creative jewish mom

Fingernail Polish Crafting: Magnets!

Crafting with fingernail polish is so much fun, and when there's a few bottles sitting around, one must find something to paint, and fingernail polish magnets is just the thing! I just love how these turned out, and from afar they're even cuter as one doesn't see all the little imperfections that you see in these close-ups!

One little warning: do not leave your freshly painted magnets sitting around anywhere, as one sweet little eight year old may just innocently decide to stack them, thus ruining most of your work and making the magnets inseparable for the most part. Sigh. I guess we'll just have to buy some more!

You'll Need:

• magents, love these lifesaver ones!
• nail polish in your favorite colors

How To:

Have fun painting your magnets in simple designs or solid colors. Make dots by letting the first coat dry, slightly and then use the end of the brush to apply the dots. So simple with great results!

Set aside to dry for at least 24 hours, and if your magnets are strong, try to keep them separate as the fingernail polish may make them difficult to separate even when dry. 

For another idea for crafting with fingernail polish, check out my fingernail polish glass pebbles!

Simple Gift Package Using Paper Plates

Keep this idea under your hat to pull out when needed: you can make a fun gift package with just two dinner sized paper plates and just a few supplies! I would say that this paper plate gift package is most suited to gifts of food of some kind, but not necessarily! I actually made about ten of these on Purim morning to give as gifts to the neighbors (a Purim custom), and quickly took a photo amidst all the hectic preparations for a packed day of celebrating! While I wouldn't recommend trying to make these last minute as I did, you could at least prepare them ahead and fill with goodies when needed!

You'll Need:

• two dinner sized paper plates, with a fun pattern
• coordinating curling ribbon, and metallic ribbon to close package
• a metal hole punch (the plastic ones are usually not heavy duty enough in my experience)
• a hot glue gun
• cellophane, preferably patterned and in a color to compliment your plates!
• metallic stickers or embellishments of some kind if the center of your plates are empty like mine

How To:

1. Place the two paper plates back to back, flattening the plate in front into the curve of the plate in back. 
2. Cut off two or more inches from the top, like you would to stuff a pita! 
3. Holding the two plates together securely, punch holes around the edge, through both plates. If this is too difficult. punch holes in one plate and mark where the corresponding holes need to be on the second plate. Don't worry, you needn't be 100% exact.
4. Using curling ribbon, lace your plates together, or get your 9 and 10 year old kids to do it for you, which is what happened at our house, and boy was I happy to have some help! Secure the ends to the inside with hot glue, or a piece of tape may work just fine.
5. Embellish plates with stickers if necessary.
6. Place a piece of cellophane into the paper plate pocket, insert your goodies, and tie with a coordinating ribbon. 

Voila, you've got one very original gift package that will certainly put a smile on the face of the recipient! Oh, and by the way, I didn't have the time to make gift tags, so I actually wrote my message in the middle of the plate on the back......an option to keep in mind! 

Crocheted Hearts Wall Hanging On A Limb!

How about making a crocheted hearts wall hanging to remind someone that you love them? I made this crocheted hearts and leaves wall hanging using a real branch, to hang over my daughter's bed. Our drill is broken, so the wall hanging has been hanging out in the hall outside her bedroom, for the whole family to enjoy! Ahem.

This is a fun project that covers quite a bit of wall space and can be done fairly quickly, as I've used chunky yarn, so the hearts are a nice size. Join your hearts and flowers with some silver wire edged ribbon, and tie the leaves onto the branch with the ends that you needn't weave in, and voila! I've done all the work for you in figuring out how many hearts to make and what looks the best compositions wise, so it should be a cinch! Plus you've probably got some odds and ends hanging around that would be perfect for this project!

You'll Need:

• seven crocheted hearts, using the pattern, here.
• three crocheted flowers, using just the center portion of the heart pattern, here.
• crocheted leaves, made using the pattern and advice, here.
• a real branch
• white paint to paint the branch
• silver wire edged ribbon to tie the hearts together

Enjoy crafting and spreading the love!

Oatmeal Can Giftbox Craft For Kids

Recycle oatmeal cans, or any cans with flat sides to make some super cute gift boxes! Kids of all ages can enjoy this one with just a little help, and the results are just down right fabulous! I keep smiling when I look at them especially since this one was even a hit with my nine year old son who usually refuses to craft!  

The kids will be using these cans to give edible gifts to their friends on Purim. We may leave the cans open and wrap the treats in colored celophane, or give them as is, we still have a few weeks to decide! (And quite a bit more crafting to do!)

Most kids trade little gifts with friends on Purim moring, and usually the treat is placed on a disposable plate, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a ribbon. Simple and cute, though I'm so happy that after all the years of watching me slave over my Purim creations, my kids are joining in the fun, and it's important to them too to give something just a little special! 

You'll Need:

• recycled cans or any kind, with smooth sides (namely no ridges in metal)
• contact paper, we used both standard contact paper and some Israeli metallic contact paper ("tepet") which is inexpensive, though not so easy to cut with craft punches as it's a little on the thin side
• craft punches: we used an oval, a scalloped circle, a tiny heart and a tiny bird
• scissors

How To: A parent may need to cut the piece to wrap around the can, (in our case wood patterned contact paper) which is what I did here, but after that I left the kids on their own entirely, which is of course always the best way to go if possible!

