creative jewish mom

Chinese Jewelry Pouch Bunting Banner!

A Chinese jewelry pouch bunting banner, for decoration or even as a fun way to keep your jewelry safe but at hand. I came across these little pouches that I'd collected as a girl in a bag of goodies from my mother, and they just shouted out to me bunting banner! And dear readers, you can't get much simpler than that, since you just string them on a nice ribbon and hang!

These little pouches are available at any Chinese import store and are generally quite inexpensive, so have fun with this idea, I think it's perfect for a little girl's room, or even as a birthday party decoration. You could then hand out the little pouches as party favors at the end, maybe with a sweet little ring inside. Or, hey, you could add numbers to the pouches, or names, and use your banner as a place to leave little messages or treats for family members or count down to an important day.

Shelf Lining Paper With A Simple Decorative Edge!

Got some plain shelves that could use a little decorative touch? (This is a shot of my kitchen shelves after they were thoroughly cleaned, and before the Passover dishes were placed on them.) So my crafty friends, how about lining those shelves, whether open or in a closet, with reverse-scallop- edged paper that you can quite simply make yourself? I'm so glad I took the extra time to make my kitchen look extra cute this year, as it really wasn't so difficult once I figured out the best technique. And best of all, it makes me happy while I'm in the kitchen, which will certainly be quite a bit over the course of the Passover holiday!

You'll Need:

• wrapping paper or any shelf lining paper (for longer lasting liners, this could also be done with oil cloth, or plastic table cloth material, and the edge would be cut by hand rather than punched)
• a circle punch, I used a 3" diameter one
• a tape measure (optional)
• clear tape

How To:

1. First determine how your circular punch works with the paper you'll be using. In my case, the wrapping paper was much too thin to produce nice results, and I found that I needed four layers of paper for the punch to work properly.
2. Measure your shelf width and depth, keeping in mind the depth of the shelf.
3. If using wrapping paper, cut a piece that measures twice the depth by the width.
4. Fold this piece in half vertically, such that the resulting size is the size you'll need for one shelf.
5. Fold this piece in half again horizontally (you'll now have four layers)
6. With the folded edge side facing you, roughly eyeball how many circles you'll be able to punch along the length of your paper, and space your punching accordingly.
7. Hold the circle punch upside down so that you'll see now much paper you're inserting into the punch, and insert the paper half way into the punch.
8. Using a sharp scissors, cut any joined pieces, and unfold.
9. Lay on shelf and adhere with clear tape, or on the backside with double-stick tape.
10. Enjoy!

A Summer Centerpiece: Paper Roses In A Festive Basket!

Need a casual summer centerpiece, or a bit of something new this season? Baskets, especially those with handles are perfect for holding flowers! I had some of my paper cabbage roses on hand, (tutorial here) as well as this Mexican basket, so this project came together in just a matter of minutes.

I'm sure you have some similar items hanging around your place that you could use too! And of course, real flowers would look gorgeous placed in a basket too. Just fill a large can or milk carton, or better yet, two,  with water and arrange your flowers so they fill the basket! And this is one arrangement that you can easily hang on the wall for a really great look!

Use A Decorative Bird Cage To Make A Quick Flower Arrangement!

Okay, you're right, it's only quick if you happen to have that bird cage on hand! So if you happen to see one it's a great purchase! Of course I'd just love to do this idea with real flowers but artificial ones are all that I happen to have at the moment. If you'd like to use real flowers so simply stick a glass vase into the cage (make sure the cage you buy can open enough to place a vase inside— my cage's top flips up) and insert the flowers into the vase from the outside. For best results use large flowers and leaves, and in minutes you can have a stunning arrangement with very little fuss! Enjoy.

Decorate Now With Interesting Frames and Fill Them Later (Or Don't!)

We have lived in our current home for over three years now, and I have to admit, I've been a little lax in the final touch department. Before moving in I spent lots of time choosing paint colors and light fixtures, so the house has looked pretty good from the start, but recently those very blank walls that I initially loved started to look just too bare! (And I should say, I'm very particular about what I'll drill a hole for.) And then it occurred to me — Moroccan frames, groupings of them to fill those large blank walls! Here's the results:

I actually love the sculptural quality of  these frames as is, and would never fill them up with something solid, as they would be just too massive. I may in the future stencil a design on the wall in light neutral colors, or hang a collection of small plates or objects within the frames. Who knows?

