-shaped containers instead. Fill with pastel colored tissue paper or matching cellophane, and make ribbon handles, either one big one from side panel to side panel, or two smaller ones attached to front and back panels. Make holes for the ribbon handles with a hole punch or preferably with a scrapbooking grommet kit.

I hope you enjoyed this project, there's lots more to come, so check back everyday this week to see what types of containers you should be saving!

Make Etherial Cherry Blossom Garlands From Disposable Tablecloths!

Isn't this just dreamy? I don't know why it never occurred to me that the chandelier in my stair well, as well as the banister are perfect places to hang seasonal decorations! In fact, other than painting this space peacock blue, (which I still love even three years later) I have yet to figure out how to decorate the space, so some beautiful garlands certainly give the space some life!

Sure looks like Spring time in this stairwell! And these would be great party decorations for just about any occasion, though I won't try to deceive you and say they were quick to make, because making a large quantity like I did (maybe at least 12 meters worth) requires quite a bit of time, though well worth it!

One of the really interesting things about this garland project is the material that I used. Disposable tablecloth yardage! If you're not familiar with this creation, it's the same fabric used in hospital masks and bibs, only available in every color to suit your party decor. The great thing about it is that it's not woven, so there is no unraveling, and it is semi translucent, so it looks a bit like tissue paper. And of course it's much cheaper than most fabric. And if you're lucky maybe you can even recycle some non-soiled ones from the next  party where they happen to be using such a thing. (Very common in Israel.)

Here's How:

1. Cut all kinds of shapes like flowers, circles, leaf shapes etc from disposable table cloth material.
2. Shapes needn't be perfect, and you can certainly cut at least 10 layers of fabric at a time, so the shapes add up quickly.
3. And now for the fun part: Sew the shapes together by running them through the sewing machine, quickly placing one after another, and not worrying about lining things up! The randomness is what makes them look like falling blossoms, at least to me!
4. Hang strings of blooms vertically or horizontally and enjoy!

Recycle Promotional Magnets And Make Fun Art For Your Fridge!

I really hope you've been saving those promotional magnets you get with the pizza delivery or from a myriad of people trying to get you to remember them on your fridge. Because I've finally come up with a great project that everyone in the family will love! Simply scrub off the printed paper side after it's been soaked in hot water, cut the magnet into shapes and play with them on your fridge door to make fun pictures! My kids were so excited when they came home from school and saw this tree on our fridge, and I'm just imagining how fun a whole box of shapes of all kinds could be!

If you want to get fancy, you could of course use some modge podge or glue to adhere some nice paper or  even thin fabric to your magnets before cutting them, but I really like the simplicity of the black and white, plus it took all of ten minutes! The white magnets are a result of not scrubbing off the last layer of paper from the printed side of the magnet.

And now I'd like to share with you the amazing inspiration for this project:

Isn't it just wonderful? When I saw this creative work of art on the refrigerator at my sewing teacher's home, I just knew I had to share it with you! Her kids have been playing with little pieces of magnets that were once a long strip inside a refrigerator door, creating new works of art each day. I'm grateful that their ingenuity helped me come up with an idea for today's post and an activity that we'll enjoy in our home for years to come I'm sure! Now if I can just remember where I put that stack of magnets I've been saving!

Making Plarn From Plastic Bags: Crafting For The Next Decade

This photo represents my crafting hopes for the next decade: to make an honest attempt to use up all the crafting supplies I happen to have collected and accumulated over the years, and to do my best to re-use and recycle all the things that come my way! Which explains why I've taken a photo of balls of yarn from my childhood that I recently found at my parent's home, together with some balls of plarn that I've been in the process of making. (For complete instructions on how to make plarn, see my previous post here.)

