creative jewish mom

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday & Wishing You A Joyful Purim!

This week has been very busy with all the preparations for Purim, so time has just flown by! If you are reading this on Sunday, you can be sure that I am not on the computer, I am celebrating Purim and trying to be the hostess with the mostess to at least 40 sit-down guests, and countless others who will wander in! (In addition to sending gifts of food to friends and neighbors, attending a reading of Megillat Esther, keeping an eye on my family, and trying not to forget about the holiness of the day!)

Once again I'm so proud of all the amazing crafters that came last week, and encouraged by the fact that the party almost doubled in size! It's so much fun to see who links up and I still have hopes of reaching an international crowd so that we can really take advantage of modern technology and travel the world together! Thanks again for coming, and do help me spread the word by posting a button or link on your blog and telling your friends. A blog linking party that's still on the small side is a great opportunity for exposure!

And now, for the highlights of last week's party! Thanks to all of you for making my blog look so good with your creative expertise!

I just love my backyard eden's interpretation of the house rules wall art that has been a popular project lately amongst the crafty bloggers, and can you believe these legos are made of soap?  Over at roots and wings co you can even learn how to make your own mold with their awesome tutorial! 

Kellen from at second street  shared with us this too cute felt activity book! Keep your eye on her, she's a top notch crafter!

I just love these glasses etched with children's drawings created by Helen Clyde from Germany! She used a brumel tool, something I don't know too much about but know I need! And these water color painting candle sleeves are a great way to learn about translucency over at homeschooljournal-bergblog

This felt activity book from a little knick knack is equally amazing, and Paola from South Africa treats us yet again with another very sweet project, a baby quilt and matching card, with a downloadable pattern on her blog here.

This purse organizer created by sew crafty meg is just too cute and amazingly handy, and she's giving one away to boot! A beach bag from a shower curtain? Now that's a project for me! You can learn how to make one yourself over at someday crafts, with a guest post by fireflies and jellybeans.

Here's two sewing projects to get you inspired: a spring blouse sewn without a pattern over at a hoot and a holler and an adorable fleece baby jacket over at kitsch-a-licious. And last but not least, isn't this just the cutest idea for a baby shower or birthday party? A bunch of flower/insect hair clips clipped onto skewers and placed in a pot! Find out more about this project over at a little moore.

And I must mention my friend Steph over at somewhatsimple, who I think is giving me a major hint by linking to a tutorial for creating html for your own blog button. Now I really have no excuse! (Except for those 40 plus guests stopping by any minute....)

Inspired? I hope so, I know I am, though I don't know how I'm going to keep up! I'm still hoping to make some of the projects from the first party! Oh well, isn't it great to be the kind of person who would never ever not know what to do with a drop of spare time? 

And now on to the linky party, please remember to put your country of origin first, and feel free to link up more than one project if you like, and grab a button here or post a text link. Thanks so much for coming!

 

A Quick Purim Costume From the Classroom!

My four year old came home from school the other day looking so cute I just had to share this with you!
He is dressed up as Mordechai, the hero of the Purim story, and someone we'd definately like to emulate!

His teacher made these for the whole class, and the simplicity is just too sweet! Take note of the construction of the crown, made with just three strips of gold heavy weight paper! This is the style of crown the boys always wear in school for parties, though sometimes it is a bit fancier with more strips on the top.  The beard is cotton glued to a beard-shaped piece of cardboard, and the cape is a rectangle of blue fabric with just a touch of trim! So if you are in need of a last minute costume for young or old, give this one a shot! If you dress like Mordechai you can only win!

Wishing all my readers around the world a very joyful Purim!

Recycle Cups & Make A Fun Noise Maker For Purim (Or Your Next Rhythm Project!)

Here's a fun project to do with the kids today or tomorrow in preparation for Purim which starts Saturday night. (The exception being that Purim is celebrated Sunday night in Jerusalem.) I did this one, but kids can certainly have fun applying stickers and tape themselves. The noise maker or grogger is a classic Purim prop used during the reading of the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) to make noise every time the name of the evil Haman is mentioned. The reading takes about 1/2 hour, and during that time children who are old enough to come to the reading must sit quietly so that everyone can hear every single word of the story. So listening for Haman's name gives everyone a reason to pay attention!

