creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to craft schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! The very festive and very crafty Jewish holiday of Purim is on Wednesday night/Thursday (and on Thursday night/Friday in Jerusalem) which means the coming week will be very busy indeed. I am in the middle of finishing up a Queen Esther costume and a mitzvah dragon costume, needed for the school costume day on Monday or Tuesday, and hope to share that with you, and then it is time to think about the mischloach manot, the gifts of food for neighbors and those we want to honor....In previous years I always used a recycled container, but now I'm more concerned with giving something that will add to the recipient's holiday in some way, or at the very least make them smile. For the neighbors I often give a small healthy meal, as the morning of Purim tends to be a bit hectic and everyone forgets to eat something before getting into all the junk floating around. Since everything is still undecided I"ll just go with the flow. And if the husband actually goes to a lemon tree or ours across town full of organic lemons waiting to be picked, then I may just make quick pickled Moroccan lemons for everyone and do a lemon themed package. So many options and it all just depends on how much time there is, as I also have to prepare a feast for Thursday.......so now lets just take a breather and enjoy the features from last week's party:

A Peek In My Sketchbook

At long last this past summer I started working in a sketchbook in an attempt to go out of my comfort zone, and while it wasn't easy (on account of the fear of making bad art that is then stuck in a book...) I was thrilled with my progress. It took a good month, and then I actually started creating some sketches that I'm happy to share. And that dear readers is truly an accomplishment for a quasi-perfectionist like myself. Now unfortunately I have not had the time to continue the sketchbook process, but that is more of an excuse, truly I can and should just work even an extra 15 or 20 minutes into the day and devote it to sketching, as practice and more practice is the only way to advance in the creative journey! Okay, now that I've given myself a little lecture, I'll have to remind myself to follow my own advice!  Okay, maybe after Purim, for which the pressure is now on, or maybe even after Passover, for which the pressure will also be on in another week. Hmmm, excuses?

Toilet Paper Tube Castle Craft

We are on a roll with the recycling crafts for Purim, and I couldn't be more pleased, especially since we still have a week to keep on crafting for the festive holiday! Introducing toilet paper tube castle craft, which you can make to use as a centerpiece, a scene on a sideboard, or even as a simple toy. I generally save toilet paper tubes for crafting, but this time only had five on hand, so may castle is considerably smaller than I would have preferred. I'd love to see a castle that is a few stories high, and maybe with some little rooves and flags, but with the lack of supplies on hand I went for something very basic, which is also good! What do castles have to do with Purim? Well truthfully European castles do not have anything to do with Purim, since the Purim story took place in Shushan, Iran, but certainly there was a palace where our hero Queen Esther resided, so you know anything loosely castle/palace is relevant to Purim. Now that we have clarified that, lets get crafting!

Cardboard Fish Centerpiece For Purim, Or Just For Fun!

The cardboard fish centerpieces I made for our community Purim party were a hit, and now I get to use them to decorate our house for Purim, coming up quickly next week. I don't think I'll use all ten of them, then again, a school of fish swimming down my Purim table could be lots of fun, right? I'll get out the blue tablecloths and take it from there.....maybe I'll make some milk carton boats or use some plastic ones and do a whole ocean themed table.......I guess it all depends on how quickly the costumes go this year, and how many guests we'll be having. At this moment I'm so happy to have some new decorations and a theme to work with, and Purim  isn't for another nine days or so (next Wednesday night, with the festive meal happening on Thursday.) And so for once the holiday may just come in without having to loose any sleep, yippee! Want to make some quick cardboard fish centerpieces? Lets get started......

Recycled Cardboard Fish Are The Perfect Purim Craft!