I bought these painted wooden frames not knowing where I'd hang them exactly, but I think they play beautifully off the peacock blue stairwell. I am planning to fill these with some Hebrew blessings printed on clear acetate, but have yet to do a test, so anything could change. It might also be a great place for some upbeat "family rules" type reminders, as these hang over the kitchen table.

I just love this frame! And I really lucked out that it works so well in this space between the sconces. I took this bench from my husband's office where it just wasn't being appreciated (by me that is!), and I leave this bag on the bench for a little shot of color. And as it turns out, the inner most rectangle was exactly the right size to work as a backdrop for the gold-framed portrait. As you can see I quite simply hung the gold-framed picture from the iron frame with a piece of string! I really couldn't believe my luck! Since frames like these may not be available in your area, you could try filling some of that blank space with an interesting piece of metal wall art, just look in the trees or flowers category for a few tasteful options.

And just because I though you might be curious, the pattern in the foreground of this photo is my new table cloth, a piece of Amy Butler fabric that I ordered from my favorite fabric supply company Fabric.comThey have an amazing selection of Clearance and Closeout Fabricsto choose from, just try not to swoon too much!

And since we're on the subject, patterned table cloths are a great way to introduce some visual interest and color into your home with minimal commitment! You can make a great tablecloth from a piece of fabric, and my sewing maching was broken so I even just hemmed the ends with iron-on hemming tape. I left the selvedge edges as is, and you really don't notice it at all! Measure your table and go for it!

Make Your Own Wall Decals From Fabric!

Today I am not at the computer, I am celebrating and observing the first day of Pesach! Of course that doesn't mean that I'll be abandoning the blog, I've got a whole series of posts lined up that will automatically post even though I'm enjoying the holiday!

This is not my project (You'll forgive me right? I'm a little pressed for time preparing for Pesach!) though I'm going to try it out the first chance I get. Just arranging the photos to make a pretty collage was fun! This project was actually posted on my Craft Schooling Sunday blog party last week, but it is so brilliant I just had to give it its' own post so that my readers wouldn't miss it.

I'm sure you're familiar with the very popular vinyl wall decals, that can look great but can be expensive and a little flat looking for some. Here's a really great option that I think could be even cuter and easy to make yourself. Using fabric and double-sided fusible web you can make decals like these that will not damage the walls! For a complete tutorial, please visit sewingforscarlet. And do thank her for giving me permission to post this on my blog!

Enjoy and let me know if you try this out, I'd love to hear about your successes or any other results! Wishing everyone a wonderful Pesach. Seven (or eight) days of matzo is a great thing!

Spring Decor: A Two Minute Decorating Idea For Your Sparkling Home!

Hopefully at this point those of you who are celebrating Pesach have finished most of the rigorous cleaning and are now preparing for the festivities! I don't know about you, but I try to make my house look bare for Pesach, as it somehow looks cleaner and fresher that way! Nonetheless, a bit of color here and there and a touch of something new is always fun. So I came up with this almost instant decorating trick: tie a beautiful ribbon around a frame! And if you don't have a beautiful ribbon, so tie a strip of beautiful fabric around a frame! And if you don't have a frame, well that might be a problem! (But you could probably make a cute one fromm cardboard?)

How's that for a quick decorating trick? I just love how mine looks! And if you want to get a little more crafty, so buy some birdhouses from the dollar store and paint them in pastel colors, or give my felt rosebud bouquet a try, tutorial here.

Okay, you're right there's one more secret I have yet to reveal, the frame itself! This was something bound for the garbage by my neighbor, and I just loved the shape. I painted it light blue and then glued beautiful sheer beaded ribbon around the edge. Truthfully it's so beautiful I've been enjoying it empty! The combination of the sparkling lavender beads and the light blue frame is etherial and spring-like. Especially now, with it's new floral ribbon bow!

So, in conclusion, tie some ribbons around some empty frames and make some beautiful spring vignettes!
Decorating really can be that simple! And now, if you'll excuse me, I've still got lots to do for Pesach! Yawn. Whoops no time for dozing. All the best!

Fill Your Closets With Adorable Hangers This Fall!

