Now that the weather has warmed up for most of us, it's time to start thinking about crafting projects for our outdoor areas! And with the Jewish holiday of Shavuos coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm thinking about craft projects that celebrate flowers and greenery. I know, a fired ceramic wind chime isn't the most accessible project for most of you, but I wanted to share this idea because I'm quite sure that it can inspire you to create something wonderful if you give it a bit of thought!
This project was made by my kids simply using real fig leaves. The leaves were pressed into the rolled out clay and then the shapes were cut out with a knife, and fired in a kiln. One could certainly do this project with air-drying clay, though I'm pretty sure the shapes won't "chime" when they bump one another. So why not add something (glass, metal, bells etc.) to the mobile that would chime, and it could really be quite lovely.
Or how about making a hanging leaf mobile from paper? Or a garland of paper leaves? Or printing the leaf shapes on paper and then cutting them out? (See my post here for making prints with leaves.) Now it's your turn to come up with some creative ideas! You can do it!
ps: Thanks so much to our wonderful ceramics teacher Batya who has given two of my young children a love for working with clay! And I'm especially happy because my 6 year old son, who doesn't love crafts like the rest of us, has been looking forward to his ceramics class every week for months! And that makes a mom like me not just happy but thrilled!
