creative jewish mom

Make Cute Chanukah Decorations From Popsicle Sticks!

You'll probably believe that I've had these pre-colored popsicle sticks hanging around for a year (or is it two?), a gift from  Mexico of all places! I'm so happy that I finally thought of a great project. And best of all, my four year old was just ecstatic with his! See his little smiling face?

We actually made a few, and now I need to figure out where exactly to hang them!

The big green one is the one I did all by myself, can you tell? I actually had a slight dilemma with this project as we quickly realized that using plain old white glue was going to be a bit problematic. Though the dreidel was constructed with white glue, the rest were made using a hot glue gun with mommy's help. "Am I giving my children too much instant satisfaction with the hot glue?" I thought to myself, as only a craft purest would even dare to think. In the end I decided that it's a good thing to do craft projects that are enjoyable and with good results to encourage future participation. While hot glue isn't always a good solution, in this case it enabled us to enjoy our creations right away, and for me to share them with you today! So I'll stop feeling guilty and make sure to schedule a nice and simple collage project with good old white glue in a few days!

Happy crafting, check back everyday for more Chanukah projects, and do me a favor and click on the stumbleupon button in the right hand column so that I can reach an even greater audience, pretty please!

Make A Sweet Embroidery And Felt Applique Picture: A Great Gift!

 

Here's yet another project as a lead in to the felt Chanukah projects I'll be unveiling in just another day or so! Isn't this just the sweetest? Who wouldn't absolutely love to receive a gift like this one? And if you choose a fabric with a simpler pattern than the one I've chosen here, you could possibly get away with quite a bit less  work, and you might be able to make a whole bunch! I really enjoyed embroidering and appliqueing the felt pieces and choosing the buttons. Now I can't wait to do more! This is actually the second in series, the first one, just embroidery on fabric looks like this. I have to say, the first one may be interesting, but this one makes me downright happy!

I took a few photos along the way to show you just what to do:

Step 1: Put your fabric in an embroidery hoop and embroider a few basic elements to get you started.

Step 2: Cut shapes from your fabric to use as guides for tracing them onto felt.

Step 3: Place your felt cut outs onto the fabric and check to see whether you like how it looks. I love how all the colors look in this photo, but in reality, it was too busy and I decided not to use the blue felt.

Step 4: Using a running stitch and thread that matches your fabric, applique your felt pieces to the fabric.

Step 5: Now if you think your work of art needs it, add some more shapes that you won't find in the fabric pattern, such as the leaves in my example at the top. Applique those pieces to the fabric by embroidering them in a slightly different way, namely not around the edges as you've done with the first pieces.

Step 6: Choose some interesting buttons to add another element of depth and texture to your work of art.

Step 7: Fold fabric to the back and trim. Decide whether you'll really part with it, or keep it for yourself and make another one to give!

Make Cute Chanukah Straws For The Young Or Young At Heart!

I really truly hope that you like felt, because next week is going to be full of felt projects for Chanukah. I can't show them to you just yet, so here's a another tease of sorts, a simple way to use up some of those scraps that you will definitely have hanging around!

Because Chanukah is eight nights, it's a good idea to have special surprises for the little ones, and not so little ones each night. It makes things fun and exciting. So whip up some of these straws and serve a festive or delicious drink — sparkling fruit punch? milk shakes? fruit shakes? root beer floats? Though truthfully, they'll be happy drinking good old water with straws like these! And if you cut the slits a bit too big as I did, so secure your felt dreidels to the straw with a dab of glue, otherwise they might just slide down into your child's drink. If you they do, so just shrug your shoulders and blame me: "the creative jewish mom made me do it"....."Who?"

As a matter of fact, I really think it might be a good idea to use this phrase when needed in other situations as well, like to explain why there are piles of laundry (hopefully clean) not tended to, sinks full of dishes and huge messes that only a crafter on a mission could possibly create! Just keep my real identity somewhat anonymous if you don't mind. Wishing you all the very best, and do take a minute to leave me a message, by commenting below or dropping me an email line. I'd love to hear from you!

Make An Adorable Felt Bunting From Small Scraps!