The great thing about this project (besides that fact that we only used supplies we had on hand, yippee!) is that I can't find enough oatmeal cans for everyone, (since we need about thirty gift packages or more) so we've moved onto some other recycled containers I've been saving, more about that soon!

And of course, this is not the first time I've used oatmeal containers to make gift packages! You can see my previous posts with more ideas, like covering an oatmeal can with a tape measure, or a mommy version of the contact paper craft here. 

Also, if you're shopping on the internet and looking for a unique gift for friends, then take a look at, my photo gifts and create you own special gift.... how easy is that?!

Recycled Plastic Bottle Flower Bouquet

Yippee, I do believe I have come up with a fun way to make recycled plastic bottle flowers that look artfully elegant! Just in time for spring, though of course these flowers will last practically forever, and are great to have on hand for a last minute centerpiece. Plus your recycled plastic flower bouquet will be the talk of the town, and then you'll end up teaching all of your friends to make them too, so do keep that in mind! Truthfully, no one actually asked me to teach them how to make them, they just asked to take some home! Oh and the kindergarten teacher borrowed a bouquet to teach her students about recycling, which made me very happy!

The story goes like this: in September 2011 I made some gold plastic bottle flowers for my succah, and posted about them as simple plastic bottle flower ornaments. As I recall I didn't think they looked quite finished enough, and when I ran out of time I stuffed them all into a garbage bag, where they sat patiently awaiting their debut here! Last week I needed some arrangements, eight to be exact for a community party, and decided to  try combining a small version of my giant paper flowers with the a newly updated and improved version of plastic bottle flowers, namely with fabric rosette centers! And I'm happy to say I love the results. 

So gather together your supplies and follow the tutorials which I've linked to below. For each bouquet you'll need at least two paper flowers and six to eight (or more for a huge bouquet) plastic bottle flowers in a variety of sizes.

For the recycled plastic bottle flowers: follow my tutorial here.

For the paper flowers: follow my tutorial here, just make a five petaled flower using the smallest petal only. Make pom poms from pink yarn, ours is variegated, and attach with hot glue.

Enjoy and let me know how it goes!

Soda Bottle Apple Revisited- Reader's versions!

Now is apple season, and around here apples are not just about back to school and Fall, they're also about Rosh HaShana, so apple themed crafts are perfect right about now! With Rosh HaShana just ten or so days away, my soda bottle apple gift box is a perfect project, and I was so very happy to see two great versions of it on the web, so I just had to share them with you!

The teacher appreciation gift version from bethapalooza is perfect, and I love the fact that she changed some of the details, for the better even! Joyful Jewish took my idea and used it not as a gift box but as a hanging decoration, which could be perfect for Rosh HaShana and then useful in the Succah!

For complete instructions, please refer to my original post, the soda bottle apple gift box. Enjoy, more crafts for Rosh HaShana coming soon!

 

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!

 

 

Plastic Bottle Apple For The Teacher

This morning I sent my kids off to school with these cute plastic bottle apples for the teacher, together with a wish for a happy new year, written by each child.

I filled the bottom of the bottle with a circle of round tissue paper, and left the top portion empty to view the red colored treats.

 

For complete instructions, see my tutorial here. This is a simple project that's great as a teacher appreciation gift any time!

Sweet Goodbye Necklace

A sweet goodbye necklace with notes written by younger siblings was a nice touch as we said goodbye today to a teenage family member who left to continue his studies far from home. My kids were a bit shocked to see me buying candy, as we generally don't, but in this case nothing else would have expressed our sentiments in quite the same way.

In Hawaii they give flower leis when you arrive, so I figure we now have a new family tradition of sending off loved ones with necklaces made from little notes and treats. There's really no greater satisfaction than using our crafting skills to let our friends and loved ones know we care.

And of course, you could use this idea for a teacher appreciation gift, a birthday gift, a gift for a friend who's in the hospital, a graduation gift, etc. Enjoy!

Cupcake Liner Flower Teacher Appreciation Bouquet

A cupcake liner flower bouquet in a tape measure vase made from an oatmeal can? Well, yes, infact and though a bit hard to capture on film, it's downright cute. You can't go wrong with cupcake liner flowers! And I was so grateful that I came up with the idea of using the plastic tape measures, since my original idea of using graph paper just wasn't working so well, and infact I tore all the paper off and started over! My kids each wrote a nice note to their teacher which I rolled up and tied with a ribbon, and I wrapped the whole thing up with some clear celophane so that it would get to school intact. Though this was done a bit last minute, I'm really happy that I took the the time to show our teachers how much we appreciate them, and to show our children as well how important it is to show appreciation! 

Oh yes, and in case you're wondering, my little boys are just starting their summer vacation today! Which means than many of you can actually use this project for back to school gifts. Perfect timing!

You'll Need:

• recycled cans with smooth sides, I used oatmeal cans
• plastic tape measures in several colors
• cupcake liners in creme, metallic silver and blue stripes
• colored pencils
• floral wire
• styrofoam
• mod podge
• colorful paper plates

For the how-to, continue reading below: