creative jewish mom

Remembering Fimo!

Remember Fimo? If you have girls who love detail oriented and colorful tiny works of art, so a few blocks of Fimo and possibly an instructional book could  really get them excited, and keep them busy for a good chunk of summer vacation time! There are endless possibilities, and my almost 7 year old daughter has really been enjoying her 1hour/week Fimo class after school. Last week she came home with this pendant, which has found a temporary place decorating one of my Shabbos candles. It is so sweet.

 

Fimo costs around $2 (10 shekels in Israel) for a small block, so it's really only appropriate for children who could actually make something worth keeping— girls from about age 6-7 and boys a little bit older, depending on their individual skills.

Fimo is actually a brand  name of polymer clay, its main U.S. competitor is the American brand Sculpey. The material comes in many different colors, there are many finishes to choose from, and even a softener to use with it because it can be hard to work with. Once sculpted, Fimo  is baked in a standard or toaster oven for about 30 minutes at 110°C to harden it. After baking, it can be further modified by cutting, drilling, painting, and sanding. Some crafters thinly slice baked Fimo and pasta makers are used to make thin even sheets of Fimo (I wish I had one of those hanging around!), and of course many other tools from the kitchen (like a garlic press for making hair) can be really helpful.

So if you're looking for a creative project for your kids or even yourself, think about a small investment in polymer clay. It just might be a hit this summer!

Try Your Luck With Lucky Bamboo!

I'm not sure what is going on in the rest of the world, but in Israel lucky bamboo seems to be taking over the country! I even saw it for sale at the dollar store!  That being said, one of the luckiest things about this plant is that unless you are downright cruel and deprive it of water altogether, it is pretty hard to kill. Great news for those of  you who wish your thumbs were just a bit greener!

Lucky bamboo lives in water and grows very  slowly, let me rephrase that, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly, your hair probably grows faster! I bought these five tall stalks at the shuk about 6 months ago as bare rootless specimens and this is where we are holding......despite being encouraged with a song here and there! Nonetheless, I've been enjoying their sculptural quality and my four year old has even learned to sing "lucky....... you're so lucky" which is what I've been singing to the plant now and again.

Lucky bamboo isn't actually bamboo, it's a member of the dracaena plant family. (I'll admit to being a little disappointed when I found this out.) Lucky bamboo can grow well in low light so it would be perfect for adding a little life to any dark corner. The typical glass container and stones doesn't stay looking clean very long, so to avoid an extra headache, think about using something opaque and unusual, like how about a tall teapot for example? Or make a grouping of single short lucky bamboo stalks in vintage teacups......and use marbles or glass rocks to anchor them. If you have your heart set on huge glass vase filled with tall stalks, and you have a great place out of reach of little hands, then go for it, it could be really lovely.

Should you decide to add some lucky bamboo to your life, I wish you all the best, just don't forget to check the water level now and then, or your luck just might run out!

Note: Lucky bamboo apparently doesn't love chlorinated water, so it is preferable to refill your container with water that has been sitting out for 24 hours, giving a chance for the chlorine to evaporate.
Also, I read that lucky bamboo is mildly toxic (most plants probably are!) so keep it out of reach of small hungry children!

Almost Instant DIY Artwork

I don't know about you, but the walls in my house are very very bare. Sometimes it's a nice feeling, and sometimes well, it feels really a bit too bare. My problem is that I just can't bring myself to put holes in the walls to hang something I don't absolutely love. That said I realized that my children shouldn't have to suffer from my own confusion, and how happy it would make them to have a least a little color to look at.

Therein was born the instant art I created  from you guessed it, wrapping paper that I bought at the grocery store!

The wooden frame was a cast-off from someone else and contained a very uninteresting poster. I opened up the frame from the back, and removed the poster which had been mounted to the bristol board (it was old enough that the poster peeled right off). I then cut a piece of wrapping paper about 2 inches smaller all around than the size of the frame opening, attached the wrapping paper to the bristol board with a few pieces of double-sided tape (a glue stick would work too), reinserted it into the frame and voila!

