creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks for joining me here! With Chanukah coming up on Thursday night I am officially very busy with the crafting, but fortunately had a bit of a head start with the crafts I posted last week, so just a few more finishing touches and the decor will be ready, then time to move only birthday gifts for 3 family members plus desserts and ah yes a huge chanukah feast next shabbat.......and of course I'm loving it all, and really trying to plan ahead to avoid last minute stress!

Craft Schooling Sunday will be taking its customary break for the month of December and looking forward to reconnecting in 2024, and that would be Sunday Jan 7! In the mean time, enjoy the features from last week's party and wishing you a happy holiday season!

Recycled Liquor Bottle Candlestick Craft

It is true, I made these recycled liquor bottle candesticks for a Chanukah party that was held last night, but truthfully they are so universal they can be used for any festive occasion and any time that you want the look of candles without the safety concerns! And of course you could go for paper candles that are metallic silver or gold and maybe make the flame a bit less crafty looking and then even use them for a fancyish party outdoors where real candles wouldn't work, or for a feast in the forest where flames would be dangerous? And friends, whether or not you partake in liquor of any kind, there are certainly many ways to get your hands on some amazing bottles to recycle! These happen to be bottles from my son's wedding two weeks ago, and the 12 year old brother of the bride collected all the bottles for me having seen a previous craft project.....so sweet of him and glad I didn't listen to the husband who said we didn't have room in the trunk!

Now these candlestick bottles will make great decorations as well as centerpieces for our long shabbat table next week, I'm actually really excited to put "candles" on the table that I can then move when we clean up, on shabbat we don't light fire or touch it, so while I could make a long centerpiece with real lit candles it would be quite impractical and dangerous as the guests pass all those Moroccan salads around!

Okay, sold? Lets make some great looking recycled glass bottle candlesticks.......

DIY Kid-Safe Paper Candles For Chanukah Crafting

This year I'm adding something new to my already very vast archive of chanukah crafts.......paper candles craft! I'm truly loving these paper candles and can't wait to use them in so many ways this chanukah. You can make paper candles to fit into a chanukah menorah that you won't be lighting or to put into candlesticks for a festive and safe touch anywhere, or why not make chanukah menorahs from just about anything and add these fun paper candles? Aluminum foil boxes make great bases (okay, yes, maybe time for a remake of that old idea!) as do any many boxes, or just about anything really! So get those creative gears turning and make a bunch of paper candles to create your best chanukah decorations yet! And the fun part about these paper candles is that you can make them in the exact size you need, so lets get started!

DIY Sparkle Flames For Holiday Crafting Projects

With Chanukah in just one week, it is time to get crafting! Fortunately for me, I made some crafty centerpieces for a women's gathering last night, which forced me to craft, so together with projects from past years I now officially have more than enough to decorate, phew! Of course that does not mean I'm off the hook, we have three family birthdays to celebrate as well as prized and gifts for the whole family, so next weeks promises to be a very busy one!

This year I came up with something new, (spoiler alert) namely using alcohol bottles to make candlesticks, and while i had thought of using real candles, paper ones turned out to be much more practical, safer and even more festive. I will be sharing all the steps shortly, but first, since one of the items you may not have on hand is glitter craft foam, or glitter paper, lets start with the flames.

And of course when it comes to holiday crafting and chanukah specifically, the more light the better, so make a ton of these sparkle flames and use them all over the place rather than lighting candles, though of course real candles or tea lights do look wonderful thrown into the mix. Okay, lets get to it!

Master Freecell: A Step By Step Guide

The winter holiday season is here, which means more time indoors, possibly travel time for vacation or to get together with friends and family, and of course school vacation! While of course limiting screen time is recommended, sometimes an online game is just the perfect thing to help one relax or fill a small pocket of time with something entertaining and even brain stimulating. If you're looking for a way to unwind after a long day or simply want to challenge your mind, take a look at worldofcardgames.com. This online platform offers a variety of classic and popular card games that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home (or plane, or car or train?) Whether you're a seasoned card player or a novice looking to learn, worldofcardgames.com caters to all skill levels, ensuring a fun and engaging experience for everyone. The world of online card games might just be your little escape this winter, and that is truly okay, assuming it doesn't take over your life!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Phew, after 6 months of wedding planning and then the pre-wedding festivities, wedding festivies and week of sheva brachot meals hosted by friends and family after the wedding, we are now moving on to the next phase of our young couple's life, which means every other week or so visits for shabbat! And now I can't wait to actually do some crafting for Chanukah, as it has been way too long! Ah yes and some crocheting too, yippee! Of course the art is begging for attention as well, so hoping to organize my art table and get to work on some new pieces as well.....longer winter nights are possibly more conducive to getting more art done? We will just have to see, in the mean time, enjoy the features from last week's party!

Cultural Festivals and Celebrations To Explore in Narita

The city of Narita, located in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan, is globally known for its international airport, however, it offers so much more than just a transit hub. On top of serene landscapes and the convenient luggage storage Narita offers, this city is home to some of Japan's most fascinating festivals and celebrations. So whether you have a layover that allows for some local touring, or you'd like to spend a few days in the area, lets learn about five significant events, which invite travelers to delve deeper into the heart of this vibrant locale, bringing to light the fascinating and beautiful Japanese culture of the area.

Dreidel Craft With Drinking Straws

Dusted this post off after pulling it from the archives, and now i think I need to buy some fun paper straws and get to work! Here is what I wrote when i originally posted this:

Plastic drinking straws have been outlawed in California indicating that they are not a good thing for our environment, and they are not available at our IKEA in Israel, which means not at any IKEA? Hopefully that is the case! So friends, if you don't have any on hand for this Hanukkah craft, PLEASE use paper instead. I happen to have many many bags of plastic drinking straws from IKEA so stay tuned for a bunch of crafts as I attempt to put a little dent in this collection by using them to make some festive decorations for Hanukkah! 

For starters, you can make drinking straw dreidels in any size you desire, to be used in a mobile, hung in a doorway, or on a wall, you decide! I have made dreidels from drinking straws in the past, check that drinking straw dreidel craft here, but those were only suitable for hanging on the wall as the straws were glued onto a cardboard backing. (This is preferable for little kids.) This new improved version has all the flexibility you may love, especially since you can save them for years to come and use them in a different way each year.

Okay, lets make some drinking straw dreidels!

Drinking Straw Chanukah Menorah Craft

Re-posting this fun Chanukah craft from the archives, and since plastic drinking straws are now outlawed in many places around the world, (and no longer sold at Ikea, where these were purchased) please make this craft using paper straws, or use up the plastic ones you have hanging around?

Hanukkah crafts made from plastic drinking straws are so much fun and a great way to recycle! I have already share with you my Hanukkah drinking straw wall hanging, or why not call it a Hanukkah mobile? And now, for one of the favourite results of playing around with drinking straws, I present to you the drinking straw menorah, with Q-tip to boot! This little menorah is cute as can be, and a great gift, so make a bunch. Kids can enjoy "lighting" a new candle each day of Hanukkah, while I on the other hand love seeing them with all the candles lit. This little menorah isn't large, but its cuteness makes up for that, and you can tuck one of these in every little corner of your home, or use it as a gift topper. So many ways to go, so lets get started!

Simple Origami Dreidel Craft For Chanukah

Once again pulling this out of the archives as a great craft that you can start now in order to be ready for Chanukah! Think about making these dreidels in a bunch of sizes too!

Origami dreidels are simple to make and can be used in so many fun ways, for example for Chanukah garlands, Chanukah place cards, Chanukah greeting cards, Chanukah cake/doughnut toppers, and even as Chanukah gift tags! So get started today making origami dreidels in a range of colors/patterns and sizes to fill your home with holiday cheer! I have altered the traditional dreidel instructions to make an origami dreidel that I think is a bit more pleasing to the eye, and I've indicated that extra step in the instructions that I've compiled. While you can of course choose to make solid colored dreidels, they look just so much cuter with the simple addition of a little cut paper star or cut out of some kind, take my word for it! While I had not planned on origami for Chanukah, it just sort of happened, and now I'm going to town with origami, this week, so stay tuned for that, and make sure to have some light weight colored paper on hand, either origami paper or wrapping paper, because you are going to need it! Okay, lets get started!