creative jewish mom

Kid's Crafts For Remembering Jerusalem

 

Tonight is the seventeenth of the Jewish month of Tammuz, a ominous day in which many sad events occurred over the course of many years in Jewish history, and a day of mourning, which includes a sun-up to sun-down fast. While crafting is usually associated with joy, it can and should be used to learn about and discuss sad events in history as well. For many children, self expression through art is a wonderful way to help them process information, and especially information that may be confusing or disturbing. I can't say I'm an expert, but it certainly is obvious that art is a wonderful tool that we ought to use as often as possible with our children.

The seventeenth of Tammuz is the first day of a three week period of mourning for the Holy Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, so now is the time to do craft projects with a Jerusalem theme. We haven't done any yet ourselves, so here are two good ones from the archives, both using tissue paper. Above is a  tissue paper collage on glass, a nice project with beautiful stained-glass-like results. Below is a tissue paper collage on cardboard shapes and cardboard tube halves, and a project that kids could work on over the course of the three weeks.

For those of you who are fasting, may you have an easy fast, and may we all merit to see the Holy Temple in Jerusalem built again very very so0n! I am a good few hours away from Jerusalem, but when it does happen I'm quite sure I'll hear about it quickly enough to let you all know, wouldn't that be an amazing use of this blog?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Summer is the perfect season for crafting and to work on skills that we might not have the chance to try out during busier seasons. So enjoy the inspiration from last week's party and do start a new project this week, however small!

I just love this bright market bag from the swell life, and this DIY log pencil holder from strawberry chic is so simple to make, that is if you can find a log! Of course you could do the same thing with a block of wood, which could also be nice.

I love these antique keys from maize hutton painted with finger nail polish, a great idea! And this gorgeous rose frosted cake? Another wonderful project from strawberry chic who gives a complete tutorial for this one. 

This sweet owl hanger from mod podge rocks is decorative and functional, and I just love these mushroom pencils, from scissors paper wok, so sweet!

This beautiful rose from grey luster girl was made with polymer clay and I just love this burp cloth gift topper from the gifted blog, so very creative!

Alessia from Alessia, craft and scrap shared two really fun crafts using popsicle sticks and gelato ice cream spoons, which figures since she's from Italy! I just love the mustaches (and those expressions!), and the flower! And two of my wonderful contributors from India both submitted really brilliant ideas for kid's mosaic crafting. Top right, the flower is from mommy labs, and is made from pieces of styrofoam plate, can't wait to try this one! And bottom right, from putti prapancha, is a mosaic made from dried out pieces of play dough, now how smart is that? 

To see all the contributors who contributed links to the party, continue reading below.

Deadheading Spent Summer Blooms Encourages Growth

Nothing compares to the simple joy of blooming flowers in the summer, especially when they're close at hand in pots, and in a spot where you can enjoy them. Besides of course remembering to water your flowers, and to check them for infestation, there is one important tip that will help insure blooms for months on end. It's called deadheading. Yes, that's right, deadheading encourages growth since it essentially removes the seed bearing portions of the plant, which encourages the plant to keep flowering in order to produce more seed. 

Now, not every flowering plant can be deadheaded, and I'm talking about flowers, not shrubs or anything woody, but certainly flowers like geraniums and petunias (above) do benefit greatly from deadheading.

Deadheading is basically removing the spent flower and it's stem from the plant, by pinching it off with your fingers. That's it! So give your flowers a little extra attention by removing spent blooms and they will return the favor with a colorful show, that no matter how small, will bring joy to your life! Go for it!

And if you'd like to make some simple mosaic pots, (summer is the perfect time for this somewhat messy craft which is best done outdoors) see my post here. Add a few flowers to your life, whether in something fabulous that you've crafted, or at this point more realistically, in simple pots, and enjoy!

Hasselback Potatoes Simply Elegant Party Fare

At long last I prepared hasselback potatoes, a simple and elegant way to serve baked potatoes that adds that certain special touch to any meal. Last Friday night I served these delicious potatoes together with a main course of Moroccan Yellow Chicken with carrots. I'm always looking for attractive and simple side dishes, and this is certainly one that's going to show up on our table every so often!

Wine Bottle Vases Embellished

Remember those wine and liquor and olive oil bottles that I spray painted white for the family wedding festivities and shared with you here? Well, there are so many white bottles hanging around our home now that I just had to start using them as canvases for a little creativity. After all, white bottles are nice, but sometimes something just a bit more colorful might be even better, don't you think? Take a look at these wine bottle vases embellished with a few findings from my stash: ric rack, zippers and ribbon! 

Now these bottles are ready for a fun party of sorts or to add a little cheer to your home just because! And if you happen to have some pom pom flowers hanging around, well they work perfectly with this whimsical look. And since you may be wondering about the ric rack rosette/flower, well it was a bit improvised and I ended up with way too much hot glue everywhere! The best technique is to start with a round piece of felt in the same color as your ric rack, and then starting at the middle wrap the ric rack around to form a flower. If you have a tiny glue gun that is surely preferable, or you may want to try using fabric glue. The pink pieces under the flower are zipper halves! Enjoy and stay tuned for some more fun bottle embellishments!

DIY Drink Charms For Summer Entertaining

These festive DIY drink or wine charms are an example of one of the those projects that are so simple and yet add so much. And they are practical I might add, especially if you're entertaining informally where guests might be prone to walk around with wine glasses, or any glass that has either a handle or a thin stem. I was inspired to make my own version of this original project, which I found on Craft Schooling Sunday this week, posted by the Italian site, Alessia, scrap and craft.

And what are they made from you ask-well my crafty friends the answer is craft foam! So, if you don't have some on hand, pick some up and make some festive drink charms for your next get together or even just for yourself to add a bit of simple color and design to your life!

For complete instructions continue reading below:

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! So great to be back here with you all, and I've got some fun summer projects to share with you right here! So thanks so much for stopping by, and if you have something to share, please don't be shy to step up and introduce yourself, you can never have too many virtual friends!

First off his week, I really don't know how Aunt Peaches managed to find a real life model who's so perfect, but she did for her tea party paper bowl hats, a wonderful project for little girls or big ones too! And isn't this playhouse sign with the mini bunting just adorable? Check out this and the playhouse itself over at michelles belles. And you see my friends? This is as far as I know Michele's very first time at the party and she not only managed a feature, but in the prime spot! You can do it too!

I love everything from between the lines, including these casually chic summer bracelets, and you can make this little knitted bear and cupcake with a complete tutorial over at red ted art.

I have to admit, I'm not normally a fan of dream catchers, but I just love this simple and colorful version by Amanda over at Crafts by Amanda. And can you guess what this is? Well, it's a sunflower sundial in the making from nurture store. Yes, you'll have to hang out most of the day to make it, or at least be around every hour to add another petal, but that's part of the fun!

I just love this sweet ruffle clip complete with a tutorial by the wonder forest, and check out this amazing soda can bi-plane courtesy of the ever creative Sandy over at Sandy's Space. I could definitaly see making these for so many occassions, or just because!

Chantal Vincent made these gorgeous ceramic plates with Pebeo ceramic pens, which I've been meaning to purchase for years now! And last of all, for the astronauts in the crowd or for the moms that feel like spacing out (ha ha ha) how about this super cute toilet paper tube space ship from creative dish? And now, let's get the party started, shall we?

Continue reading below to see the links that were contributed:

Slice Of Life: The Cardinal That Loved Kugel

What can I tell you? Aren't the colors in this photo amazing? Ever seen a cardinal (namely the bird, silly) up close? Me neither until that Friday afternoon in New York in late May when a neighbor ran over to my animal loving nephew and frantically asked for help in removing this lovely bird from their home.

The story wasn't clear exactly, but it did involve a freshly baked kugel cooling on the counter, and this stunning cardinal red bird who unfortunately got a bit injured while possibly trying to taste some of that kugel. Can't blame him really. So, my fearless 12 year old nephew gladly removed the bird and posed for this photo before placing the bird in a bush, hopefully out of reach of any lurking cats. Shortly there after the cardinal took flight and found a safer perch high in the branches of a towering elm tree. We all took a great sigh of relief. What are the chances that your nephew will just happen to be wearing the perfect color when a cardinal stops by, or that he happens to grab a plastic bag with blue lettering to complete the color story?

Gladiola Centerpieces For Tall Spaces

You may or may not appreciate gladiolas but you can't deny one fact about them: they're perfect for making simple and dramatic floral arrangements where height is required. You know, like in a modern venue like this one, (where I enjoyed a lovely family wedding recently) or even outdoors. I love the trend in crafty DIY wedding centerpieces, but honestly most of them would just get swallowed up in a space like this one. So there you have it. Grab a very tall cylindrical vase, some gladiolas, some plastic bags filled with water to fill the lower half of the vase (see photo below) and you can make beautiful centerpieces on a budget.....gladiolas are not pricey flowers, as far as I know, and are widely available.

And if you like, add some lilies and eucalyptus to the bunch for a fuller look. And keep this idea somewhere in the back of you mind, you just never know when you're gonna need a dramatic touch, and this one is certainly do-able even for those of us who are more comfortable with cardboard and glue guns!

Painted Wine Bottle Vases

Collect a bunch of bottles and jars in all shapes and sizes and you can make lovely DIY centerpieces for any occassion! I sprayed a ton of bottles of all kinds (wine, olive oil, whiskey etc.) that I'd been saving for centerpieces and used them for a shabbat sheva brachas (festive meals for the seven days after a Jewish wedding) celebration. Everything was done so last minute that I didn't even have time to photograph my efforts! Because you see, the caterer came quite late which meant I couldn't set up the centerpieces until the tables were set up....whew talk about crafting stress!

So, the top photo is my attempt to capture the loveliness of this idea. In reality the jars and vases look better in groups of three, but for some unknown reason (uh duh, maybe because you're not a professional stylist?) I could not successfully capture this reality as the gorgeous photo of my dreams. Sorry about that.

And as far as groupings go, I'd suggest one jar to hold a casual bouquet, paired with two bottles in different sizes and heights to hold leaves or baby's breath. And little silver shot glasses or kiddush cups look great holding small sprigs of succulent for that added touch.

How To: Remove labels from jars and bottles and dry thoroughly. You'll need to spray many thin layers of paint to achieve good results. If you spray too close to the bottles or too much paint at one time, the paint will run leaving a surface with drips, which isn't the end of the world, but certainly not desirable.

Important Note: It is highly recommended to spray a coat of primer as your first coat to ensure that the paint will stick to the glass. I've got some chips here and there already and won't skip that step next time.

Soooooooo, do take my advice and be patient with this one. Spray from afar and a little at a time, outside of course and on a surface like a cardboard box. And do take note, you'll need lots of spray paint if you're going to do lots of bottles! I used gloss and matte, and I think I prefer the gloss. And now that I've got all these plain white bottles, I think it's time to decorate them don't you think? Stay tuned!