creative jewish mom

Cutest Swedish Cafe Ever In Falun

One on the jaw dropping design surprises on our trip to Sweden was entering the cutest cafe on earth, in Falun, at the site of the historic copper mine. Honestly, my pictures do not do justice to the place and I was embarrassed to take photos of the actual bakery section, so just take my word for it. Visit the mine in order to visit the cafe! Of course we couldn't eat any of the food, but black coffee and other drinks are generally kosher, so we could still sit and enjoy! Basically the cafe consists of many rooms and outdoor areas, decorated with a really effortless looking mix of vintage Swedish furnishings that just works. Truthfully, someone told me that Swedes, both male and female, just know how to decorate, it is in their genes somehow, which I do find very interesting. And this truly makes Sweden that much more the kind of place I love to be! I've included a few photos for you to enjoy, so keep on reading.

Historic Falun Copper Mine In Dalarna, Sweden

On our travels in Sweden this past summer we had many amazing experiences that were muo ostly unplanned, and while I enjoyed anything having to do with water, either ocean or lake the most, there were also other destinations that made our trip very well rounded indeed, including a stop at the historic copper mine in Falun, which is in the Dalarna region. As it turns out, this is a World Unesco Heritage Site, so certainly worth a visit if you are in the area, and if you are traveling with kids it looks like the underground tour might be something to consider. We chose to walk around the grounds, which is free of charge, and that in itself was enough for us, but you may want to visit the museum, or take the trolley around the area. It all depends on how much time you have and how interested you are in the subject of mining! Join me for a little tour, and enjoy!

Simple Hanukkah Kid's Craft That Steals The Show!

Here's a fun idea for turning your kid's drawings into cute holiday decorations, and not only does it only take a few minutes, but it sure beats putting them on the fridge! And once the holiday or occasion is over, you can simply remove the lights and store flat until next year. And before you know it you just might have a whole gallery full of fun kid's art to pull out any time. It also just occurred to me to gently remind you as well that when we make an effort to show our kids how much we love their art, they'll be encouraged to make more!

Okay, lets do this! Ah yes, and of course egg carton star string light covers seem like a great match with this craft, don't you think?

Crocheted Gift Bags For Chanukah Are A Yearly Tradition!

With Chanukah now is site, arriving on December 22, now is a great time to invest a little time in a yearly tradition that I just can't give up: crocheted gift bags, which I give on the first night of Chanukah. I'll admit last year I recycled some from previous years as I do have quite a few at this point, but this year I'm thinking it might be time to try something new, maybe even crocheting with rope, or t-shirt yarn, hmm. That aside you can certainly make some gift bags using my tried and true pattern, so I am re-posting that here, along with the original babble, enjoy!

Phew, I did it, Chanukah is tonight and I did get around to crocheting little gelt (coins) bags for my young ones. Truthfully giving gelt is really the Chanukah tradition of yore, the idea of giving presents only really snuck in on account of the Dec. 25th holiday, so I realized that the first night of Chanukah would not be complete without these little bags to hold the chocolate coins we traditionally give every Chanukah. (The rest of the year my kids are somewhat chocolate deprived, so they really look forward to this one!)

Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Star Trivet

I originally posted this fun gift idea in 2016, and it still looks great, so dusting it off to share once again, enjoy!

It is pouring rain outside and I have the luxury of spending a few days to do some crafting for Chanukah, and the first thing that came to mind was to try and use up all the t-shirt yarn that I have (so that I can justify buying more, of course!) and that is how these crochted star trivets were born, and I just love them! This is a quick gift to whip up in multiples for holiday giving and would be perfect together with an assortment of teas, or even better a nice teapot. Of course you could also make a large garland or wall hanging, or sew a bunch together to make a table runner, or even a rug (which is what I'm dreaming of, only I don't have enough yarn, sigh.) Once you make one, I can almost guarantee that you'll want to make a bunch more!

I've got the pattern for you right here, so lets get started!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday thanks so much for joining me here! My dear old computer is still in the infirmary, a hour's drive from home so I have now had another week of full speed ahead crafting, which has led me back to the realization of how much I love crafts, and especially recycling crafts! The fact that I have yet to publish a book after all these years is downright embarrassing given how much existing material I could share and how much thought I've given it! Okay, I know this is not the first time I've mentioned this "book idea", but maybe this time I'll have to get serious. A year plus ago I was helping a friend with her book, and I compiled photos and ideas for my own book, only to realise that I really need to do a series, thus complicating things further, sigh. Okay, no more excuses, each of us was given talents in order to give back to the world, so I guess I'd better start on that book, well just as soon as my computer comes back home, and/or I get a new one, which is anyway a must. Okay, enough babble, enjoy the features from last weeks party and don't delay in giving back to the world using your gifts!

The Wooden Horse Factory In Nusnas, Sweden

Few symbols of Sweden are more famous than the painted wooden horses from the province of Dalarna, in the Swedish heartland. I actually have a vintage Swedish wooden horse that was in my parent's home growing up, so I have my own association with this very loveable symbol as well. Fast forward to our summer trip to Sweden, I booked a place in Mora, without really knowing we'd be just next to Nusnäs the main town where the wooden horses are made today.

I resisted buying any souvenirs before arriving in Mora, knowing that wooden horses would be the thing to bring back home, and I was not dissappointed, the only challenge was trying to decide how many horses to buy, and what colors! One can purchase raw wooden horses (I bought one largish one) as well as horses painted in a solid color but not with decorations, so the choices are a bit overwhelming for someone like myself. I suggest you prepare yourself ahead of time, namely just decide how much you'll spend and stick to that!

Paper Quilling Crafts For Hanukkah: A House Shaped Gift Box

  This is the last quilling for Hanukkah craft that I'm reposting, I hope you've enjoyed this little series, I'm inspired myself to revisit quilling, or at least turn square boxes into houses with my simple trick! Hmmm, then again just a bit more effort results in something amazing, so I may just have to add quilling to my list for this year's Hanukkah crafts. In the mean time, here is my previous post:

A house shaped gift box is so simple to make using a recycled packing box, and looks great for so many occassions! Who wouldn't wan't to make a gift box that is also a really great looking decoration, and if you like forget about the gift and just use the box to make this fun house shaped box with quilled medallion. I made this as part of a quilled Hanukkah craft series, but I could easily see it working for a baby shower, a bat mitzvah, wedding decor or how about a house warming gift?

I happen to love house shaped everything, so I can't wait to make some more of these in the future, plus it so soooooo simple! 

Quilling Crafts For Hanukkah: A Dreidel Wall Hanging

I am reposting this Hanukkah quilling craft as now is the time to delve into something new! And as a result of my computer still living in the repair shop I am unable to share with you all the creative results of not having a computer to work on! Okay, it is true I am typing this on a laptop, but one without my programs etc. I am in the middle of a huge storm of creativity and looking forward to sharing some of that with you soon, in the mean time, give quilling a try!

As you can see, I really had a great time creating a series of quilled Hanukkah crafts this year......and our house is looking more festive than ever! I'm expecting a huge crowd at our table this Shabbos, so I'm really happy to say that my house looks ready to party! Of course, I have many more decorations than you see here, but these guys did set the stage for everything else, and I can't wait to make more. Ahh yes, I did actually make more, in fact I made a large piece of quilled art for my husband's birthday, the first night of Chanukah, and it is already hanging in his office and getting rave reviews.....no one believes it is just paper! One guy even took it off the wall and took it home to show his wife (next door)....so I guess this quilling venture is going to be around for a while!

Quilled Paper Craft For Hanukkah: A Festive Menorah

It is true, my quilled paper crafts for Hanukkah were created a few years ago, but since my computer is still in the sick ward a good hour's drive from home, and quilling is still timely, I thought I'd share these fun projects with you once again, so enjoy! Ah yes and now is a great time to try something new: longer nights perfect for crafting and with the holiday on the distant horizon you can truly indulge yourself! 

Hanukkah is eight glorious days long, which means one can still find some time to get crafting, right? This year I tried quilled paper for the first time, and I just love the results, especially when one uses colored paper, so bright and fun. Quilling doesn't have to be super time consuming if you choose to do something simple without filling in the background, and in any case, the results are truly worth the effort.

Quilling, the art of rolling little strips of paper has been around for hundreds of years, and may even date back to Egypt! There is something about taking little strips of paper and rolling them that is pure enjoyment, so give it a try yourself!