creative jewish mom

Make A Mixed Felt Flower Bouquet. You'll Love It!

A Spring bouquet in the Fall? Why not? I do believe that it's Spring in some parts of the world? And festive color is great any time of the year, right? Last year around this time I made a felt rose bud bouquet, here, one of my all time most popular posts, and given its popularity, and how much I've enjoyed it in my home, it occurred to me that I really ought to try making a felt bouquet with a mixture of flowers.

When my daughter was invited to a neighbor's 10th birthday party last week, I said "let's make her something!" And so this bouquet was born. It took me three hours, including figuring out how to make the flowers, and not knowing which base container I'd use, nor what I was doing exactly! I would think that with my tutorial you may be able to do it in less time. Or better yet, do it over the course of a few days, which is much more advisable than making it right before the party...who me? 

So, while buying a little gift certainly would have been much simpler and a whole lot less time consuming, I'm really happy with the results, and I borrowed it back to take photos to share with you!

For a complete tutorial right here, please stop by tomorrow. In the mean time, gather your felt (how about a bouquet of whites and cremes.....with a tiny hint of pink or turquoise?), a 6" foam ball, and an appropriate container. Your ball should fit right into the mouth, such that about 1/3 of the ball sits within the pot. See you soon!

Fun City Scape Blocks That Kids Can Make Themselves!

Aren't these just the cutest? And isn't it great to turn someone else's garbage into something fun and usable? I found these painted wood scraps hanging around in my neighborhood, and quickly collected them to use for a building project with my seven year old son, who isn't such a crafts lover. Then Lilla A.Design inspired us all with her illustrated blocks on Craft Schooling Sunday, here, and I realized that these blocks would be perfect for something like that too.

My kids didn't get excited about drawing on the blocks themselves, so mommy drew some fun city scapes, and lo and behold, my seven year old sat and painted a whole slew of blocks, and enjoyed doing it! He has a desire for creativity in him somewhere, it's just about catching him at the right moment! Phew.

You'll Need:

• wood scraps in a variety of sizes, or even some old blocks that have seen better days!
• acrylic paint
• a permanent marker
• acrylic varnish (optional, recommended for use with natural wood blocks that you may choose not to paint)

How To:

My blocks were already painted, but you might like to paint yours, or not. (If you choose to leave your natural wood blocks unpainted, I would seal them afterwards with acrylic varnish to keep them clean. And if you use a shiny varnish, they'll look great! ) Draw designs on the base with permanent marker, and paint. There are so many fun ways to make this project yours....draw your house, your neighbor's house, your child's school etc. Enjoy!

 

You Can Make A Lace Bowl From A Crocheted Doily!

Between you and me, I really can't believe I made this! I'm just thrilled, totally and completely, as you will be too if you decide to make one! A crocheted bowl that's actually usable? Yes! The secret? Fabric stiffener, you knew that of course? And if this doily looks just a bit familiar, well it's hanging out in my banner right now, pre-bowl that is, and I posted about it last week here.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome crafty friends! Great to have you back for another inspiring Sunday. Last week's projects were plentiful and amazing, and I really had a hard time choosing which ones to feature. I hope you'll enjoy this week's picks as much as I did, and please do share your latest crafting ventures!

Isn't this concrete block retaining wall art really something? Check out all things thrifty for the details. You wil need an overhead projector, which is definitely on my wish list! Can you believe that this artful mandala is made from seeds,spices and an old CD? Head on over to twig and toadstool for the complete instructions.

I just love the results of this simple bark boat from Emily of flowing with my ducklings. And these felted bird's nest pins from ellen's creative passage are just so sweet!

We can always count on lilla a design for something fresh and original, and she certainly doesn't dissappoint with this bucket chandelier for her child's room! And of course, we can always count on Michelle for original and artful recycling craft ideas like these egg carton flowers over at michele made me.

I just love these oh so simple yet wonderful pencil cans from the practical perfectionista, and this embroidered cork slices necklace from Maya over at the little treasures is truly original. Just take note, her fingers were suffereing for days afterwards. A little pain can be worth it though!

I just love this toothpick puppet show project from Se7en, and this fall leaves mobile from two shades of pink is simple and so sweet!

And now, it's time for some more inspiration from around the world, thanks so much for joining us!

 

Slice Of Life: Look What The Postman Brought!

As you can imagine, avid knitters and crocheters get really excited about yarn. And those who also happen to blog very often post photos of their latest yarn purchase or deliveries. The readers ooh and ahhh and dream of getting their hands on some too. 

Now I'm so happy to say that I can join the club, as look what the postman brought yesterday! I can finally crochet all the cotton washcloths of my dreams (I have to admit, I already crocheted three....pure heaven, but more on that next week) and who knows what else with some nice normal weight cotton. Mind you, I did enjoy crocheting those tiny cotton baby sweaters here, with that very light weight cotton, but really, enough is enough!

So now, thanks to Livyah Yarn, who sell Lion Brand Yarn in Israel, I can hopefully bring you some wonderful projects with the above....can't wait!

Pomanders: Winter Decorations From Cloves and Citrus Fruit

After Succos we always have some some beautiful and fragrant etrog fruit (citron) hanging around not doing anything in particular.... Some of my neighbors make delicious jam, but I usually have pomanders in mind, a craft with old world charm that reminds me of medieval castles.....

Any citrus fruit with thick skin can be used to make pomanders, and you can embellish them with cloves alone, or combine cloves and beautiful ribbon. And if you're short on time, so you can skip the cloves altogether, but you'll be missing out on the lovely aromatic side to this project!

See my orange pomander post here (don't miss this one!) from last year for more ideas, and complete instructions, as well as my lemon pomander post here.

Make Festive Holiday Decorations With Eggshells!

If you weren't convinced by yesterday's post about crafting with eggshells here, so hopefully this will do it! How else can one create such a beautiful mosaic, stained glass-like effect with very little effort? Got it?

I think these "starry night" winter decorations would be great for Chanukah—I'm thinking of a whole bunch in different sizes covering a window above the Chanukiah (menorah), or hanging in a doorway. Come to think of it, they'd look great on your front door too....and I just realized that this might be great with golden eggshells too, for a really elegant look! (Anyone have a hen that lays golden eggs? That might come in handy right about now.)

Oh and if you're wondering if it's a bit early to start thinking about Chanukah, well, let me assure you, it's not. Plus, we don't do Halloween in the Holy Land, and there's no big fall color either, nor any pumpkins patches, nor turkey day, sooooooo we might as well look forward to the next holiday, which starts on the night of December 1st, not so far off! Infact, Yikes! I'd better get cracking!

You'll Need:

• eggshell decoupaged paper, instructions here
• cardboard, like a cereal box, which is what I used
• a hot glue gun, or white glue for the kids.....

How To:

1. Draw a simple petal shape on a piece of cardboard, and cut it out.
2. On the back of your eggshell decoupage, use this petal shape as a template to trace as many shapes as you'll need. On black paper you can use a regular pencil, or better yet a white or lightly colored pencil for tracing your shape.
3. Cut out the individual petals and arrange on a piece of cardboard in the desired arrangement.
4. Affix the petals with glue, hot glue being the easiest but not for young children.
5. Now cut out the entire shape leaving a small border all around.
6. Punch a hole in the top petal and hang with a beautiful ribbon or use a needle to attach a piece of fishing line for hanging.

P.S: Did it occur to you why eggshell art is perfect for Chanukah? I'll be happy to tell you: the actual making of the art is the story of Chanukah.....reclaiming something that was destroyed and making it beautiful and special again!

Make Abstract Art With Eggshells: Fun For All Ages!

I must admit, until I saw the beautiful fall project conceived by "that artist woman" and linked to here on Craft Schooling Sunday, I never quite understood why anyone would want to craft with eggshells. That was then, and this is now.....so let me tell you, eggshells really are a great crafting material! And in case you're sceptical, as I was, they're easy to wash and they dry quickly.  Just one word of caution: should you decide to save your eggshells, I would find a discreet place to hoard them or your friends and family may start to worry about you! And like I say from time to time, just tell them I set you up to it!

You'll Need:

• clean egg shells
• acrylic craft paint
• black paper
• white glue or modge podge

How To:

1. Paint egg shells and set aside to dry.
2. Once egg shells are dry, working in small areas of your paper, brush on a coat of diluted white glue or modge podge and smash small sections of egg shell into the glue with your finger, such that the eggshell breaks into fragments. Continue working this way to cover the paper, and set aside to dry.
3. Once dry, go over the entire surface with a coat of diluted white glue or modge podge. 
4. You can use this sheet of eggshell mosaic for collage or other craft projects, but we're still enjoying ours in it's abstract simple state. Check back tomorrow to see how we've used this eggshell paper.!

 

The Doily As Art: Make Them Or Buy Them!

Just in case I caught you by surprise, I should tell you that in today's crafting/upcycling world at large, doilies are finally being given the recognition that they deserve! Maybe you thought doilies were just for grandma, but it's simply no longer the case! Crafters are using them in many inventive ways, and I actually crocheted this one yesterday to use for a project that I'll certainly share if it's a success. But when I spread it out to take this photo I almost wanted to forget about that project and just glue this to an orange canvas to hang as art.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Hello out there crafty friends from around the world, so nice to see you again! I just can't believe another week went by, I think I may have accidently felted it onto something......guess that just goes with the territory! There is one good thing about Sunday coming around so quickly, and that happens to be this special little party full of inspiration, and I mean really full. The truth is one doesn't have to look much beyond this party for some great projects and you'll have more than enough good ones to keep your hands full! And just think of all the extra time you'll have for crafting! Enough said, take a look at these great projects from last week:

I just love love love love these fabric hanger slip covers from cut out and keep. Really simple to whip up if you have a sewing machine and if not, so glue would work quite well with light weight fabric! And this upcycled sweater bag over at a lemon squeezy home, is just adorable don't you think? And it's lined with this really great green/blue leafy print that is just so perfect, don't know if she was thinking preppy+Lilly Pulitzer, but that's what I'm suddenly reminded of!

This felt flower headband from shad and lizzie is one of my favorites and the tutorial is really simple, so expect to see some of these from me soon! And don't you just love this bike embroidery from fowl single file? Me too, and even more wonderful is that she embroidered it on a front-handle bike pouch that she sewed!

These cheerful scrappy gift tags from katiejean just make me smile, and I can't wait to try this paper planets project from se7en with my kids!

I never found the idea of eggshell art inspiring until I saw this wonderful piece from that artist woman, and now I'm saving those eggshells! You should too? And this wonderful pillow from Kalleen from at second street is a perfect not too literal pumpkin reference for those of you who celebrate Halloween, and for the rest of us, well, we can make it in just about any color and it will be great too!

This cupcake from miranda made is actually a kid's felt board with lots of interchangeable pieces.....too much fun! And if you're in teh cupcake mood, so head on over to bird crafts and download her template for this DIY cardboard cupcake stand, just too sweet, and you could even use them to display mini pumpkins or apples too!

That's all for now, let the party begin!

 

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