creative jewish mom

Rhinestone Yarn Bracelet Ornaments

Rhinestone bracelets made by simply attaching some rhinestone chain to a metal bangle with yarn or embroidery thread are all the rage, so I thought I'd take the idea one step further and make some fun neon ornaments. I love their modern/crafty look and they're so easy to whip up. Best of all, I wasn't sure what to hang from the center of my chandelier together with my instant pom pom garland, and the combo of these two styles and colors looks perfect! I'll make some more yarn wagon wheel stars to hang alone and voila, a great holiday look was born with minimal effort!

And of course while you're at it, make some rhinestone bracelets to give as gifts, use a present toppers or adorn your wrist this holiday season!

You'll Need:

• rhinestone chain
• simple metal bangles
• yarn or embroidery thread
• jewelry making jump rings
• glue (if necessary)
• rhinestone bracelet tutorial

How To:

To make the lower yarn starburst portion, simply tie the yarn around the bracelet and start wrapping across the bracelet and back to a point next to the beginning, and across the bracelet and back, always going through the middle. If you find that the yarn slips too much, place small dots of glue at each point where the yarn touches the rim of the bracelet. Once you've gone all theway around, tie off. 

Make rhinestone bracelets according to tutorial. 

Make chain with the jump rings, and attach the two elements together. You can of course opt to hang small charms in the center of the rhinestone bracelet, but at the moment I'm loving it empty! Have a wonderful, crafty holiday season!

 For some more great crafting ideas using metal bangles, check out my posts from last year, golden sphere ornaments, and crocheted plain and scalloped bracelets.

Braids Look Great....Use Them In Your Holiday Crafting!

This isn't a specific project exactly, rather just a little post to give you some crafty inspiration. A few weeks ago when I made a bunch of yarn wrapped vases for a community get together, I actually completed the look by wrapping a braid around each vase. I can't say that my idea was entirely successful or that it really added to the look, but I can say that the braids themselves looked fabulous as is!

Dare I propose to make a bunch of long braids and simply lay them on your table like a table runner? I think it could look fabulous, maybe with some shiny metallic fabrics mixed with other colors? How about wrapping gifts in them or using them as the base for your ornament garlands? Or add a colorful braid to a lampshade or as a tassel rope? They're so simple to make and they look great right now!

I made these with disposable table cloth material, but of course depending on the look you're going for they work well made from rags, twine, rope, you name it! So give braids some thought and see where you might be able to add some to your holiday crafting plans. I'd love to hear what you come up with!

Chanukah Centerpiece: Yarn Wrapped Hurricanes

Here's a really simple idea for your Chanukah table this year, yarn wrapped vases! You can use this idea to make a stunning Chanukah centerpiece, or make a bunch to place individually. I'd go for a bunch together, as they look amazing in a group. And it's just a simple as wrapping some yarn around a glass vase or even a jar.

I first saw this idea last February on Craft Schooling Sunday here, and decided to try it on a much larger scale with these tall hurricane vases, which I decorated for a community gathering last week. I did actually add some orange yarn to the mix, since that went with the table color scheme, but these looked so amazing with just the two shades of blue that I ran home to grab my camera.

How To: Using vases or jars that are totally straight, wrap the yarn around either the top or the bottom and knot, leaving a tail. Turn the jar or vase while holding the yarn, and slowly being wrapping such that the yarn moves up the vase. Once you've reached the top, continue wrapping in a downward motion until you reach the bottom. Tie off with the tail piece from the beginning and trim. Do the same with another color. Picking two colors in the same family, like red and orange, or blue and light blue, gives gorgeous results, that remind me of the swirled colors inside glass marbles.

And for another idea using yarn and candlelight, check out my yarn wrapped can votive holders. Actually the two would look great together! Happy holiday crafting!

Chanukah Craft: Tissue Paper Cut Outs

I love tissue paper, and the brilliant colors are perfect for Chanukah decorations. Think light....bright, happy.....and my friends, the idea that Chanukah is a blue and silver holiday is a commercial fabrication, so please don't let it hamper your creativity as you prepare for the festivities which are just one month away, yikes!

I actually did this project last year on the last night of Chanukah for a community get together, so I only shared a snipet with you then. Funny thing is, last year I thought the results were a bit too sloppy, this year I'm amazed at how gorgeous the patterns are and I'm loving the imperfect look as a result of not cutting exactly straight strips! 

When the large candles inside each vase were lit, the effect of a room full of these hurricanes was festive and stunning. Of course small versions of this craft would look great too. 

I assembled the panels before wrapping them around each hurricane, and actually I love them just like this!

I chose to use dreidels and candles, but any shapes or even numbers or letters would look great, which means that this craft could conceivably be done just about any time of year......tuck that one under your hat!

 

You'll Need:

• tissue paper
• pinking shears
• glue

How To:

 Cut strips of tissue paper of varying heights, but all the same length. I measures the diameter of the vase/hurricane and cut my strips just a bit longer.

Fold strips accordion style, and cut out shapes on the fold, such that the shape repeats itself across the strip once unfolded.