An even easier version of this project would be to use a frame with a pre-cut matte,such that you don't have to worry about an exact cutting job — the matte covers the edges! Or simply cut a piece of wrapping paper to fit within the entire size of the frame with no border.

I bet you have everything you need to do this simple project, so what are you waiting for? And if you don't have any frames on hand, so simply and neatly wrap a piece of your cute wrapping paper around a rectangle or square of cardboard, attach a ribbon and hang.

For those of you who happen to be paying attention, you're right I didn't even make a hole in the wall for this one, it looks so cute sitting on top of the bookcase, why commit?

In My Container Garden

I am very happy to say that I have many many interests and could never imagine not knowing what to do with some free time if I ever had any. That said, one of my true loves that I highly recommend to everyone is container gardening, or real gardening if you are lucky enough to have some earth to garden. It is worth every second that you put into it — the returns on your time are pure joy, for yourself, your family, your neighbors....

Yes, plants do require care, and the venture of container gardening means some research as to which plants to put in which conditions, how much water, what size pot etc. But when compared to taking care of human beings, caring for plants is oh so easy! And look at what my Canna plant (above) has given me this morning!

And not to make anyone jealous out there, but just look at this blooming hydrangea I've been enjoying for at least a full month and a half already! Okay, enough said more on this another time.

If you need some advice on choosing plants for your Israeli container garden, I'd be happy to help, just drop me an email line! 

Festive Table Decorations For Your Next Party

Honoring your guests with a festive, joyful table (with minimal expense) is really quite simple if you have some confidence and a little bit of know-how, which I'll be more than happy to share with you. And the added effort is really worth it when you see the smiles on everyone's faces.......

For starters you'll need a colorful tablecloth or piece of fabric. I love using my collection of vintage tablecloths for parties and usually layer them over a large white tablecloth. But really you can use anything that happens to fall in the fabric department — a beautiful old sheet, a vintage curtain (shown here) even a large scarf.

Next think of an idea for a simple party favor. I wrapped some pastel-colored candy coated almonds in this etherial celophane that I saved from a Purim gift, and tied each bundle with an orange ribbon.

I had some paper that I made with my children 2 years ago for Purim that seemed just the right color for my theme. The paper wasn't  enough to make an actual placemat to put under the large plate, so I improvised and made the shape above which I placed between the salad plate and base plate. In order to see the paper piece I used saucers as the salad plate as they are smaller than the regular desert plate. (And the favor sits nicely within the ring for the teacup!)

The patterns on the paper were created with large rubber stamps for home decorating, that I once bought at the dollar store. (When you see deals like this, buy a few of each kind, for $1 you'll never go wrong). Once the paint was applied to the paper, the dots were made with glitter fabric paint in a squeeze bottle (many refer to this as"tulip"). Make ahead of time as the dimensional dots take a few hours to dry.

Now think about  a centerpiece or something simple and low that can be repeated down the length of the table. These artificial flowers were easily removed from their stems, and will be re-united with their stems once the party is over, but for now they look great placed directly on the table and grouped in small bowls.

Real blooms can individually floated in bowls of water, and or course tea lights or floating candles can add a beautiful warm glow to your table.

See how simple it really can be? And the result is lovely. Come join me  sometime, there's always a reason to celebrate, even if it's that you finally got all the laundry done by Wednesday!

Pickled Turnips

Ever since coming to Israel and becoming aquainted with the middle-eastern practice of home pickling all kinds of vegetables in large glass jars, I have wanted to do it myself. I dream of having jars and jars of vegetables all lined up neatly on shelves...... Not because I want to eat them really, but I just love  how they look! 

I think that those jars somehow translate into an appreciation for all the wonderful vegetables that we've been given to enjoy. Pickling and preserving have always been a good way to use every last vegetable grown in the garden, to avoid waste, and to enjoy those summer strawberries, for example, in the middle of winter! For many years I have been making home-made pickles, but when a neighbor gave me a huge amount of leftover turnips I knew that was a sign to finally pickle something else!

Pickled turnips will certainly not appeal to everyone, but they are a stunning addition to any spread of salads and look great on a plate next to a sandwich. I didn't get around to photographing the turnips out of the jar, but they are a magenta pink color, and when I put them in turquoise colored dish the effect was quite stunning.

