creative jewish mom

Folded Paper Flowers For A Simply Festive Centerpiece!

You may have a hard time believing that I actually used these pink and gold flowers for Bar Mitzvah centerpieces last week, but I did! As I always say, who says pink is just for girls? And since the only other alternative to the pink paper was a tacky dark green, well, I think you'll understand why I went with the pink! And I should mention that I actually thought the paper was something closer to purple when I bought it!

That said, the centerpieces were a hit and added a shot of joyful color to an elegant yet simple affair. And the best part is, now I have half of what I need to decorate tables for a women's Purim party next week, as well as something to share with you!

Here are a few quick photos I took at the actual event, but was too embarrassed to spend time styling them, so they're not the greatest photos, but you can see how I lucked out with the centerpieces somehow matching the tablecloths and natural wood chairs really well! And in case you're wondering, the pots are plastic from the dollar store, and spray painted silver. (I'll show those to you another time)

If you've been following the blog for awhile, you may remember these flowers when I first wrote about them at Succos time, and you can find the complete tutorial here. Those original flowers however were all one color, whereas in this version I've not only used two colors but also added a small piece of fabric or paper for the center. That center piece was pre-cut, before being accordion folded together with the two layers of paper. I used the same idea in the photo below showing how I made some additional filler flowers from disposable tablecloth material and some scraps of gold paper.

On a side note, one of the really great things about this endeavor is that I finally found a use for those Taster's Choice jars collecting dust in my cabinet! How? Well I placed some foam in each jar, stuck the flowers into the jar, wrapped the jar with fabric and placed it in the pot. Much more successful than trying to arrange the flowers directly in the rather large pot, and now my cabinet has a bit of breathing room!

Also, the metallic crepe paper may not be available in the United States, so substitute two-sided thick craft crepe paper instead. You can even use inexpensive crepe paper, just try using a double thickness. Enjoy!

Lemon Pomanders For Tu B'Shevat Or Anytime!

Pomanders are the perfect decoration for Tu B'Shevat, (this Friday night) the holiday in which we celebrate trees and their delicious and amazing fruits! And though the holiday is almost here, you still have time to make a few of these to grace your table. And while you may not have the time, (I choose crafts over sleep on a regular basis, but I certainly don't expect that of you!) your kids can certainly sit down with a bag of cloves and make some themselves, with very little help!

My first experience with pomanders was using oranges (see that post here) which I honestly enjoyed more than making these pomanders with lemons because the orange peel was easier to work with and the fragrance was just delicious. That aside it certainly wold be nice to combine the two, and a lemon might be a better size for a small child with not too much patience. Just do try to pick lemons with the thickest skin you can find— don't attempt this on a thin skinned lemon as the project gets too juicy!

You'll Need:

• thick skinned lemons or oranges
• cloves
• ribbon
• the guts to display your creations on upside down wine glasses, a somewhat novel idea!

How To:

See complete tutorial here.

Celebrate Winter Fruit: Quick Tu B'Shevat Decorating Ideas

If you already know that you've got a busy week ahead, and there won't be much time for decorating for Tu B'Shevat (the Jewish New Year for the trees) here are a few simple tricks that you can do in just a few minutes. Stock up on colorful citrus fruit and some green apples, and in no time your home will look ready for this fun holiday!

1. Fill large jars or glass vases with fruit and water, simple yet beautiful.

2. Create a pyramid of fruit by simply attaching fruit to one another with toothpicks. In order to make this footed pot a suitable base, I placed an inverted stainless steel bowl into the pot to fill up the space.

3. Display colorful fruit and real greenery where ever possible — on open shelves, buffets etc.

4. Aren't you glad that you've started to read this blog? (I'm glad that you have! ) Now you too can enhance your family's enjoyment of this holiday without a huge investment of time. It's all about learning to think creatively! 

Fragrant and Lovely Pomanders: The Perfect Winter Centerpiece (For Tu B'Shevat)

These gorgeous pomanders are an amazing winter project! They'll fill your home with the most delicious aroma of orange-scented cloves and you can make them without a huge investment of time. Sit down with the kids, or a friend, and make some together, that's what I did! Even my 4.5 year old had great success with this project, with Mom only filling in a few holes at the end.

As far as displaying your works of art, well traditionally pomanders were hung, which you can certainly choose to do, or why not display them individually atop candlesticks and placed in footed goblets. Or how about making a whole bunch and filling a cupcake stand for a special occasion. Wow!

