creative jewish mom

DIY Succulent Centerpiece

Wouldn't you like to make a fuss free and gorgeous succulent centerpiece using only succulents or succulents combined with your favorite flowers? 

I don't know about you, but I love the fact that succulents have become oh so popular in the world of floral arranging and wedding decor. So when I collected some of these succulent flowers on a recent trip to the coast (which I'll share with you on Friday!) I knew I just had to use them to make a summer's end succulent centerpiece. You know, something a little crafty and eclectic using things that I had on hand. And I think I came up with a pretty good equation that you could duplicate if you'd like to make one centerpiece like this, or even many for a special occasion.

You'll Need:

• a square metal tray of some kind, this one was only $1.99 at Amazing Savings in NY, a great deal
• one tall colored glass bottle, mine is a Chivas Blue Label bottle that I was eyeing for some time!
• one short clear jar, mine is a hinged cover canning/storage jar
• two very small colored bottles, or even a beautiful tea cup or cream pitcher might look great, I used two plastic very tall shot glasses that I got at Target last summer
• jute twine
• metalic gold ribbon
• some shells or pieces of costume jewelry or interesting keys, anything small and beautiful, little porcelaine figurines or vintage pillboxes could be beautiful too
• Succulent flowers and pieces of succulent plant that look like flowers, or some combination of succulents and actual flowers

How To: Wrap twine around the middle of the clear jar. Add a little shine by wrapping some thin gold ribbon around one of your tiny bud vases. Make a low dense arrangement in the jar, and fill the tall bottle with just a few sprigs. Each of the two small bud vases (the other one is hidden behind the jar) should hold a single bloom or piece of succulent. That's it!

 

Let The Jewish Holiday Crafting Begin!

Just a little glimpse of what my house looks like at this moment......

Chodesh Tov dear readers! Today is the first day of the month of Elul, which means we have exactly one month until Rosh HaShana and six weeks until Succot! Yikes, that means some of us had better get busy with the crafting projects! And of course I need to get everything done in time so that you'll have a chance to try your hand at some of my ideas for this year. Of course if you'd like to get started now, then take a peek in my archives for Rosh HaShana crafts and tons of Succot Crafts. 

Just to give you an idea of some of the supplies you'll need for the upcoming projects I have planned:

• wine corks and red stamp pads
• styrofoam or plastic apples (and or pomegranites) in as many sizes as you can find them, get a bunch if you see them!
• red yarn
• lots and lots of recycled plastic soda bottles, look for those square faceted ice tea bottles too! I'll post a little tutorial on how to cut the bottles soon, such that you can save them in a way that they won't take up much room. I had an idea that I would decorate my entire Succah using only recycled soda bottle crafts, but though it sounds great I don't think I can restrict myself to just one medium.....we'll see!

That's all for now, see you back here soon!

Simple DIY Gift Tag For Rosh HaShanah Gift Giving

You can make simple and sweet scalloped circle gift tags in just seconds. Okay readers, it doesn't get much simpler than this, that is if you own a scalloped circle craft punch!  Certainly a great little trick to have up your sleeve when you decide to give a little unplanned gift and have to use whatever you have on hand. If you're like me, you might find yourself deciding to give the gift of a small home baked challah to a new neighbor late Friday afternoon? (And yes, I know I owe you all a tutorial on how to braid perfect round challahs, coming soon in time for Rosh HaShanah....since little round challahs like this one make the perfect holiday gift!)

How To: Fold a piece of colored paper, I used regular laser paper weight. Stick the folded edge into your punch about 7/8 of the way. Punch and voila, a cute little card was created. Now punch a hole in the top, attach a ribbon and you're on your way to creative and thoughtful gift giving in a pinch! Okay, you're right you do need a little forethought for this one, namely to bake that little challah, but how about keeping some in your freezer for moments like this? Give it some thought, I will too!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, hope you all had a great week, and wishing all those in the US affected by the hurricane all the very best in literally weathering the storm. There were some amazing projects linked to at last week's party, and now that school is starting this week maybe I'll have a chance to make some of them? I'm probably just dreaming as the Jewish High Holidays are really just around the corner so I'll more likely play it safe and get started with that. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great week.

First up is this absolutely adorable project (and gorgeous photos) that just makes me plain happy to look at, a sweet first day of school project from curly birds. Of course I do think that everyone could use a jar full of hearts, don't you?

And once again Anne Marie has inspired me with her simple crocheted rock cover, and Carolyn's Homework really surprised me with this amazing crocheted bird house! Carolyn always has great projects and so glad to see she's learning to crochet, with this Anthropologie inspired project. 