You'll Need:

• Plastic cups, any size, clear works well too!
• Electrical Tape (my favorite new crafting supply)
• Beans to fill the cup
• Gold stickers
• A popsicle stick (you can make these without the handle too)
• Hot glue gun or other tacky glue

How-To:

1. Fill one of the cups about 1/4 full with dried beans or anything else you have on hand that will make noise when shaken.
2. Attache the popsicle stick to one cup with hot glue, and then join two cups together with hot glue. My new hot glue gun is so hot it melted the cup the first go around, so use the hot glue sparingly.
3. Decorate the cups with electrical tape and stickers
4. Enjoy making lots of noise on Purim!

 

Stock Up On Some Freezer Paper!

My brother and family just visited from the United States and look what they brought me! All summer I was tempted by all the freezer-paper stenciling tutorials on the internet, and couldn't try it myself! (There may be a similar product here in Israel, but since I had nothing to go by I couldn't look for it!)

I had a chance a few days ago to try out the freezer paper for a stencil on one of my children's Purim costumes, and now I know what all the excitement is about! It's so much fun, and though I did a somewhat complicated design with lettering that took awhile to cut, it left me wanting to do more! I can totally identify with all those crafters who showed photos of having stenciled practically everything in sight!

You get silk-screening like results with basic craft techniques. So, stock up on some freezer paper, I am 99% sure that I will be sharing with you some projects in the near future!

And for those of you who don't have access to Reynold's freezer paper, look for kitchen paper of some kind that has a wax coating on one side only, such that it can be ironed on to the fabric you'd like to stencil. And if anyone finds something like this in Israel, please let me know! Can't wait to get started, but first Purim, and a festive meal for 40.......!

Serve A Whole Smoked Salmon for Purim!

 
Here's an idea for a delicious appetizer course that your guests will go crazy over. A WHOLE Smoked Salmon! For the past three years we have tested this idea, and now we can't imagine Purim without a giant fish gracing our table! Now a smoked fish with no embellishments, looks well, dead, so be sure to fill the platter with colorful vegetables and lots of lemons. The smoker matters for recipes like this, too. You want something that will really produce that authentic smokey flavor. I recommend something like the Cookshack Smokette Elite especially if you're cooking for big family gatherings.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but this fish is more than three feet long and is even too long for the largest aluminum platter available here, so in this case I had no choice but to just let him hang off the ends! But that's okay, Purim in our house is a festive all day affair with lots of guests coming and going, so the fish will anyway disappear in no time! Purim Sameach!

Just in, a photo of this year's salmon, to give you a better idea of the size. My kids were so excited to see this whole fish and even gave him a name! My four year old is holding band-aids for some reason maybe he thinks the fish needs one too?

Wishing you a very festive Purim, with our without a giant smoked salmon!

Embellish It With Round Metallic Stickers!

Round metallic stickers are a craft staple over at my house! I don't know what it is, but they're just so useful and add a nice shiny touch to so many projects. I use them to make polka dots on colored paper, for joining ribbon on a gift, for adding a small touch to a gift tag, and for small children who love applying stickers to just about any project!

And another tip, round stickers when topped with a smaller colored sticker are even more versatile! I made these notebooks for party favors for my daughter's birthday in school last year. A notebook together with a colorful pencil was a nice little gift for each first grader!

So next time you are out and about be sure to pick up some round stickers (even from an office supply store) to have on hand for a quick solution to many a crafting delemma! And I should mention that stickers can of course be cut in half or quarters, and I sometimes punch holes in the middle of each one while they're still on the sheet. And it just occurred to me that with a decorative punch that fits within the size of the sticker one could really make some great embellishments. Gotta go, I'm running to try that one!

Make Giant Carrots (& Some Bunny Ears) For Purim Or Anytime!

Here's a fun project for Purim or any time! How about making some giant cardboard carrots with the kids and then making some wearable bunny ears as well for a cute but simple costume. (Bunny ears not shown, you'll have to use your imagination for that one!)