You'll Need:

• oranges(or any citrus fruit except tangerines and mandarine oranges, their skin is too thin)
• whole cloves (make sure you have enough, at least 2 grocery store spice containers full, you don't want to run out mid project!)
• star anise for a beautiful accent (optional, probably only available in a specialty  spice shop)
• ribbon— either gorgeous metallic for an elegant look, or colorful for a more festive look
• tape — either electric tape or masking tape, in a few widths, or cut tape to desired width

How To:

Step 1:  Place tape on orange to define areas, as shown

Step 2:  Place cloves one next to another, using the tape as a guide. One row of cloves defining every area is really enough, though you can choose to add more if you like, or fill in entire areas. Just remember, it's wiser to spend time making a nice simple collection of pomanders than to invest lots of time in one (in my humble opinion).

Step 3: Remove the tape and place ribbon in its place. Tie with a bow or a knot, whichever suites your style. I used wired ribbon so I was able to shape the ends nicely.

Note: Free form designs such as the spiral make a nice complement to the geometric ribbon covered versions, though I don't really have any great tips for that. I did it by eye as the permanent marker I tried to use didn't adhere to the orange peel. Any ideas?

I hope you'll enjoy this wonderful project and do take pictures of your creations to share in the flickr group I'm setting up. all the best, it's finally pouring buckets here, a huge blessing as we are in desperate need of water for our water supply

Tissue Paper Blossoms On Real Branches: Stunning!

Tissue paper blossoms glued to real branches look like the real thing, only you can enjoy them for years! I've had these for over a year and a half, and they've been transported several times to various functions and they're still looking fine. I found these branches on the side of the road, a by-product of winter pruning that suited my crafting needs exactly!

As you may or may not have noticed I have made it a practice to only post original work here so as to avoid linking to other sites, in this case however I really wanted to share this lovely project with you, so I'll give credit where credit is due, this project was published a few years (or more) ago by the amazing Martha, as in Stewart. I used to say that I'd like to be the Jewish Martha Stewart, but after everything she's been through I think I'll just be happy being myself! Funny enough though, a few friends of mine started called me Martha when I started this blog, with no prompting from me. I met a friend in an elevator at a wedding and she screamed out "it's Martha!". Fortunately nobody had any idea what she was talking about, because I was pretty darn embarrassed, as funny as it was! Okay enough about me, on to Martha!

Instructions:

So I just did a search and it turns out I saw the project in a magazine from 2005. Here's the written instructions (with a few changes) courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings:

You'll Need:

• Tissue paper, the colors of your choice, either traditional pink or yellow, red, white etc.
• Flower crafting stamens
• Floral tape, preferably brown, but green will be okay, that's all I had available to me
• Real branches
• A hot glue gun

1. For each blossom, precut a 1-inch-long piece of brown floral tape and a strip of tissue paper 1 1/2 inches tall and 4 1/2 inches long .
2. Accordion-fold paper (you can make up to five folded panels; for some blossoms, fold just two or three). With a pencil, draw the petal shape on the folded paper. They should have wide, flat bottoms the width of the panel, and rounded tops. (Picture a peanut with a flat bottom.)
3. Unfold.
4. Fold two to five stamens in half, and twist to secure.
5. Wrap paper around stamens, pinching at base as you go.
6. Wrap base with floral tape.
7. Trim stem, and gently spread and shape petals.
8. Hot-glue blossom to branch in clusters, with smaller blooms at top. For buds, cover a tiny ball of cotton with crepe paper, and tape to stamens.

In case that was a bit too hard to understand, here's a more recent and easier (though not as realistic looking) version: http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/paper-cherry-blossom-display

Needless to say these are great for DIY wedding arrangements. Just make sure they won't poke anybody in the eye! Probably best used on a dessert table rather than as arrangements on dining tables.  This would also be a great project to do as a crafting get together— everyone goes home with a nice bunch of blooms to add cheer to their homes and remember a nice time spent creating together. Enjoy!

Make A Cute Button Topiary For Any Occasion!

I don't know how you feel about topiaries, but I just love them. It's not something I can explain, just for some reason gazing upon a little ball of something floating above a pot makes me happy! Real live topiaries from rosemary or myrtle are absolutely gorgeous but difficult to maintain, even for a plant lover like myself. So why not make yourself a cute button topiary?

You'll Need:

• foam ball, I used one measuring about 5" in diameter
• a small terracotta pot
• a wooden dowel
• gold paint (spray paint can eat away at foam, so use acrylic paint for the ball)
• an assortment of buttons and beads
• a hot glue gun
• a few artificial leaves and scraps of tulle (optional)

How To:

Follow the instructions for the vintage wedding bouquet topiary here. With the following additions:

1. I would highly recommend painting the foam ball in a color that will work with your color scheme (in this case metallic gold) as it is very difficult to cover every single spot with buttons and the ball may show through in a few places.
2. Paint your terracotta pot to match your color scheme, in this case metallic gold.
3. While I stuck to buttons and pearls for my topiary, you could certainly get even more creative with bits of costume jewelry and other findings. Or how about a little bird perched on top of your topiary?

Have fun with this project and let me know how it goes!

Make A Gorgeous Winter Topiary From Vintage Flowers!

I really wish I had a photo of the vintage wedding bouquet that I used to make this floral topiary a few years ago, but back then who knew I'd have a blog now, in fact I didn't even know what a blog was! Suffice it to say the bouquet was somewhat comical, and I bought it for almost nothing at a thrift store thinking my daughter might use it some time for a bride costume. I certainly never dreamed that it could be transformed into this!

One day the idea of a floral topiary popped into my head and I thought of the smashed bridal bouquet hiding in a costume box somewhere. As it turned out, once disassembled, the bouquet elements themselves were quite lovely, and there were just barely enough of them to cover my foam ball. The filler for the bouquet was made of loops of crinoline bound to wire with floral tape, and I used those to cover all the empty spaces.

I have to say I was really quite fond of the results of this project, and you can certainly create something similar by assembling an assortment of bouquet elements that you happen upon. I think the success of this topiary was due to the muted and elegant color palette, and the variety of elements. If your elements aren't quite muted enough to achieve this look, try sponging on some watery creme paint, that is in fact what I did to the leaves on the underside of the ball.

You'll Need:

• a foam ball, I used one with a diameter of roughly 8"
• a pot or base container of some sort, whose size is in proportion to your foam ball
• floral and bridal elements to cover your ball
• a wooden dowel and small sticks to cover the dowel
• plaster of paris (recommend for professional results, not mandatory) and 4 or 5 long rectangular pieces of foam roughly the height of the pot
• stones or something to weight the pot if not using plaster of paris
• if not using plaster of paris, a piece of foam the size of the opening of the pot, could be 1/2 of a foam ball
• small stones or moss to cover base
• gold paint
• a ribbon, if desired
• a glue gun (mandatory!)
• an adventurous spirit, this is one of those projects that will take shape as you go!

How To:

1. Determine height of dowel. Standard topiary proportions are 2:1:1, the ratio of head height to visual stem height to container height. Assuming that your dowel will sit at the bottom of the pot, and pierce the foam ball almost to the top, your dowel height should be (height of pot x2) + height of ball. If this is confusing, so just eyeball it!
2. Cut dowel to the proper length and spray paint gold.
3. Place a few small pieces of foam at bottom or container, and then rectangular foam pieces standing up and placed at even intervals around edge of pot. (These foam wedges act as a cushion to prevent the container from cracking as the plaster of paris hardens)
4. Prepare plaster of paris according to package directions, and fill the container with the wet plaster to about 1/2" (1.3cm) below the rim.
5. Insert the cut dowel into the center of the wet plaster, making sure that the dowel is straight when viewed from all angles.
6. Hold the dowel in place until it is secure, about 3-4 minutes. Allow plaster to continue to harden for at least an hour.
7. Impale the foam ball on the dowel, pushing with even pressure until the top of the sphere just meets the top of the dowel.
8. Using a glue gun decorate ball with floral elements.
9. Partially conceal dowel with small twigs (see photo) and cover plaster with moss or small stones.
10. Tie a bow around the pot if desired, and enjoy!
11. Note: if you decide not to use plaster of paris make sure your pot is weighted and that the dowel is very securely glued into base. If your topiary head will be heavy I highly recommend using the plaster of paris, I have tried to skip this step and ended up with wobly topiaries, a centerpiece designer's worst nightmare!
12. Enjoy and please share with me anything you create using this tutorial!

Make Make Festive and Fun Felt Flowers For The Holidays (and enjoy them all winter long!)

Ever seen flowers like these before? Me neither, so I was so totally surprised when this oh-so-simple idea popped into my head and came into reality in a matter of minutes. This is the type of crafting that I love— simple, quick and fabulous!

• You simply fold the felt as though it were paper, tutorial here, and then make a small rosebud center, tutorial here, and you're done! A few felt leaves, with a piece of flower wire glued to the back of them to make them bendable, and you're done! For this bouquet I made two large flowers and two small ones together with some leaves, and that was more than enough to fill this vintage vase.