Hi everyone, I have some great news that I've been wanting to share: my almost never used manual Necchi sewing machine has been repaired and I am taking sewing lessons! I am so excited to finally be able to make all those adorable stuffed animals, pillows, aprons, bags, pouches, quilts, slip covers and more. Boy have I been missing out on all the fun!

And so you can look forward to some fun basic sewing projects in the near future. And if you don't sew, I'd highly recommend learning. And if you think you need to dole out a whole bunch for a new sewing machine, you don't. Most of the women in my class are using Singer machines that are 30 to 40 years old or so, and they work great! You don't need fancy embroidery stitches to get started, you need a machine that can sew a straight stitch and a zig zag and that's it! You can probably find a whole bunch of machines like this at your local thrift store! Mind you, before purchasing an old machine make sure you have a experienced sewing machine repair person nearby who is familiar with manual machines. And you can even find old manuals for most sewing machine models online! And, before getting started most machines need servicing from time to time, so do take it in for a checkup, it's worth it!

And now, getting to the photo above, isn't this bunting sweet? All you do is cut triangles in all shapes and sizes from your felt scraps and run them through your sewing machine! Too great! And why do I happen to have felt scraps? Well, I've just finished a bunch of really great felt projects that I can't share with you until next week, so I've got lots of little pieces of felt hanging around just begging to be used.

If you'd like to get a head start on purchasing felt for the projects I'll be posting, so I'd recommend buying orange, magenta, pink, aqua, and dark blue for starters. You'll need a few scraps of some other colors and some large pieces of light blue for two bigger projects, but you can wait to see them before buying the supplies. The felt I've used is the basic cheap craft felt, because that's all that's available around here, but if you have access to some of the very gorgeous wool felt, (the real thing!) so then you can certainly use that and your projects will be even more gorgeous!

All the best to everyone and happy turkey day to those of you out there in the US that are celebrating. Another opportunity to give thanks for all that we've been given and to spend time with loved ones is certainly a good thing!

How To Identify A Stroke And Save A Life!

A friend recently sent me this important information on how to identify whether a person has had a stroke. So I'm doing my part, as after all a creative mom isn't just a mom, she's also a caring daughter, granddaughter, friend and neighbor who hopefully won't need this information, but it's always good to be prepared! And unfortunately, strokes don't just happen to older people, so keep that in mind as well.

A Little Background Story:

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured  everyone that she was fine (they offered to call  paramedics) she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.  They  got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of  food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the  evening

Jane's husband called later  telling everyone that his wife had been taken to  the hospital - (at 6:00 pm  Jane passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with us today. Some don't leave this world, they can end up in a helpless, difficult condition instead.  It  only takes a minute to read this...
 
A  neurologist said that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the  effects of a stroke...totally. He said  the trick was getting a stroke recognized,  diagnosed, and then getting the patient  medically cared for within 3 hours, which is  tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Sometimes symptoms of a  stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately,  the lack of awareness spells disaster. The  stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage  when people nearby fail to recognize the  symptoms of a stroke.  Now doctors say a  bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three  simple questions, remember the signs, STR:

• S  *Ask  the individual to SMILE.
• T  *Ask  the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE  (Coherently)
• R  *Ask  him or her to RAISE BOTH  ARMS.

If  he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call an emergency number immediately  and describe the symptoms to the  dispatcher.

NOTE:  Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the  person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue  is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other,  that is  also an indication of a stroke.

I  have done my small part by spending a few minute to post this. I hope you will too! Remember this information and pass it along. Feel free to copy the text from this post or link to me with this link: http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2009/11/how-to-identify-a-stroke-and-save-a-life.html

All the best to everyone this holiday season, and may we all be blessed with good health and long happy lives!
 

Moroccan Roasted Eggplant Salad

Looking for something just a bit exotic to serve the guests this holiday season? Why not try this traditional Moroccan salad! It's spicy and tart at the same time, and would be great served with Middle Eastern flat-bread crackers, or pita bread. And while you're at it, serve it with the roasted red pepper salad here, they work well together and you can roast them at the same time as well. Other serving ideas include Chummous (Chick Pea Spread) and some really good olives, like Calamata or green Syrian olives. If you'll be hosting a large gathering, so you can plan ahead and roast the eggplants, remove the flesh from the skin and then freeze until the day of the event. Once the eggplant has thawed you can add the rest of the ingredients and you're all set! 