Layer strips such that contrasting colors appear within the cut out shapes. Adhere with glue. Note: due to the fact that tissue paper is quite thin, my dots of glue were visible. If you'd like to avoid this, brush on glue with a brush, or if you can think of a better way to adhere these strips (I imagine spray adhesive might work, but the stuff is toxic!) please let me know! All the best, and let the Chanukah crafting begin!

DIY Wine Glass Tea Light Holders With Doodles

Make festive DIY wine glass tea light holders to enjoy now and through the winter. They're so easy to make, and simple to whip out at a moment's notice. Candlelight is always a great way to add that extra special touch to any get together whether it be a festive gathering or a family dinner. And with this simple idea, using wine glasses that you decorate yourself, you can enjoy candle light anytime, with minimal fuss, and a greater degree of safety than regular tea light holders (so it seems to me, though of course candles and kids should never be left unattended.) 

Have fun making this project yourself, or involve the kids (those old enough to work with something breakable!) A bunch of these would make a great hostess gift, especially if you happen to know the recipient's favorite colors!

Now that I see how fun these are, I think I'm going to use them at our dinner table....I think it's time to introduce my kids to the joys of candle light. Right now it's pouring cats and dogs outside, so I think candle light season is here!

Your table will look great with a bunch of these, both painted and plain running down the center. Don't you think?

You'll Need:

• plain wine glasses
• glass paint
• fabric puff paint, I used metallic silver
• wine glass painting tutorial here.

How To:

Follow the wine glass painting tutorial here. And once paint has dried, doodle on them with the puff paint. Or skip the painting part all together and just doodle on the wine glasses with puff paint. 

And don't you think these would be great with some coordinating wine bottle vases, here and here and here? Just a thought. Enjoy!

Chair Back Fabric Flower Garlands Look Gorgeous Any Time

I love chair back garlands, don't you? I was in need of some quick decorations for my daughter's birthday, and I was thrilled to discover that I could make a really pretty garland by simply tying together some of the floral napkin rings that I posted about here. And voila, a beautiful and festive chair back garland was born in just minutes! Of course, if you don't have any flowers on hand, you can certainly make some, and it's so much fun!

Chair back garlands are great any time, for weddings, bat mitzvahs, birthday parties, or how about in the Succah? Maybe you can enlist some teenage kids to whip up some of these for you just in time for the holiday? 

You'll Need:

• organza or satin flowers, tutorial here
• ribbon, preferable patterned to complement the colors of your flowers
• hot glue gun 

How To:

Assemble floral napkin rings, which you can see here, and tie them together to form a garland, or simply glue your flowers to a single length of ribbon. Either way, you really can't go wrong!

 

 

Rosh HaShana Craft — Golden Apple Fall Bunting

Here's a super simple bunting idea for fall, that would also be great for Rosh HaShana. A craft garland that goes with casual or elegant decor by virtue of it's metallic elements. And while I just love the idea of decorating the back of chairs at your table, this would of course look great anywhere. If you'd like to create this entire artsy look, tear up some old sheets into strips and tie them onto the back of the chair as a fun base for your garland! I never quite got around to showing you this idea for chair backs, though I can tell you now, it looked great for my daughter's birthday party and we just left them on— it always looks like a party is about to happen!

You'll Need:

• heavy weight gold paper or cardboard, mine is gold on both sides
• wooden beads
• plastic silver flower trim, sold by the length at my local craft store
• hemp string
• a hole punch

How To: Cut out apples, punch holes in either side and string with a fun assortment of findings or something similar to what you see here. A fun project for all ages, and little ones can certainly help with the stringing! And by the way, this is certainly an example of a decoration that you can make for Rosh HaShana and then use in your succah! 

DIY Succulent Centerpiece

Wouldn't you like to make a fuss free and gorgeous succulent centerpiece using only succulents or succulents combined with your favorite flowers? 

I don't know about you, but I love the fact that succulents have become oh so popular in the world of floral arranging and wedding decor. So when I collected some of these succulent flowers on a recent trip to the coast (which I'll share with you on Friday!) I knew I just had to use them to make a summer's end succulent centerpiece. You know, something a little crafty and eclectic using things that I had on hand. And I think I came up with a pretty good equation that you could duplicate if you'd like to make one centerpiece like this, or even many for a special occasion.

You'll Need:

• a square metal tray of some kind, this one was only $1.99 at Amazing Savings in NY, a great deal
• one tall colored glass bottle, mine is a Chivas Blue Label bottle that I was eyeing for some time!
• one short clear jar, mine is a hinged cover canning/storage jar
• two very small colored bottles, or even a beautiful tea cup or cream pitcher might look great, I used two plastic very tall shot glasses that I got at Target last summer
• jute twine
• metalic gold ribbon
• some shells or pieces of costume jewelry or interesting keys, anything small and beautiful, little porcelaine figurines or vintage pillboxes could be beautiful too
• Succulent flowers and pieces of succulent plant that look like flowers, or some combination of succulents and actual flowers

How To: Wrap twine around the middle of the clear jar. Add a little shine by wrapping some thin gold ribbon around one of your tiny bud vases. Make a low dense arrangement in the jar, and fill the tall bottle with just a few sprigs. Each of the two small bud vases (the other one is hidden behind the jar) should hold a single bloom or piece of succulent. That's it!

 

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?

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: