creative jewish mom

Crafts For Tisha B'Av: Last Year's Tissue Paper Project!

 

In an attempt to give you at least two ideas for nice craft projects to do with the kids, either before or during Tisha B'Av, I've decided to re-post a project from last year. Some of you may remember it, but most of you haven't been with me quite that long, and may not have gone through the archives, right?  Anyway, after a whole year of projects, a little look back certainly doesn't hurt! And I just realized that I didn't even post this for Tisha B'Av, though that was my original intention!

You can find the details for this tissue paper on cereal box cardboard project here. And to those of you will be fasting (I will), wishing you a meaningful fast!

Remembering Yerushalayim: A Tissue Paper Collage For Tisha B'Av

I want you all to know that I take my self appointed position as Creative Jewish Mom very seriously. So much so that despite a very packed schedule at the moment, I knew that there would be those readers who would come to my site just for some ideas of projects to do for Tisha B'Av, and I didn't want to disappoint them. So.....this morning I gathered up some tissue paper, my eight year old daughter and an old frame with glass (found on the street I might add.....) and we made this!  A really simple project with wonderful results. And a true reminder not to forget Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)— not the modern city we know today, but the city of thousands of years ago that was the home of our Holy Temple, The Bais HaMikdash.

You'll Need:

• Tissue paper cut into thin and thick rectangles, roof shapes (lots of domes), and cypress trees.
• A runny mixture of white glue and water.
• A base for your collage—a large piece of white paper, or even better, a piece of plastic or glass already in a frame, like ours here! (Obviously the glass is a bit dangerous, so do provide supervision for small children!)

How To:

1. Cut shapes from tissue paper. I did this for my daughter to get her started, while older children can certainly do that themselves.
2. Using a paint brush, apply glue mixture to your base, one small area at a time, and place pre-cut tissue paper shapes gently onto the glue.
3. With the brush, smooth tissue paper and apply another layer of glue mixture on top.
4. Apply window and door shapes after completing the overall composition.
5. Hang and enjoy, possibly in a window where these collages look like stained glass!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Hello Friends, thanks so much for stopping by! We are now in a very somber period on the Jewish calender, the week in which the holiday of Tisha B'Av falls. We have been following many  restrictions during the past week (no eating meat, no hair cuts, no lavish bathing, no swimming, no laundry, no sewing new clothes, amongst other things) and now we are preparing for the major 24 hour fast of mourning (For the destruction of the Beit haMikdash/The Holy Temple in Jerusalem) which starts on Tuesday night.

So, this week's party isn't a festive one with music and refreshments, but rather a simple get together of like-minded creative individuals from around the world, sharing hope for a peaceful future through crafting! Thanks so much for coming, I appreciate each and every one of you!

Last week's party brought us some really nice projects, and a great assortment too! Take a look:

Rosi Jo from Italy made this simple yet lovely window decor using a cardboard tube and pieces of gourd shell, no kidding! I've never seen a gourd like the one she shows in her blog, and in fact I thought maybe it was a sponge, but she called it a pumpkin, so there you have it! And I just love these crocheted coasters from through the loops, a great project to practice your crocheting skills and a quick hostess gift! If you start making these, I'm quite certain you'll have some invitations!

And if you love the idea of re-purposing wood, so here's two great projects to  keep you  busy! Make this beautiful garden bench from an old bed frame with pretty handy girl, and Alisa Burke shows you how to make an artful driftwood city! No drift wood on your beach? No beach nearby? (Don't worry, me neither...) You could use this same idea on some wood scraps!

And speaking of wood, Sumi, from India, did a great job of adding just the right touch to this green t shirt, with wooden beads. Amy from modge-podge rocks made these great stenciled fabric wall decorations. I just love the colors!

Now, for some kid-specific crafting, look at what's happening over at Crafts by Amanda — some sea creatures are being made from plastic bottles, and at Meni's in Spain they are painting sea shells! You could combine these two projects for an afternoon of fun!

I just love this reversed stitch appliqued pillow which was made by  combining freezer paper stencilling with actual applique. Artsy crafty babe has a great tutorial. Really nice! And I can't wait to help my kids make bouquet of flowers like this from Lilla A Design of Sweden, punched paper circles painted with abstract flowers and strung on wire. Of course the interesting glass bottles give this project just the right touch!

Feeling inspired? Me too! I think the main question here is which would you rather do, sleep or craft? And while you are thinking about that, let the crafty  get-together begin!

Slice Of Life: A Bird House With A View!

About a five minute walk from our home, there is a residence perched on the hill with a wonderful backyard filled with fruit trees (pomegranite, fig, etrog, grapes to name a few) and a chicken coop to boot. The other day I noticed this rustic structure perched high above their patio, and marveled at the amazing view the birds in this house must have!

I am quite sure that the boys that created this little masterpiece know nothing about the pristine white bird houses that most of of think of when we hear the word "birdhouse", and I just love what they built using  pure creativity.  Building with wood is a wonderful activity, and knowing how to use tools is certainly helpful and can open many doors. I'm starting to seriously consider how I'm going to make that a part of my children's lives. I think it means delving into some power tools for myself eventually— a great excuse to finally follow that dream? Time will tell, I think we'll start with some basic non-electric things first, and see where that takes us!

An Eighth Birthday Party Made With Love!

We are now in the middle of the "nine days" a period of mourning on the Jewish calender, which culminates on Tisha B'Av, the saddest day of the year and a fast day, marking the loss of our Holy Temple. Fortunately for my daughter, she was born just before the "nine days" otherwise we would not be able to celebrate on her actual birthday, since parties and happy occasions are not appropriate now.

Poured Icing Birthday Cookies!

This is my first attempt ever at icing cookies! And in fact one of the first times I've ever actually made cookies with cookie cutters as well. Honestly, I'm just too busy with my other creative endeavors to spend time exploring the world of baking gorgeous things. (Don't get me wrong, I do cook, tons, but other than challah, whole wheat pitas and simple cakes there isn't much time left for baking.) For my daughter's birthday a few days ago, though, I wanted to make something special.

More Bead Mosaics On Clear Recycled Lids!

  

My kids had so much fun making these bead mosaics, out last results here, that they just had to make some more, this time with some summery images! This is one of those projects that can be completed in a fairly short period of time, with great results. Perfect for that small window of opportunity that could use a little structure!

Now that we have a small collection of these mini works of art, I'll have to figure out some way to display them! And it just occurred to me that one could of course do this project on any clear plastic, and combine it with tissue paper collage, sounds wonderful to me!

 

 

Make Adorable Gift Boxes (Recycled) With Potato Prints!

This little project came about while trying to find something for my daughter to do! While she did a picture, I decided I just had to do a recycled cracker box! So sit down with your kids even for just a bit, and while they're creating you can make some adorable gift boxes or even wrapping paper to have on hand!

 

 

You'll Need:

• cookie cutters in cute shapes
• potatoes
• acrylic craft paint
• a black medium tip permanent marker
• recycled boxes from crackers, or just about anything!
• large sheets of paper, to make wrapping paper

How To:

1. Make potato stamps by pressing cookie cutter into potato and removing excess from around the cookie cutter— works perfectly!
2. To print with potatoes, use paint that is on the sticky, not watery, side
3. To use recycled boxes, carefully open boxes at seam with a knife and print on reverse side.
4. Once your prints have dried, add details with a black permanent marker.
5. Re-glue box with the inside out using hot glue.
6. Use for gift giving or as cute containers in your home!

 

A Teacher Appreciation Mosaic Frame Made by An Eight Year Old!

Sweet right? My daughter, who just turned eight yesterday, made this a few weeks ago for her teacher, with just a bit of help from mom. Simple decorated frames are a great way to present sentiments to a teacher or a loved one, and kids can really have fun decorating simple unfinished frames. Buttons, pompoms, pipe cleaners, shells, sticks, tissue paper, and just about anything you can think of can be used to create something original! And if your kids are old enough, so buy a tiny glue gun (not as dangerous as the big ones) and let them use it, it opens up so many more crafting possibilities!

You'll Need:

• unfinished easel back picture frame
• silver spray paint or regular paint
• glass mosaic tiles and pearls from a necklace
• small hot glue gun

How about making this into a family crafting project? Decorate a whole bunch of frames in different sizes and fill them with photos of the wonderful things you've done this summer! All the best!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome! Thanks so much for stopping by! This week I've got another bunch of really great projects to share from last week's party, so I hope you're ready! And, even better, I can't wait to see what you've been up to!

Isn't this memory game made on home-sawn branch slices just the cutest? childhood magic is so great with color, and look at the background matt she painted to go along with the game! Camille Dawn at Motherlode made these adorable softies from her daughter's drawings, and makes it sound so do-able!

This simple toddler bed made from wood palettes is too cute, thanks to Lori Danelle for the great idea. My friend Tali from growing up creative made this wonderful summer necklace from bead, shells and home-dried melon seeds! And yes, this is a beach in Israel, and her photo is divine!

 

I just love these sock owls from stash books, and this cardboard tube art from Rosi Jo in Italy is just amazing!

I love this little crocheted coin purse also from VannaLisa of  meli-melo, (from Italy!) a simple project to practice your crocheting. You may not be daring enough to do a tissue paper collage right on your window, like filth wizardry but the results are stunning! You could also cut a piece of heavy weight plastic to fit the size of your window and do the same thing.

And while you're got the tissue paper out, so why not make some adorable bird feeders from juice or milk cartons like momscraftyspace? Homemade mamas always has some great recipes, but I especially like this simple one for home made air freshener made from baking soda and lemon juice! Thanks to everyone for all great projects!

And by the way, I just checked my blog stats, and in the last month I had visitors from 144 countries around the world! Granted some of the countries only accounted for a visitor or two, but I still think it's quite amazing! So I think this really is an international party!