You'll Need:

• orange crepe paper
• green crepe paper (I used metallic, but regular green crepe paper is fine)
• bristol board
• white glue

How To:

Cut out a large carrot shape from bristol and apply strips of crepe paper vertically by brushing watered-down glue onto the carrot shape and carefully laying the crepe paper in the glue, and smoothing with fingers. Crepe paper can run off the edges and then trim once carrot is dry.  Make the carrot tops from green crepe paper and you've got yourself a cute decoration or an element for a costume.

While you are at it, it sure would be fun to make some other giant vegetables as well. How about red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants? Enjoy!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday!

 
 

It's Sunday again, which means it's time for Craft Schooling Sunday! I'm so very happy with all the amazing projects my talented guests have been linking to, and I hope that the party will grow to include crafters from around the world. If you know someone with a blog or site that is a crafter or DIY enthusiast, please tell them about the party! It's a great way to make new connections, draw some traffic to your site and even get a project posted here. I generally do not link to other sites, so this party is also my way of returning some of the "love" that other bloggers have shown me!

And now for the exciting highlights of last week's party:

Here are two super tutorials for making some fun new jewelry. These would be great for Purim, or a project for a teenage girl's get together. The newspaper ring is from my cute friends over at  craftenvy, and the flower earrings are from secretpieshoppe, just too sweet!

Summer over at  sumossweetstuff shows us how to make this cute fabric flower in no time! Inna is originally from Russia, but now lives in Israel and is a paper quilling extraordinaire. This project, Spring flowers of Israel is just one of many amazing works you can see over at increations.

Need a Purim costume or a sweet baby outfit for summer?  How about this adorable tutu and matching  diaper cover from thecottagehome?

Steph over at somewhatsimple is one of the sweetest bloggers I know, so this treat jar container is just perfect coming from her! These would be great for Purim! And if you have a stroller, wouldn't you just love a caddy like this one? Sew one yourself with a tutorial from Iamonlyonewoman.

This embroidered Valentines's Day card with a fabric envelope is just too cute not to share with you. A busy mom of two over at masteringeverydaycrafts made if for her husband! And these leggings made from sweater arms are really something, don't you agree? You can find out how to make them from two crafty sisters over at kojodesigns.

I was so happy to have a visit from Remodaholic, who came to the party from the amazing circle of DIY home bloggers. She is incredibly resourceful, and designed this crafting table which her handy husband then made with wood scraps from the garage! Last week mymommymakesit shared with us her felt tea bags, and this week she is delighting us again with a tea tray and felt cookies!

Wasn't that a great assortment of projects?I hope you are as inspired as I am! And now, on to the linking portion of the party! The rules of the party are simple, you can find those in last week's party. Thanks so much for coming and please grab a badge or use a text link to link back to this party!

Hardenbergia: A Stunning Tropical Vine That Blooms In The Winter!

It's been quite a while since I've written about my container garden! Why? Well I'm not doing much gardening around here in the winter as most of my plants are in a state of dormancy. Our Winters are not severe like the East Coast of the U.S. but still generally cold and hopefully wet.

There is however something really wonderful happening right now outside my front door—my hardenbergia vine is in full bloom! And this photo was taken last week, so now it's even more stunning. Delicate purple sweetpea like flowers in the winter, who could ask for more! And this vine is grows quite quickly, so a baby plant placed in a large pot in the summer can cover part of a wall by winter and give you a stunning show just around the time when everything else looks dreary!

Hardengergia can withstand frosts down to about 24-25°F (-4°C), and is thus suitable for USDA zones 9b and warmer. It could be tried a sheltered spot of zones 9a. So if you live someplace with winters not colder than 24 degrees, run to your nearest nursery and buy one of these vines. You'll thank me next winter!

Fill The Walls With Fun Masks From Cut Paper!

Purim is a week from Sunday, so now is a great time to give the kids a fun decorating project. Why not fill a whole wall with paper masks of all kinds? It's so much fun and looks great!

When we lived in Jerusalem, we had an small entryway, and I used to fill it up to the ceiling with all the masks that we had made over the years. It was so much fun to see everyone's expression when we opened the door and revealed our gallery of fun!

All you need is some colored paper, a black marker and some metallic stickers. Small children can apply stickers to masks that you draw for them (like the rabbit) and older children can even do the whole thing themselves. Take out some children's books with pictures of animals and people for inspiration and encourage everyone to use their imagination. You can add eyes and a mouth to just about anything, which
is all part of the fun.