creative jewish mom

Watercolor Painting With Pencil Drawing

Isn't this little watercolor painting sweet, and so perfect for summer? Truthfully my daughter painted this over a year ago, and we just came upon it, which is perfect timing, as I really didn't have anything to share with you today!

Watercolors are a great medium for all ages, and kids can produce nice works of art by simply filling in a pencil drawing with a nice combination of bright colors. Simple geometric shapes always look great, or something with just a bit more detail like this simple Jerusalem scene. I also love the geometric border at the bottom, the addition of which results in an exciting combination of shapes and patterns. Give it a try!

Keychain Camp Craft For Kids

The other day my son came home with not one, but a bunch of keychains the kids had made at day camp. The ideal little project for this particular son of mine who loves loves loves to wear as many keychains of all kinds on his pants! As it turns out, each camper only got one keychain, but my son traded chips for keychains, smart boy! 

Oh and as for the themes of you keychains? Well of course you could do just about anything relating to teams or geographic locations or fun graphic symbols of some kind. The keychains here say in hebrew ayin tovah  which translated means "good eye" — namely judging favorably, and lev tov, "good heart" which means kindness and empathy towards others. Even at summer camp amidst the crazy fun one can always remind children in a gentle way about the importance of their thoughts and actions!

You'll Need:

• key chain rings
• colored paper with printed or drawn images
• a laminating machine or possibly contact paper

How To:

Get kids to draw little symbols, or print a whole bunch on your laser printer. Laminate the sheet or cover on both sides with clear contact paper. Cut out the shapes, punch a hole in each one and assemble your keychains! I can imagine that some kids would be thrilled to make a whole collection of these, and my son will be happy to join you!

Decoupage With Fabric— Pots For Your Garden!

We needed a quick teacher appreciation gift for my daughter's teacher last week, and I finally got around to trying out fabric decoupage on terra cotta pots! I'm totally in love with the results and can't believe it took me so long to give this one a try. Oh well, everything in it's time!

And since I had to give away the striped pot, I'm just going to have to make more. Well as many as the amount of special water proof fabric stiffener that I have on hand holds out! And then I may just give it a try with a mix of PVA wood glue and water, of course I'll be sure to fill you in, not to worry.

 You'll Need:

• cotton fabric scraps, quilting weight preferably
• terra cotta pots
• Paverpol textile hardener, a special waterproof medium of sorts for sculpting with fabric, info available here in Israel, and here in the U.S. (and for sale at art supply stores in The Netherlands where it's produced) Unfortunately Paverpol is rather expensive anywhere other than The Netherlands, but I haven't found any other product quite like it! 

How To:

1. Cut or tear strips of fabric that are the exact length to span the inner lip of the pot to the bottom. Cut circles for the scalloped circle design by stacking or folding pieces of fabric to cut many at a time. If you are not using Paverpol, so plan your design that the fabric strips will end just above the soil level, or proceed as I did and keep in my that you'll need an inner pot to hold the moist soil.
2. On a protected surface, (this is messy!) and at a time when you are not needed for anything else, dip your strips into the Paverpol and run your thumb and pointer finger over the strip to remove the excess. Apply your strip to the pot, and continue working in this manner until the pot is filled.
3. Set aside to dry overnight, and place in a spot where you can enjoy!

 

 

Butterfly Kite Kid's Craft With Straws

Here's a great butterfly kite craft for kids, that you might not be able to resist yourself, since the results are just so much fun! Last week I shared with you the kites we made from straws and tissue paper, and we just couldn't stop with classic kite shapes, since there are so many possibilities once you start playing around with the straws! I just love this butterfly, and hope to make some more to hang on a wall in my courtyard garden.

Sweet right? And they're really simple to make. So simple that you could definately make a bunch for some great party decorations this summer!

You'll Need:

• plastic drinking straws, we used neon colored ones
• white glue, we used high tack craft glue which is a bit hard to squeeze out of the bottle for kids, but helps speed the project along
• colored tissue paper
• white string or yarn
• round wooden skewers (or toothpicks will work if that's what you have on hand)
• mod podge or a mixture of white glue and water
• a hot glue gun (for adult assistance)
• scissors

Step 1: Cut pieces of straws and glue them to your tissue paper base to form a butterfly shape.  You can make kites of any size, though for the largest size possible, use complete straws for your outside border and then fill in the inside framework with pieces cut to size as necessary. The horizontal cross bar pieces should be placed in the top third, not centered (as I originally did, as you can see by the glue line in the photo) so that the kite will be properly balanced.