For those of you who are not sure what a turnip looks like exactly here are a few photos, with one of turnip flowers thrown in for some added beauty and interest (for the gardeners out there).

Pickling is not an exact science and there are a number of recipes out there. This is the recipe I used with good results, but if you plan to make them more than a week ahead of when you'll eat them, I would reduce the amount of salt, as the longer they sit the saltier they get. (You can always open the jar part way through the pickling process to see if you like the saltiness and add more salt if necessary.)

Pickled Turnips Recipe

You'll Need:
1 pint wide-mouth jar (sterilize by pouring boiling water over and inside jar)
1 large beet boiled in water until tender
3 medium sized turnips
5-6 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of celery leaves
vinegar
kosher salt
a hot pepper or two (optional, for those who like it spicy!)

Instructions:
1. Drop washed and trimmed and quartered turnips into boiling water for 2-3 minutes (I must confess, I ommited this part, but it may be important?)

2. Remove turnips from boiling water and peel. Slice turnips into half-moon shapes or quarter-moon shapes (some people cut them into french-fry like sticks, but I think the slices look nicer and are easier to pack efficiently into a jar).

3. Place a slice of beet at the bottom of the jar together with a few garlic cloves and celery leaves. Put in half of the turnips and then the rest of the beets/garlic/celery, followed by the remainder of the turnips.

4. Combine and bring to a boil: 1/2 cup each of white vinegar and water, and 1Tbs kosher salt. Pour boiled mixture over turnips and seal jar tightly. Store in a warm place for a minimum of 3-4 days. Once jar is opened it is probably advisable to store in the refrigerator, though most Israeli's keep the jar out on the counter

For quantities larger than a 1 pint jar follow these instructions:

After you have filled your jar with all of the vegetable ingrediants, fill the jar 1/3 to 1/2 with vinegar. Using a measuring cup (and paying attention to what you are doing) fill the rest of the jar with water, keeping track of the number of cups of water you've added. Now pour the water/vinegar out of the jar and into a pot. For every cup of water that you added to the jar, add 2 tblsp of kosher salt to the pot.Proceed as above.

Paper Bunting Banners To Make With The Kids

In 2007 I wrote a crafts article for the Family First supplement of Mishpacha magazine in which I showed the readers how to make Noah's Arks from paper plates and fill them with animal silohuettes cut from the abstract animal patterned papers shown here.

Recently after drooling over many beautiful images I'd seen in the blogsphere of fabric bunting banners,
I had the idea of making some from paper. My original thought was to make something really beautiful from gorgeous scrapbooking paper, but when I came across some of the sheets of the animal patterns that I'd saved, I decided to give it a try with those first, before surrendering my small collection of beautiful papers to the project.

Back then I created the patterned papers on heavy-weight colored paper together with children ranging from 5-12 years old and I did some myself as well. We used round stickers, some with their centers punched out with a hole punch, and some cut in half. We painted, we stamped with the side of an eraser, with a small sponge and with the stiff end of a paint brush. We blew patterns with straws and pink ink, and drew patterns in wet paint with the end of a paintbrush. We made patterns from cut pieces of sparkled contact paper. These are just a few ideas — there are so many possibilities!

I cut triangles in two sizes using a templates I made from a heavy piece of cardboard, and then folded the tops over a piece of yarn, using tape on the back to secure them. One could of course use a stapler but you'll see the staples.

As it so happens, I have a blank wall between two sconces in my dining room that was a perfect place to hang my new creations, and another one between two Morroccan lanterns over the couch. For the time being my walls are looking a little less blank, and definately a lot more cheerful.

I used these hung flat on a wall, but they also look great hung across a space, and they would also make great Succah decorations! (Hot summer afternoons spent indoors are a great time for that rather than waiting for the pre-holiday rush! )

Whatever you choose to do with this idea and how you choose to do it, enjoy the process and remember, you don't need the excuse of a special occasion to make decorations, do it just because! And please take a few moments to leave me a comment, I'd love to know what you think.