These would make a really cute gift, even wrapped in paper and delivered like a bouquet! So make a bunch to give as hostess gifts this holiday season, and I can guarantee you, you'll be invited to many more parties than you ever dreamed of! Okay, I know you'll be exhausted from your busy social schedule, but do drop me a line or leave me a comment, it would make me so very happy!

Make A Gorgeous Rose Bud Bouquet From Felt!

Hi friends, roll out the red carpet, the Chanukah felt projects are coming! I'm so happy to finally be able to share this festive and oh so easy project with you! Ever made something and you just can't believe you made it? (Because it's so nice, silly!)  That's what happened with this felt bouquet, I just couldn't believe what actually materialized on my kitchen counter from some felt and a glue gun! So run out now and get yourself lots of felt, in all the colors that you love! This is just the first post, with another five or so more Chanukah felt projects to come, so sit back and enjoy. And don't worry, there's still plenty of time to make this Chanukah special. And in case you are wondering what rosebud bouquets have to do with Chanukah, well your guess is as good as mine!

You'll Need:

• Felt in three coordinating colors
• A styro-foam ball that sits exactly in the opening of your vase or pot
• Pearl beads
• Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• An 8"wide bowl and a 6"wide bowl
• to use as a tracing guide

Directions:

1. Using mouth of bowl as your guide, and a felt pen, trace around rim of 8" bowl onto felt. Trace roughly an even number of each color, or whatever proportion works for you.  I used a total of 30 flowers, but cut and glued as I went. 
2. Cut out circles, and cut circles into spiral shapes according to the diagram below.
3. Starting with the tail, and with the cut line as the base, roll spiral onto itself to create the bud. Secure with dabs of hot glue as you roll, and at the end, the round center becomes a base for the rosebud, which you secure with glue.
4. With ball sitting in your vase, glue flowers to foam ball, starting at the top. Place flowers such that there are no gaps. Use 6" bowl and trace smaller circles to make smaller flowers to fill in gaps at rim of vase.
5. Using a tweezers, apply pearl centers by applying a dot of hot glue to each bead and inserting into middle of flower. For large flowers, you may want to use three beads in the center.

This project is so simple with such great results, and could be done in so many amazing color combinations.  And you can make a centerpiece size, like I have here, or choose to make tiny bouquets in tea cups to place at each place setting or scatter along the table. And even after the holidays are long gone, you can still enjoy this cheerful bouquet to brighten even the darkest winter day. So what are you waiting for?

And in case  you are wondering about the table covering, yes I made that too. Felt dreidel shapes decorated with silver ribbon and machine appliqued to the background. A simple idea that really compliments the vase. though in reality I won't be using it on my table as I did a really terrible job!  (My sewing confidence is currently greater than my abilities!) Okay, you probably don't believe me because it looks pretty good in the photo, but in actuality the dreidels are crooked and the whole thing doesn't lie flat....I've substituted it with a simple runner of yellow felt that happened to be on hand, and it looks oh so very festive!

And by the way, I really hate to beg, but please click on the stumbleit button on the right, it would be so very helpful! All the best to you and yours.

Make A Three Dimensional Fall Tree With Felt Leaves

Fall is here, and even though we don't get much fall color in my part of the world, I still love the idea of craft projects depicting colorful leaves. I don't have too much to chose from as far as projects with actual leaves, but we do have felt and cardboard, which is all you'll need to create this project! Make one or more as decorations for a baby's room, or even a wonderful seasonal centerpiece, or do the project together with your children. Older kids can do the whole project from A-to-Z while younger children can certainly enjoy decorating a tree that you assemble for them.

You'll Need:

• thick cardboard (not corrugated) or bristol board (i used a cereal box, but a bit heavier would be better, and plus the other side of my tree looks like a tree that ate too many bran flakes)
• felt in a few fall colors
• glue
• brown electrical tape from the hardware store (optional, only used to stablize the base because the cardboard I used wasn't thick enough!)

How To:

1. Following the diagram below, draw one tree pieces and cut it out
2. Use this first piece as a template, and trace around it for the second piece.
3. Make a second tracing if desired to have on hand if you'd like to make more identical trees.
4. Cut slits in trees, according to dotted lines on diagram.
5. Assemble tree by slipping the tree with the slit at the bottom over the tree with the slit at the top.
6. Apply glue to areas where two pieces meet if necessary, or stabilize bottom with stripes of brown tape.
7. Cut out appropriately sized leaves from felt and attach to tree with glue.
8. Wasn't that fun?