Step 2: After the glue has dried somewhat or better yet, completely (we couldn't wait that long!) cut out your kites by cutting the tissue paper just along the border formed by the straws. To stabilize the kite, run a wooden skewer through the horizontal cross bar straw pieces. Round wooden bamboo bar-b-que skewers are exactly the right size for this project, or possibly just a bit long, so trim the excess with sharp scissors.

Step 3: Apply designs to the front of your kite with mod podge or a mixture of white glue and water, and once dry thread a string through the straws at the top of each wing. Voila, a super fun butterfly kite is born.

To learn how to make the other kites seen in the top photo, see my previous post here, and enjoy!

Melted Plastic Hama Bead Bowls

Yesterday as we were recovering from a wonderful Shavous holiday weekend, we made some melted hama (perler) bead bowls! You see, a good friend who stayed with us for the holiday just couldn't resist mopping my floors and doing some general cleaning, so when she suggested that maybe the kids could do a project, I most certainly had to step up to the plate! (I'm more than happy to trade crafting for house cleaning any time!) And fortunately, this hama bead project, that's all over the web right now, was the perfect little project that kept four kids busy with minimal clean up, and they happily listened to some music while waiting for the results.

A great project all around, and especially for those kids who prefer process oriented projects over personal expression or pure creativity, alack alas.

You'll Need: 

• plastic perler or hama beads
• over proof bowls  (I used something not technically oven proof, but I know from experience that a heavy ceramic bowl will be fine in the oven for a limited period of time. Though only take my advice with something that isn't precious!)
• an oven
• some kids of all ages in need of a good project

How To: Pre heat the oven to 350F or 200C. Choose either oven proof or sturdy ceramic bowls, and grease the bowls with cooking spray or simply take a piece of paper towel and rub the oil over the entire inside of the bowl. The oil actually helps the little beads stick to the sides so don't worry about applying too much oil.

Starting at the bottom of the bowl, spread the beads in one layer and then work up the sides of the bowl. Once certainly could make patterns with the beads as opposed to doing what we did. (Next time!) Placing the beads around the sides of the bowl is a bit more challenging, but worth the effort! Place the bowls in the oven for about ten minutes or however long it takes for the top row of beads to melt enough that they start to sag a bit, indicating that the rest of the beads have also melted sufficiently I think?

Remove bowls from oven and set aside to cool. If you just can't wait, so place the bowls in the freezer, and after about ten more minutes, pop them out of the bowl base, and wow!

The underside of the bowl has that lovely melted look, and all in all I think we'll be making some of these little bowls again. Maybe they'd make great little bowls to hold a gift, or as catchalls for spare change. In any case, this is a simple craft idea to have on hand this summer!

Lag B'Omer Arrows Craft For Kids (Or Mom......)

This fun arrow craft for kids is an example of a spur of the moment craft that happened at our house today with my six and eight year olds, just in time— just in time for Lag B'Omer that is, phew! Tomorrow night starts the Jewish holiday that celebrates one of our great sages, Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and since the bow and arrow happen to be one of the symbols of the holiday, this little idea is just perfect in so many ways, and a great craft for boys who may not always be so keen on crafts! 

I think I'm actually going to make a few more tonight to add to the bunch, as these arrows also happen to look great in a vase, which could be a great centerpiece for your Lag B'Omer picnic, or to simply enjoy in your home on and around the holiday. 

And who needs a bow anyway, these arrows are just fantastic as is.....

You'll Need:

• wooden dowels
• colored paper
• colored tape, washi tape if you're lucky to have some, or even colored electrical tape
• hot glue gun or high tack craft glue

How To:

Make stripes on the dowels with tape or by affixing narrow strips of paper with glue. Cut feathers, from a folded sheet of paper so they'll be symmetrical, three per arrow. Affix feathers with hot glue or high tack glue. Make a tip using black electrical tape, or come up with a better way to do it....and please let me in on the secret. Honestly I ran out of time as the sun was going down and I wanted to share this with you now!

Make a bunch, they're just so much fun! For more Lag B'Omer crafts and information about the joyful holiday which involves bonfires and lots of outdoor festivities, see my previous posts in the Lag B'Omer archives.

Cellophane Stained Glass Window Craft

Now you too can decorate your windows with colored cellophane and make gorgeous stained glass-like art in just minutes, that cleans up in minutes too! Just before Purim I decided that we needed a little bit of color on our windows, and thanks to this great idea that Tali of matzo soup posted here, I had already purchased some colored cellophane, so we were all set!

