creative jewish mom

Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Blanket, Rug Or Playkitchen Dishtowel, You Decide!

Pulling this one out of the archives, since if you decide to make a tiny t-shirt dog bed, you might want to make some other gifts for little ones as well, and this one is well, sweet!

Now that you know how to make adorable play cupcakes, tutorial here, let's make some things to use in a play kitchen. And of course you don't need an actual play kitchen, little ones can make that part up themselves. Add a cute t-shirt yarn dishtowel to the set up and maybe some wooden utensils, and let the imagination take them for a ride. No, I won't be letting anyone play with my new pink casseroles that I got recently for small change at 80% off, but they sure do complete the picture! And actually some pink casseroles like these would be simple to crochet with t-shirt yarn, okay, I guess I do need to go out and buy some more yarn (which I've been avoiding), as I think I need to take my own advice, it will be perfect. Lest I digress, we are here to learn how to crochet a play dishtowel from t-shirt yarn, so lets get started! Ah yes, and I might add that yes this is much thicker than a dish towel would be, but washes really well and can be used as a doll blanket or even a rug, which makes it super versatile for imaginative play.

Adorable Crocheted Mini Dog Bed Using T-Shirt Yarn

I'll admit, I have not been doing many crochet projects lately, (and I miss it!) but recently I just had to whip up some mini crocheted dog beds from t-shirt yarn to give as a gift together with two tiny puppies, and I have to say, the results were truly adorable. I'm sorry to say that I don't have time right now to write out a pattern, so I'll give you the link to the tutorial for the full sized dog bed that inspired this one. That said it really is so very simply, so you can do it! It is just a circular base with 3 rows crocheted like the sides of a basket, with rows 2 and three crocheted as rows not in the round in order to leave the space in the front of the dog bed. Okay, keep on reading for more info, and maybe a good dose of 'you can do it!"

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Now that is officially summer, let the summer crafting begin! What will it be this summer? Crocheting, embroidering, origami, mosaic, knitting, art journaling, sketching, painting, jewelry making, nature crafts or maybe even stained glass? Whatever you are dreaming of creating, take that first step and go for it! And now for just a bit of inspiration, lets take a look at the features from last week's party!

Watercolor Flowers And Leaves Painted Within A Circle, To Use In An Art Journal Or Just Because!

Take my word for it, once you paint one watercolor floral or leaf pattern within a circle, you won't want to stop! In my case, as I'm thinking that these will be glued into an art journal that I'm making as a gift, I used mixed media paper which is much lighter weight than watercolor paper and does not quite soak up the color like watercolor paper, but it works. In the mean time I think I'm going to hang these circles on a little clothesline gallery in my kitchen, or tape them to the wall with a loop of tape on the back. My gallery shelves currently filled only with wooden items (cutting boards, a horse, plates, a wooden shoe) could use a little something to make them look more cheerful and I think this just might be the answer, at least this week. Ready to have some fun with watercolor, keep on reading for a few tips!

Watercolor Iris Cutouts With Stems

 

After creating some pink watercolor flowers on gold wire stems, I just loved the results too much not to give it a try with another kind of flower, and irises came to mind. I'd like to give it another try while actually looking at some reference, but this initial attempt was just fine and resulted in a lovely mason jar full of paper blooms for the Jewish holiday of shavuos! What can I say, there is just something about cut out watercolor flowers that are truly irresistable, and even if the flowers are a little wonky, it still looks great. Okay, shall we make some?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Phew, we have finished counting the Omer (and I finished my Counting the Omer watercolor art journal) and celebrated the wonderful Jewish holiday of Shavuot, having eaten more cheese cake than we should have and now, drum roll please it is officially summer! I always say that summer is the perfect time to try something new, whether it be a take along craft or art project, something involving nature, oreven something that you do outside. Make this summer a creative one! Of course knitting and crocheting are always great projects to have on hand for down time, and the feature's from last week's party have some great free patterns, so lets dive in and take a look......

5 Retirement Crafts You Should Try!

Retirement generally means stepping down from full time work and a career you've spent a lifetime developing, which can be unsettling, but it also marks the beginning of an exciting time dedicated to pursuing your passions, yippee! At long last you can put that busy career on the back burner and delve into your hobbies, unlock your hidden talents, and pursue projects that truly excite you. 

If you are a recent retiree, or plan on retiring soon, and you’re not sure where to begin, get started by reading this list of 5 retirement crafts you should try. The main thing is to get started, as finding something that you really love may not come automatically. These crafts are not only fun and easy to get started with but could also end up supplementing your income! Okay, lets get started!

18th Birthday DIY Bouquet With Watercolor Flowers And Botanical Number

A festive DIY birthday bouquet complete with a botanical number and watercolor flowers is really quite simple to make, and best of all the elements are easily packed away for siblings or relatives who may also turn that age within the next few years! Some metallic fern fronds that veer on the tacky side work here, and voila, fun birthday decor for the sideboard! I love creating birthday decor with paper numbers and letters on skewers or straws, and together with this vase I created nickname cake toppers that were indeed a success. So friends, as I always say, don't invest in a time consuming cake, invest in the fun DIY decorations made with love! Need some inspiration and tips to make this? Keep on reading!

Watercolor Flowers With Wire Stems For Shavuos Crafting

I have been enjoying painting watercolor flowers lately, which means that there are successes as well as pieces that might have some successes and some failures on the same page. But actually that is a good thing because then you can cut out those lovely flowers from the rest of the not so great page, hot glue some lovely gold wire to the back and voila, fun flowers to stick into a vase, or use in any number of ways, especially for the Jewish holiday of Shavuos, coming up on Thursday night, for which we try to fill our homes with flowers and greenery! So friends, right about now is a perfect time to spend an hour or two painting a bunch of watercolor flowers to cut out and use for holiday crafting! Plus it is just so enjoyable you won't want to stop, take it from me!

DIY Loose-Leaf Watercolor Art Journal With Lettering, For Counting The Omer

I'm sharing this a bit on the late side to actually be inspired this year, that is to use my idea and make a loose-leaf watercolor counting the Omer art journal, but you could certainly make the journal anytime and save it for next year, or use it as a gift or for some other purpose. We are so blessed to have a new bride in the family, as one of my sons got engaged, and I was just thinking that an art journal like this one would be a great "count down to the wedding" gift, maybe for the last two months or so......So friends, check out my idea, and keep it in mind, whether for counting the Omer, or counting down to a big day, or even as a gift to a loved one to use as a journal.

And my biggest piece of advice? Keep it simple! The only reason that I actually have succeeded with this project is that I only allowed myself to use watercolors, and collage with watercolor painted elements, and then pens and paint pens for the lettering, that is it! Ah yes, and one more thing, the success of this project is also partially due to all the amazing instruction and inspiration that I soaked up from Wendy Solganik aka @willa.wanders via her huge hand lettering for art journaling course, called Love Your (Imperfect) Letters, which has just been so very perfect for this art journal. Of course I do need to go back and learn some more styles, but this journal was a great start and really the first time ever that I've been so lettering focused and so happy with the results! Want to see how I made this journal? Keep on reading!