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 heaping tblsp cumin
• fresh lemon juice from one large lemon
• fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• option 1: toss in some chopped green onions for an extra kick
• option 2: make a salad by mixing this one with a smaller quantity of chopped roasted peppers, looks lovely!

Instructions:

First of all, let me start by telling you that there are two ways to roast eggplants, resulting in a different taste.
If you are preparing a quantity, you can do both methods and then mix the two for a slightly smoky taste.

1. Traditional flame roasted method: Eggplants are set right onto the grill on the stove top, over an open gas flame. Requires moving the eggplants around quite a bit and though one prepares the area with aluminum foil, it can get a bit messy. The result is a smoky taste
2. Oven roasted on an aluminum covered tray: This is what I do, much easier and mess free, though no smoky taste. My family prefers the salad with eggplant roasted this way, but it may just be that's what they're used too! I roast the eggplants under the grill for about 45 minutes, turning several times, though you may be able to actually bake them together with other items in the oven with a similar result.

Note: After oven roasting my eggplants for years, I have now switched to the stovetop roasting method, as it is more delicious and thus worth the extra mess in my opinion.

Preparation Steps:

1. Poke holes in eggplant with a fork and roast according to one of the methods above
2. Eggplants should be very soft, and if you let the skins burn a bit that's fine too.
3. After eggplants have cooled cut off tops and cut open (see photo above)
4. Remove flesh with a spoon and place in a mixing bowl or in the storage container you'll be using.
5. Viogorously chop up the eggplant with a fork to break up stringy pieces and cut any large pieces with a knife if necessary
6. Add finely chopped garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
7. Chop some parsley and mix into salad, a must for an appetizing presentation!.
8. Taste to make sure you've added enough salt, this is crucial!
9. To serve, garnish with sprigs of parsely, and enjoy!

 

Cut Contact Paper Collages: Fun And Practically Mess Free!

Wouldn't you like to make some works of art like these? Me too, in fact I had to control myself from grabbing all those little pieces away from my kids and making something myself! The other evening before dinner I was in need of an activity that would allow me to prepare a meal and keep my young children involved at the same time. 

I wracked my brain for a mess-free project (there are good times for messy projects and not so good times for  messy projects!) that would be new and different and came up with this. I whipped out the pieces of glossy contact paper I'd purchased for something else, some cereal boxes (we save these, they're great to have on hand) and scissors for me. I quickly folded pieces of contact paper so that I could cut out many shapes in one step, and presented the kids with small piles of candles, flames, and dreidels. Later we realized that the scraps made great horizontal borders! Wicks were applied with a pen, which was then used for a few doodles here and there. And voila, some Chanukah pictures were born! 

 

You'll Need:

• shiny contact paper in a few colors: make sure it's good quality contact paper so that the kids can remove the backing without your help (Note to residents of the Holy Land: "tepet" won't work well with little kids as it's too difficult to remove the paper backing) Also the thick good quality contact paper can be repositioned without tearing the cardboard base, so it works well as far as correcting mistakes!
• a "canvas" of some sort—big pieces of light weight cardboard, like a cereal box as shown here work well.
• sharp scissors for cutting multiple layers of contact paper, older kids can of course do this themselves
• a theme is helpful in terms of getting the kids interested, if Chanukah isn't up your alley try something else!

Enjoy and please take a few moments to leave a comment! And if you would be so kind, click on the stumble it button on the right to help me spread the word!

Decoupaged Matchboxes: A Nice Decorative Touch This Season!

Shavua Tov! (Have a good week!) I was looking through my archives of past projects, and this one seemed so very appropriate for a Sunday. Why? Because the photo shows a havdalah candle, which we use on Saturday night to say good-bye to Shabbat and hello to the new week. As strange as this might sound to some of you, our week actually starts on Sunday! Yes, that's right, here in Israel Sunday is a weekday! 