A Few Words Regarding Using My Stash:

I won't go into depth about all the supplies I have on hand which need using up, but let's just say, there is quite a bit of fabric, some in the form of vintage sheets, a huge box of 100% wool rug yarn (that will definitely be used soon) boxes of broken dishes and tile samples, lamp shade frames, a whole collection of silk painting supplies, a nice sized box of buttons and much more, get the picture? Luckily I have a very large attic which can hold an almost endless supply of just about anything, but I think it's time to start digging in and using up that which I have. My newfound love of sewing should be a very big help, just think of all the amazing things I can sew with all those boxes of fabric! If only there were more time in the day!

A Few Words Regarding Re-Use And Recycling:

Unfortunately the only thing that I can recycle somewhat easily is plastic bottles, and some glass bottles can be returned for a small refund. (There is limited paper recycling, but not near my home.) Other than that, the bulk of things that are recycled by many other countries are tossed in the trash here. I do my best to save things that really can be re-used for craft projects, and try to educate my friends and neighbors to do the same! (Take a look at all the projects I've posted related to recycling here.)

What do I save? Here's is a short list, which might help you decide what to collect in order to have supplies on hand for upcoming projects!

• styrofoam meat trays
• cereal boxes
• wine corks
• plastic bottle caps
• egg cartons
• toilet paper and aluminum foil rolls
• plastic bags for making plarn
• plastic bags for fusing
• coffee jars
• metal oatmeal cans with lids
• interesting glass bottles
• broken dishes
• old 100% wool anything

What are your crafting goals for the next decade? I'd love to hear about them!

Recycled Cans Make Delightful Cannisters To Hold Edible Gifts!

Wondering how to package those holiday treats you'd like to give as gifts?  Why not recycle cans (and even  boxes or bottles) and transform them into containers that will be enjoyed long after the treats are gone? Your gift will be that much more appreciated, and everyone can surely use an extra container or two around holiday time. 

All you need is some recycled cans from the kitchen, preferably with non-ribbed sides, and some shiny contact paper in a few colors. The cans I've used here are from instant oatmeal, and I've included the plastic top (seen at the base of each can) so that the containers can be used in a number of ways.

You'll Need:

• a can, a box or any strong container, even a clean milk carton or plastic bottle (with the top portion removed) could work nicely
• shiny contact paper in a few colors
• cellophane or tissue paper
• ribbon

How To:

1. Choose a base color, and cut a piece that will cover the container, both in height and width.
2. Apply designs and stripes of other colors on top of this base color
3. Wrap your treat in cellophane, insert into container and tie with a ribbon!

When you start to look at all the food packaging that goes into the garbage or hopefully the recycling bin, you'll realize that many of them can be re-purposed as great gift boxes and containers. Most boxes can be carefully opened and then re-glued inside out, leaving you with a blank brown box that can be decorated or even left as is. So get creative with the gift wrapping this year and have fun!

Make Festive Chanukah Bunting And Chanukah Cards From Styrofoam Prints

Here it is finally, the first actual Chanukah themed craft project! Phew I was feeling a bit behind, given that Chanukah is just 25 days away, which is not much time for the creative jewish mom to get it together. Plus I wanted to make sure you'd have some time to do some crafting too. Last night I sat down with my 6 year old son and we made these prints together, using the technique I taught you in the post about printing with recycled styrofoam trays. You can find that post and a complete tutorial here.

I just love how all the prints look together, they remind  me of  vintage Israeli graphics from the 50's.

I had planned to use the prints for Chanukah cards, but today it occurred to me that they'd make great bunting! And for some unknown reason I printed all the images with a substantial border at the top, perfect for folding over a ribbon and securing with tape!

And here's the first Chanukah card I've made. It looks great with the home printed wrapping paper that we learned how to make in this post! I simply cut out the print, pasted it to a piece of yellow paper, trimmed the yellow paper to size, and adhered that to the orange card. Simple enough!

I have to say, I feel much better now, knowing that there are three projects in my Chanukah category! It's certainly a start and I hope to bring you lots and lots more great projects to help you and your friends and family celebrate Chanukah in a meaningful way. So stay tuned!