I'm loving crafting with recycled cardboard boxes lately, there is something truly satisfying about creating something new from a cardboard box (hopefully) bound for the recycling pile. And to top it off, there is just something about black and white paint together with the cardboard box color that looks amazing. Enough said, introducing my recycled cardboard fish, just in time for Purim, and the Jewish month of Adar, which is the sign of the fish! You can use these fun cardboard fish in so many ways, and this can be a craft for all ages if one makes fish shapes for everyone to paint and/or decorate. Even a collage of findings on a fish shape could be amazing, or a fish shaped welcome sign for your Purim party! I actually made these fish to use as centerpieces for a Purim party tonight, and I'll be sharing the tutorial for making stand up fish centerpieces with you shortly. In the mean time, get inspired by my fun recycled cardboard fish, and enjoy!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday and wishing everyone a very happy new month, or chodesh tov, as we say. This month is a very special one indeed as it is called Adar Beit, meaning the second month of Adar. On the Jewish calendar leap year isn't about adding just a day, but rather a whole month, and lucky for us the month that gets added is the most joyful month, Adar! This gives us a bit more time to prepare for the festive holiday of Purim, or if you are really organized it might give you more time to clean for Passover (ha ha around here.....) So now is the time to increase the joy, and for those of us gathered here that most certainly means full gear creativity, or at least finding just a bit of time for making things! So, without further delay, since the pressure is now on to prepare for Purim, lets take a look at those features from last week's party:

Giant Paper Flower Centerpiece

A really giant centerpiece on a budget can be simple to whip up if you have the right materials and a few tips from yours truly, who specialized in making budget centerpieces on a dime. Yes, and infact I have a batch in progress for next week's Women's Purim party in our community, and it involves cardboard fish, but you'll just have to wait to see that one! In the mean time, a huge vase of flowers can instantly transform any table or room into a party, so these are perfect for Purim, especially when there are so many other things to make, at least in our house.Now I have to add, for some reason these flowers were very hard to photograph, and they actually look much better in person than in these photos, so take my word for it, and don't spend precious time on more difficult versions until you try these! And best of all, these flowers really can be make from just about any light weight paper, including recycled maps, newspaper, you name it, so get those creative gears turning!

Giant Paper Flowers For Any Occasion

When you are in a pinch, and need a quick handmade centerpiece, a huge gift topper, a teacher appreciation gift, or a giant flower to put on your front door, I've got the flower for you! This giant paper flower made from heart shaped petals is simple to make and has a fun whimsical look that is perfect for spreading the joy. Ah yes, and with Purim right around the corner a bouquet of these on your table in bright colors would be perfect, or make some to adorn a giant hat or as part of a costume! Okay, as far as a costume goes, I'd make this same flower out of craft foam for durability, and then it could even become a giant flower hat, fun!

I made this gold version for a neighbor's daughter's engagement party a month or so ago. The party included a bridal Jewish henna party, so gold was the way to go, and fortunately I had some of this light weight gold textured paper waiting to be made into something, and so, voila a huge bunch of gold flowers was born. Want to make some yourself? Let get to it!

Paint A Garden On A Milk Carton Craft

Not every craft has to have a specific end point in sight, sometimes just getting out some milk cartons and painting gardens on them can be a great creative activity that leads to? And actually, now that Spring is in the air, a row of milk carton houses with blooming gardens could be a fun craft. I'll admit, when I painted these milk cartons with a little friend I had in mind making a Chanukah village, but that never happened, so now the milk cartons are hanging out waiting for their future use, maybe a village filled with greenery and flowers for Shavuous?In any case, just getting out the paints and paint brushes and painting on a 3D object is a great way to loosen up and have some fun, I know I did!

Keep on reading for some tips for painting milk cartons.....

Crocheted Flower Mobile Is Perfect For Every Occasion

A few months ago I shared my crocheted t-shirt yarn flowers, and guess what, I actually put them to use as birthday party mobile that phased nicely into Tu B'Shevat decorations, that are now phasing into Purim decorations! So for the past few months a pink crocheted flower mobile has been hanging over our dining room table, and some of the numerous guests have commented how lovely it looks, not realizing that it was actually a seasonal decoration. The great thing about this crocheted mobile is that you can hang the strands from a light fixture, as I have done, or simply attach them to a hoop. And once you crochet the flowers, assembling this spring blossom mobile is oh so simple, gotta love that! This would also be a perfect baby mobile.......wedding photo backdrop, bat mitzvah backdrop, you name it! And the individual crocheted glower garlands would look lovely hanging from a tree or really just about anywhere, just a few or a huge amount, you decide. Get a huge bunch of friends together, get lots of skeins of t-shirt yarn, and you can have yourself a great party backdrop that can then be repurposed into baby mobiles for the whole world, or floral lampshades, or one could even sew these flowers onto a blanket. Okay, enough babbling, lets whip up a crocheted flower mobile!