All year round I use matches to light Shabbat candles on Friday evening before sundown, but during the fall and winter matchboxes are used even more, so why not make this useful item look great too? And this project is so quick you can certainly make a whole bunch to give as small gifts, and to enjoy yourself. If you don't have small children who might be tempted to play with them, so fill a whole bowl with your beautiful matchboxes and enjoy them as a decorative item on your sideboard or mantle. I do have small children, so I won't be joining you in that idea, but I think I'll make some for Chanukah.....

You'll Need:

• matchboxes
• decorative paper, or napkins with beautiful patterns
• acrylic craft paint, creme or white
• modgepodge (decoupage medium) or a 50/50 mixture of white glue and water

How To, Using Paper Napkins For Imagery:

1. Paint matchbox sleeves, being careful to stay clear or striking panel. You can opt to paint over one of the two striking panels, which I think is nicer. Make sure paint completely obscures any graphics on box. Paint a second coat if necessary.
2. Set aside to dry. Work with sleeves only.
3. Napkin imagery can be used as a whole piece or tiny images can be cut out from napkin. In either case, carefully separate the printed layer of the napkin from the other two non-printed (usually white) layers.
4. Coat matchbook with a layer of modgepodge or glue solution, and carefully apply napkin, smoothing with your finger or a soft brush. Smooth out any wrinkles as much as possible, being careful not to tear the napkin. If the napkin tears, so just remove it and try again.
5. Saturate the surface with modgpodge or glue solution by gently brushing on another coat. Set aside to dry.
6. Once dry, apply one more coat of modgepodge or glue solution for extra protection.
7. Trim any uneven edges with sharp scissors.

How To, Using Decorative Paper:

This requires much more precision than the above method, but if you're a wizard with a craft knife, it will be a much quicker project.

1. Measure match box and cut a piece of paper to size. I would recommend wrapping the matchbox on 3 sides, one really doesn't need two striking panels. Also if you like you can cut the piece of paper slightly wider than the match box and trim off the excess after step 5.
2. Apply a coat of modgepodge (decoupage medium) to the match box
3. Carefully lay paper onto matchbox, starting at one end and smoothing out with fingers as you move around the box.
4. Paint a coat of modgepodge over the paper, and set aside to dry.
5. Paint another protective coat of modgepodge on the matchbox and set aside to dry.
6. Trim any uneven edges if necessary.

I hope you'll enjoy this simple project, and do leave me a comment, it's always so encouraging to hear from you!

Stuffed Baked Potatoes: Simple And Delicious, Great For One of Those Busy Days!

Now that some of us are in the heart of the busiest crafting season of the year, we can get a bit caught up in the crafting and forget about the fact that while we can probably go without eating, our families certainly need meals as usual! Dinner? Lunch? Whoops!  Here's a recipe that just might save you. Nothing new, just a helpful reminder, and your family will thank me. Hot baked potatoes right out of the oven is true comfort food and perfect for those chilly nights.......and if you decorate the plate with some attempts at Japanese vegetable cutting, well, the little hands just won't be able to resist!

Ingredients:

• Baking potatoes
• kosher salt
• olive oil (or canola)
• something to stuff the potato with like: grated cheese, low fat sour cream, baked beans, egg salad, stir fried onions, cooked vegetables and tofu, get creative!

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C or 350 F
2. Wash and dry potatoes
3. Pierce each potato with a fork in two places
4. Place potatoes in a large bowl, add a little bit of oil and mix with your hands to coat the potatoes with just a bit of oil
5. Sprinkle some kosher salt into the bowl and mix again to distribute the salt, not too much but enough so that it's visible on the skins of the potatoes
6. Put the potatoes into the oven directly onto the rack (or if this just doesn't appeal to you, so put them on a piece of aluminum foil or baking paper)
7. Bake for about 1 hour or until soft.
8. Cut open the potatos either lengthwise or with two criss crossing cuts, and stuff. If you use cheese, be sure to close the potato back up so the cheese will melt.
9. Dig in!
10. This would be a great meal to serve, along with a delicious salad for some unexpected guests, or even as a meal idea for a party — a buffet of potato toppings would be great!
11. Dig in!

Note: I don't cook in the microwave because I've read that it causes food to loose some of it's nutrients, but if someone arrives at your door and needs a hot meal quickly, it might be a good idea to use the microwave in the name of human kindness.

