creative jewish mom

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!

Giant Paper Cherry Blossoms For Tu B'Shevat!

I love cherry blossoms, and giant paper cherry blossoms are perfect for stunning spring or late winter centerpieces! The Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, which celebrates the new year for the fruit bearing trees, is just a little over two weeks away, so now's the perfect time to make some giant blooms to grace your table!

And yes, I know, these aren't exactly shaped like cherry blossoms, which have only five petals, but you certainly can make truer to life replicas if that's important to you. 

As I'm writing this post I just looked down at myself and I'm covered in splatters of pink paint, fortunately kid's guache that will come out in the wash. Oh, and why the paint? Well these giant paper cherry blossoms used to be these giant paper flowers that I've been using since July 2012 in a variety of centerpieces! The flowers are still holding up nicely, so I just couldn't bear to toss them, so I've given them a new look with some pink paint! 

I have to say, painting them isn't quicker than making new flowers, but I'm so happy to be giving these guys a new life. More on how I'll be using them next week in another post.......I grabbed my daughter to take a quick photo of these flowers during a short spell of sun during an otherwise very rainy and snowy (yes!) day, perfect weather to enjoy this little painting project!

For a complete tutorial to make these giant paper flowers, see my giant paper flower bouquet centerpiece tutorial.  

Note: I made the flowers in the tutorial using canson art paper, while those show here are made from very light weight cardboard, just a bit heavier than card stock. While both versions have held up quite well and been used for numerous events, the cardboard ones could last for years, something to keep in mind! And of course, down the road you can always paint them or even decoupage them for a new look!

DIY Organza Flowers: The Perfect Birthday Party Project!

Last week my sweet daughter turned ten (how did that happen?) and instead of playing party games like we did last year, we decided to do a craft project—organza flowers! Truthfully, it went over quite well, with only one out of the ten girls giving up mid project.....and the rest went home with a nice flower to wear in their hair for Shabbat. Now since this project does involve using a lit tea light, I would only advise doing it with girls at least nine years old, and do make sure that all hair is tied up and out of the way!

In case you're wondering, I did offer some other color choices than the ones you see here, but these girls are not risk takers, so they all went with something well within their comfort zone, fair enough!

We attached black hair bands to the back of each flower with a tiny strip of fabric and hot glue, and my daughter was even wearing hers today. And infact this morning she made a few more, even nicer ones which I'll share with you soon.

To make these flowers, see my DIY organza flower tutorial, and check out my Chair-back Flower Garland post from last year to see how I actually used flowers like these to decorate at last year's birthday party!

Crepe Paper Flower Bouquet

Crepe paper flowers are simple to whip up, and make a perfect little gift when a little something hand-crafted from the heart in called for. Quicker than running to the store for real flowers, much quicker in my case, and oh so sweet. And my daughter was more than happy to deliver the gift, so I caught her with my camera on her way out, promising not to show her face on my blog. Well at least not more than a tiny glimpse!

Mazal Tov! Congratulations to our neighbor whose oldest son just got engaged. All the siblings were so excited and I knew that I must send them something, but what? I'm just not the type to whip up a cake, but  something quick and crafted is of course right up my alley! So on an already very busy Friday afternoon I made some crepe paper flowers using neon colored crepe paper that I purchased a while back. And the vase, well it's time to start passing along those white vases I made last year, and now my closet has one less. 

You'll Need:

• brightly colored crepe paper or tissue paper
• floral wire, I used pre-cut flower stems
• scissors
• embellished wine bottle vase
• a tag, ours made with a scalloped circle punch and a hole punch

How To:

1. See my crepe paper flower tutorial, as well as another example of a beautiful crepe paper bouquet. 
2. See my post about embellishing wine bottles
3. Take note that with these flowers I used pink and coral colored crepe paper together in one flower, and for the yellow flower I turned some of the pieces of crepe paper over as the two sides were not the same hue. 
4. Looking back at my tutorial, I realize now that I used fewer layers of crepe paper which is why these flowers aren't quite as full and gorgeous. But that's okay, they did the job!