There really is no feeling quite like gazing into an organized closet complete with really nice hangers. Ahhh! Children on the other hand may not quite understand the need for keeping things neat and organized, but they will appreciate something cute you've made, even if it's for the inside of their closet! And with hangers like this one, maybe just maybe they'll want to actually hang up their clothes! What a great idea right?

And this cute hanger is so easy to make, you'll be able to create enough to fill up any closet! While you're at it, why not create some matching accessories like boxes, frames, or even furniture! A brightly painted dresser or wooden chair with white polka dots would be amazingly cute and not too difficult with this technique.

 
You'll Need:

• Round Colored Office Supply Stickers (6 colors)
• Wooden hangers (or frames and boxes)
• Acrylic Varnish, either matte or glossy (decoupage medium will work, but not as suited to projects like hangers that will hopefully receive lots of use)

How To:

1. Apply stickers to hanger in a random all over pattern.
2. Brush 1 coat of acrylic varnish over entire surface of hanger.
3. Set aside to dry, and apply 2nd coat.
4. Dry for 24 hours, hang up in closet and watch children run to hang up their clothes!

Almost Instant DIY Artwork

I don't know about you, but the walls in my house are very very bare. Sometimes it's a nice feeling, and sometimes well, it feels really a bit too bare. My problem is that I just can't bring myself to put holes in the walls to hang something I don't absolutely love. That said I realized that my children shouldn't have to suffer from my own confusion, and how happy it would make them to have a least a little color to look at.

Therein was born the instant art I created  from you guessed it, wrapping paper that I bought at the grocery store!

The wooden frame was a cast-off from someone else and contained a very uninteresting poster. I opened up the frame from the back, and removed the poster which had been mounted to the bristol board (it was old enough that the poster peeled right off). I then cut a piece of wrapping paper about 2 inches smaller all around than the size of the frame opening, attached the wrapping paper to the bristol board with a few pieces of double-sided tape (a glue stick would work too), reinserted it into the frame and voila!

An even easier version of this project would be to use a frame with a pre-cut matte,such that you don't have to worry about an exact cutting job — the matte covers the edges! Or simply cut a piece of wrapping paper to fit within the entire size of the frame with no border.

I bet you have everything you need to do this simple project, so what are you waiting for? And if you don't have any frames on hand, so simply and neatly wrap a piece of your cute wrapping paper around a rectangle or square of cardboard, attach a ribbon and hang.

For those of you who happen to be paying attention, you're right I didn't even make a hole in the wall for this one, it looks so cute sitting on top of the bookcase, why commit?

Paper Bunting Banners To Make With The Kids

In 2007 I wrote a crafts article for the Family First supplement of Mishpacha magazine in which I showed the readers how to make Noah's Arks from paper plates and fill them with animal silohuettes cut from the abstract animal patterned papers shown here.

Recently after drooling over many beautiful images I'd seen in the blogsphere of fabric bunting banners,
I had the idea of making some from paper. My original thought was to make something really beautiful from gorgeous scrapbooking paper, but when I came across some of the sheets of the animal patterns that I'd saved, I decided to give it a try with those first, before surrendering my small collection of beautiful papers to the project.

Back then I created the patterned papers on heavy-weight colored paper together with children ranging from 5-12 years old and I did some myself as well. We used round stickers, some with their centers punched out with a hole punch, and some cut in half. We painted, we stamped with the side of an eraser, with a small sponge and with the stiff end of a paint brush. We blew patterns with straws and pink ink, and drew patterns in wet paint with the end of a paintbrush. We made patterns from cut pieces of sparkled contact paper. These are just a few ideas — there are so many possibilities!

I cut triangles in two sizes using a templates I made from a heavy piece of cardboard, and then folded the tops over a piece of yarn, using tape on the back to secure them. One could of course use a stapler but you'll see the staples.

As it so happens, I have a blank wall between two sconces in my dining room that was a perfect place to hang my new creations, and another one between two Morroccan lanterns over the couch. For the time being my walls are looking a little less blank, and definately a lot more cheerful.

I used these hung flat on a wall, but they also look great hung across a space, and they would also make great Succah decorations! (Hot summer afternoons spent indoors are a great time for that rather than waiting for the pre-holiday rush! )

Whatever you choose to do with this idea and how you choose to do it, enjoy the process and remember, you don't need the excuse of a special occasion to make decorations, do it just because! And please take a few moments to leave me a comment, I'd love to know what you think.