I cut circles, and squares and triangles from stacks of colored cellophane and then we had fun applying them to the windows with a mixture of about 2 parts dish soap to 1 part water! The results aren't perfect as you do see the drips of the soap, but I'm sure if you wanted to have perfect results you could use a paint brush instead of smearing the solution on the window with your fingers, which is what we did. You simply dip your fingers in the solution, apply some to an area of the window and place the cellophane shapes on the window. So simple even a two year old could do it!

Our windows sure are looking happy now right? And here's a shot of the big picture:

Just too much fun, I have to say, and really so very simple! So get yourself some colored cellophane and have fun livening up your windows for your next party or just because! And if you've started the Passover cleaning and well, quite frankly this isn't up your alley right now, keep it under your hat for Shavuos!

Science Experiment For Kids: Ice and Kosher Salt Sculptures

Here's a fun and simple science experiment for kids that's artful, cool (literally) and requires only some very basic supplies. And the results are downright gorgeous, or at least intriguing, depending on the colors one uses! Infact, I hesitate to call this a simple science experiment for kids, since anyone of any age who appreciates colors and the beauty of ice crystals will certainly enjoy this one! I was inspired by a post over on The Artful Parent, where an ice block made in a milk carton is used, but I decided to make a smaller castle like shape by filling the bottom half of a recycled plastic bottle with water. Ours melted leaving lovely holes on the inside, and it really looked like a crystal palace of sorts!

You'll Need:

• kosher salt (use can mix in some regular salt too, but I think the large salt crystals are more beautiful)
• food coloring or liquid water colors
• a block of ice, we made ours in the bottom portion of recycled plastic bottles
• a plate or preferable a deep tray to catch all the liquid as it melts
• an eye dropper (optional)

How To:

Cut open plastic bottle to release ice and place on plate with the bottom flower-like side up. Dump salt crystals onto the top of the ice and then with an eye dropper start placing drops of color on top. We didn't have an eye dropper, so we actually used tiny shot glasses to just pour the color over our block of ice which worked too, but it's preferable to do this in smaller quantities to at least prolong the activitity a bit!

As the ice melted we looked closed at how the salt was melting the ice and discussed how in some cold areas of the world, salt is often used on the streets during the winter to melt ice. And that's it! Enjoy. This could be a nice project to do with a group of kids at a summer get together, and come back tomorrow for another great project that you can do at the same time to use up your little pots of food coloring!

 

Kid's Craft: Jars Decoupaged With Printed Tissue Paper

Aren't these recycled coffee jar vases sweet? (Snowflake and all in the middle of summer?) And they look so great holding wild flowers, cuttings from the garden that you're rooting, or even candles of course. We made these recycled jar vases using the tissue paper that we printed on last week, here, and some mod podge. If you make something really precious, do use a glue that holds up under exposure to water, namely something like Paverpol (which is actually a fabric stiffener but is good for all decoupage applications) or possibly mod podge outdoor, which given the name sounds like it's more water friendly.

You'll Need:

• tissue paper that you've printed or painted on yourself, tutorial here
• recycled jars
• decoupage medium, like white glue, mod podge or possibly something water resistant like Paverpol
• paint brushes

How To: Clean and dry jars. Work in small areas brushing glue onto jar and applying pieces of tissue paper. In some cases, as with a light color you may want to do several layers, which we did with the white polka dotted jar. Set aside to dry, and enjoy on your table!

And by the way, here's a little tip for how to get your kid's projects to look good on your dining room table—place them on trays! I really think one can never have too many trays, so stock up on them when you see a good deal! 

Summer Craft: Wine Cork Boats

I've had the idea of making wine cork boats on my mind for quite a while, and at long last we had a few minutes to pull out that bag of recycled wine corks, and make some little boats to try out in our wading pool. After my boys saw how successful these boats were, and that the wind even carried my little sailboat version across the pool, I think we'll be making some more soon! Next time we'll plan ahead and use silicone as our adhesive, as the hot glue did not hold up after prolonged exposure to the water. However, with hot glue there's instant gratification, so take that into consideration, or use wire or string to bind your creations together!  And for another blogger's adorable take on this project, complete with a cord for not loosing the little boats in the stream, check out the post, here.

You'll Need:

• recycled wine corks
• tongue depressors/popsicle sticks
• small pieces of wood
• skewers or some odds and ends from a pick-up sticks game
• craft foam
• hot glue or preferable silicone, though you'll have to allow a least a day for the silicone to harden

How To: Kind of self explanatory right? Glue everything together. Stick the skewer into the wine cork for the mast. Draw some sail/flag shapes on craft foam and cut them out. Find the nearest body of water and enjoy. Ahhhhhhh. Just looking at these photos is refreshing!