Follow steps 1-7 above and then:

1. Place a paper towel over a ceramic plate (not plastic!) and place the potatoes on the plate.
2. For a large potatoes, bake  on HIGH for about 5 or 6 minutes. For a medium potatoes, bake on HIGH for 4 minutes. For a small potatoes, bake on HIGH for 3 minutes.
3. Let the potato stand for a couple of minutes after you've taken it out of the microwave. The steam that is still trapped in the potato will help it finish cooking.
4. Serve to your hungry guest with a smile. 

Oh, and did I ever mention that I dream of learning how to sculpt with vegetables? Some people specialize in fancy desserts, I'd like to specialize in fancy vegetable trays! These decorative carrots were just a beginning attempt, I hope to show you more in the future. And if you want to try it to, just cut vertical triangular wedges from a whole carrot, and when you slice the carrot it looks like a flower! A great trick for getting the little ones to eat their vegetables, don't you think?

Make Gorgeous Chanukah Decorations From Baker's Clay!

Who would have thought that with some humble salt and flour dough (baker's clay), Chanukah cookie cutters. paint, glitter and sequins, one could create such jewel-like ornaments? I have to admit, I made these two years ago, and back then I was quite amazed at how beautiful the results were. At the time I couldn't quite figure out where to hang them, so we mostly enjoyed looking at them displayed on a gold plate on the dining room table!

This year I just happen to be a source in blog land for Chanukah crafts, so I figured I'd share this project with you, and even hang a few to see how it looks! I hung these from a wall sconce, but I dream of hanging a whole bunch in a doorway. As usual, you'll be the first to know the fate of these decorations this year!

Those little fingers are in the photo because those ornaments just wouldn't sit still! And anyway I always love just a little human presence in my photos! This is a great project for all ages and you can whip up a big batch and give some as gifts as well. They really do keep for years in a dry spot (though mine were in the very hot and very humid attic, and they seem to be fine) so whatever you invest now, you'll enjoy for years to come!

You'll Need:

• Baker's Clay Dough (recipe to follow)
• Metallic Gold or Bronze Acrylic Paint
• Blue Acrylic Paint
• Gold and Silver Glitter
• Gold and Silver Very Fine Glitter
• Light purple sequins
• Pearl beads (optional)
• All purpose glue
• Acrylic varnish/sealer
• Chanukah cookie cutters
• Light purple embroidery floss for hanging

Baker's Clay Recipe:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp cooking oil
• 1/3 cup water

Mix together the flour, salt, and oil in a bowl. Add a little water and mix until you have a smooth and thick dough, that doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl. If dough is too sticky, add more flour. If dough crumbles too easily, add more water.

Sprinkle flour on your working surface, and knead dough until it is smooth.The dough can be stored in a sealed container for a few days in the refrigerator.

Bake in a preheated oven at 250 degrees F (not celsius!) for about three hours (yes, really) until firm. Baking time varies depending on thickness of ornaments, and you may need to turn them over part way through. Ornaments are baked when they are hard throughout.

How To:

1. Make dough according to recipe, left overs can be stored in the refrigerator for another day.
2. Roll out dough to a thickness of about 1/4"
3. Use cookie cutters in two ways, the traditional way, and to merely make an impression in the dough as seen directly above.
4. Make beads in a variety of shapes and sizes, and make some sculptural ornaments built from snake shaped pieces of dough if desired. Use items from the kitchen to add details to ornaments — bottle caps, skewers, forks and dull knives are all good tools. Don't forget to make holes for hanging!
5. Place ornaments on baking paper on an oven tray and bake according to directions above. Baking time is long, so it pays to do a large batch.
6. Once ornaments have cooled, you can paint and apply glitter,sequins and pearl beads where desired. Apply glitter by brushing on white glue with a paint brush and sprinkling glitter on top. Once dry, shake ornament to dislodge any extra glitter.
7. Give ornaments a protective coat of glossy acrylic varnish and set aside to dry for at least 12 hours.
8. Hang and enjoy, or use as decorations on gift packages. Small light weight ornaments can be used to make magnets   glue a magnet to the back!  Or make some festive jewelry by affixing a pin back to your favorite piece.
9. Have a very Happy Chanukah!