Sometimes It's The Small Things That Count

On our recent trip to Jerusalem we went into a Judaica store to buy a tehillim for my 7 year old daughter.
She is just starting to read tehillim and I wanted to buy her something of her very own to honor this wonderful milestone. Of course anyone with small children can imagine what insued deep in the caverns of this large store. Call me brave or even slightly insane, but I do not shy away from taking my children shopping. As difficult as it may be, I really think from around the age of three children can start to understand the notion of conscientious consumerism and the value of the good old shekel.

After way too much time with the "mommy buy this" and mommy saying "please don't touch" I decided that what we really needed was a tiny model of the Bais HaMikdash. At first 14 shekels seemed a bit steep, but then I snapped to and realized that 14 shekels was a total steal for something that would help us (or hopefully at least me) remember our Holy Temple everyday and long for her to be rebuilt speedily in our days.

I told the kids that we would buy one for everyone and put it next to my Shabbos candles, for the whole family to enjoy.  They agreed and we magically escaped from the store with one book of tehillim and one small model of the Beis HaMikdash.

Now the Beis HaMikdash sits next to my Shabbos candles and I can't stop thinking about what a great purchase this was. Tonight when I light my Shabbos candles I'll be sure to make my usual requests and won't forget to add something that admittedly isn't in the forefront of my mind enough, please bring us back our Holy Temple!

Maybe this was my reward for fearlessly entering a store full of fragile items with three small children, and maintaining my composure. If so, thanks!

And in case you are wondering, my Shabbos candlesticks are a collection of old brass candlesticks that were passed down to me from my grandmother and my husband's grandmother. And yes they look much lovlier when polished, but who has time for that when you're trying to get a new blog up and running?

Quick Decorating With Bandanas

There is nothing that reminds me more of lazy summer days than a good old-fashioned bandana! So when I spotted bandanas on our trip to Jerusalem at just 5 shekels ($1.25) each, I just couldn't resist buying a bunch of them. Bandanas can be used in so many ways and especially to brighten up a summer rental or create a festive feeling at an outdoor party.

In the photo above, I wrapped the bandana around the wooden piece that inserts into the metal frame of this small side table, and for practicality sake I will cover the bandana in some thick tablecloth plastic to keep it stain free.

Create a welcoming corner in a guest room for a summer visitor by simply tying a bandana around the back of a narrow-backed chair! And then make an instant cover for a 35cm square (14") pillow by tying the corners of the bandana to each other across the long sides of the pillow. Or you can use this same idea with larger square headscarves and bigger pillows!

If you're like me and you don't have actual patio chairs, you can still create a welcoming spot for enjoying the outdoors with your new collection of bandanas!

This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what you can do. If you sew, patchwork tableclothes from bandanas look great, as would a duvet cover, or even curtains or a valance. If you don't sew, not to worry,  use bandanas as cloth napkins at your next summer barbeque or picnic, or simply run one under cold water, tie it around your neck and say ahhhhhhhh!

This post was linked to Donna's party over at funky junk interiors

More On Turning Four

In a previous post I revealed a photo of the teddy bear cake I somehow created by the skin of my teeth,
but I have yet to show you a few details from the birthday party we had at home. The actual celebration was on Shabbos, so I don't have too many images on film, but here are a few cute ones I took afterwards.

This  paper was hand-stamped with 3 stamps and red and blue ink. I really loved the result but didn't know what to do with it. Then at the last minute I thought how about birthday hats? A good idea, only I had just one piece of paper, how would that work? Then it occured to me to make hats for the cute stuffed animals that I used as decoration for the table and as a suprise gift.

I tied pink bows around their necks and put them sitting inside a bread basket. I always like to invite animal friends to birthday parties. It's a sure fire way to put a smile on everyone's face.

And not to forget the chandelier, which is decorated for every birthday! This time I was in a huge rush, and had time for one ribbon color, one width, but the result was still festive. Just don't mention to my son that pink isn't for boys since we don't hold by that around here (except for clothing of course!)

Note: Ribbon comes in so many widths and colors and is relatively inexpensive. It is great  for creating instant decorations — tie bows on chairs, or even "wrap" the table in ribbon, use your imagination and the results will be so greatly appreciated.