And by the way, crepe paper flowers are perfect for Purim and for ushering in Spring! Also, do take a look at how I decorated with crepe paper flowers last Purim, and go to town. I guess crepe paper flowers are in my blood this time of year! And why not, quick to make and perfect in so many ways.

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Simple Plastic Bottle Flower Ornaments

Plastic bottle flowers are simple to make and so much fun! They make sweet ornaments hanging singly as I've shown here, though the possibilities are endless. Bouquets, wreaths, centerpieces, chandeliers.....these are just a few of the things that you could make with plastic bottle flowers!

I can't decide if I like the visible bottle nozzle or not, but if it bothers you, you could certainly make some leaves from fabric or paper and use those as a cover up, or you could take the small flower made from the bottom of the bottle and glue that over the nozzle. Have fun, and by the way, these would be great Succah ornaments, especially for those of you who live in areas where it often rains. 

You'll Need:

• plastic bottles
• how to cut plastic bottle flowers tutorial, posted yesterday
• spray paint
• fishing line

How To: Cut flowers, spray paint on the back side of the flower. You can choose to just lightly mist your flowers with paint to give them just a bit of definition, or cover completely as I've done here. Make a hole in a petal with a thick needle and hang with fishing line.

Note: The large flower at the bottom of the top photo was made using the top of the bottle plus the majority of the height of the bottle, unlike the other flower which was made according to the instructions for cutting the bottle. If you do decide to make some large flowers I'd recommend cutting no more than five petals, as my version with six petals produces a rather sickly looking flower! I'm quite sure I'll be making lots of big flowers to fill up my Succah walls!

Pom Pom Flowers For Fall

Pom pom flowers made from variegated or space dyed fall-color yarn with natural branch stems look great right now. And you can do something just a bit different and tie the branches together with some gold ribbon as a fun element on your fall table.

Okay, it's not exactly fall yet in most of the world, and I have to say, I prefer a gentle transition from the brights of summer to the rich colors of fall, which is what I've tried to do in this photo. My eye really isn't ready for the deep burgandy and reds that we generally associate with Rosh HaShana here is Israel, and certainly not for the orange/brown black palatte seen across the United States. 

I'd say start gathering some items from around your home, touches of wood, some metallic gold, and mix them with some brights here and there. Nothing drastic, just a slight soothing change in the colors we choose to use on our tables and around our homes. 

And if you haven't yet discovered the joy of pom pom flowers (which you can always pull out at a moment's notice to make a festive centerpiece) I highly suggest that you make some! Stored in a dust free spot, they'll last for years and are so much fun, believe me! See my post from last year for more information regarding pom pom flowers. Perfect any time of year, just switch the yarn colors to suit the season. Metallic gold and silver ones would be great too! And while you're at it, make a bunch so you can lend some to the neighbors when they need a festive centerpiece in a pinch- as I always say, nothing beats using our crafting skills to do acts of kindness!

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:

Paper Plate Flowers

Flowers from paper plates? Well why not, right? And very often one has a few plates left over which is the perfect excuse to make some festive flowers.....great for a birthday party or outdoor entertaining, or a fun gift topper.

As you can imagine, it's possible to use a paper plate in many ways, three of which I've photographed for you here. The large flower on the right is made using the entire plate, which was cut using the spiral diagram (as with felt flowers) here.The rose on the bottom left was made using just the center portion of two plates, which where cut as spirals and then given a slightly wavy edge, as seen in the photo below. The fringed flower was made using one of the left over rims from the rose on the left. Got it?

The roses were made by first coiling the whole piece to soften it up a bit and then unrolling and starting from the skinny tail one rolls and glues. The smaller rose on the left was made by using one of the spirals for the center, and then simply continuing on wrapping with the second piece. Because the cardboard is a bit hard to work with, you may also want to consider gluing your flowers onto a round base rather than onto themselves as you roll. If you give it a try, you'll see what I mean and what works for you. Just be careful not to burn yourself with the hot glue!

Okay, gotta run, I've got so many things to make today for my daughter's ninth birthday, and of course I'll be sure to share them with you next week, so do stop by for a visit!