I just love this scrappy card from Sandy's Space, and these paper plate picnic containers, (idea courtesy of Martha) from Sarah Hearts are really great. 

Simple felt pouches that the kids can make are great any time, from creative dish, and whether or not you've seen this new trend in art, namely melted crayon art, here's a DIY from Meg Duerksen on how to do it. Honestly, I don't really love the results exactly, but love the idea, and I think kids would love it too.

 The crafty cpa made these really wonderful polymer clay alphabet magnets, and Se7en is back with an amazing street map collage, that is definitely something to check out to get inspired to craft with the kids.

This owl and the pussy cat diorama is just the sweetest, from Jellyfish Jelly, and this homemade recipe for DIY moon sand from homespun with love sounds great! That's all for now, enjoy this week's links below:

Classic Parachute Birthday Party Favor Fun

Remember these? I saw some of these classic parachute man birthday party favors at Target on our last trip to the US and snagged a package because I always loved them! And any toy that uses the wind as opposed to batteries is a winner in my book! My kids had fun this morning dropping their parachutes into the breeze and running down two or three flights to collect them. A good way to expend some energy and a fun little toy to have on hand when the little ones are in need of a fun activity.

And of course, I was thinking that one could really make some of these using say plastic animals or any figurines. All you need to do is cut a dinner plate size circle from a piece of heavy garbage bag type plastic, pierce four evenly spaced holes in the circle at the perimeter, and using kite string, tie pieces of string through each hole and then around the shoulder of your figure. Tie two pieces to each shoulder and voila, it should work, though I can't say my kids were terribly excited about trying this one ourselves, so let me know if you do!

 

Fun Birthday Party Games

For my daughter's birthday party back in July I thought it would be fun to come up with some birthday party games no one had every heard of. After a bit of a search I came up with three games that seemed like they had good potential. The results? Two out of three were 100% hits and the third was good but a bit too challenging for this crowd.

Birthday Party Balloon Tower Game:

Divide children into two teams. Give each team around forty or fifty balloons and a roll of packing tape. The team that builds the highest balloon tower using only the balloons and tape wins. The game was off to a great start, but the girls didn't quite have the structural knowledge to figure out how to make a tower out of balloons and tape that will stand up! Definitely a great game for architects, engineers and handy types, but didn't quite go so well with nine year old girls. Maybe throwing a few more elements into the mix, like some cardboard tubes might help. Let me know if you try it! It might even be fun as an interesting activity for kids! You could also incorporate birthday bingo to make the celebration even more exciting and engaging for everyone.

Birthday Party Cotton Ball Game:

Two children compete against each other for a race against time. The idea is to see who can be the first one to move the cotton balls from the bowl on their head (held by someone) to the bowl on their lap, using a spoon and while blindfolded. For the bowl on the head I used a microwave dish cover since the deeper bowls seemed a bit too difficult. And for the bowl on the lap, a large plastic mixing bowl. The game is challenging because it is difficult to tell whether you've actually scooped up cotton balls. There were lots of squeals and cheering, and the game was a great success.

Birthday Party Chocolate Bar Game

The children all sit in a circle and take turns rolling a die. The first one to get a six runs to a basket of dress-up clothes, quickly puts on something funny (a hat and a scarf, etc.) and runs to a small table and begins trying to eat a bar of chocolate with a knife and fork. In the mean time, the children start rolling the die again, and the first chocolate eater is replaced by the next child that rolls a six. The girls were shy to start gulping down the chocolate, so many just started cutting up the whole bar before eating. I think we went through three chocolate bars with a group of 15 girls, and I had some extra bars on hand to give chocolate to those who didn't get to eat any during the course of the game. Oh, and I put the bars in the freezer to make it just a bit more difficult! This game was lots of fun and funny too with the dress-up element.

There are truly so many ways to make personalized birthday party games with personal photos as well as images from a random image generator.

Have any great birthday party game ideas? Please let us know in the comments!

 

Sweet Goodbye Necklace

A sweet goodbye necklace with notes written by younger siblings was a nice touch as we said goodbye today to a teenage family member who left to continue his studies far from home. My kids were a bit shocked to see me buying candy, as we generally don't, but in this case nothing else would have expressed our sentiments in quite the same way.

In Hawaii they give flower leis when you arrive, so I figure we now have a new family tradition of sending off loved ones with necklaces made from little notes and treats. There's really no greater satisfaction than using our crafting skills to let our friends and loved ones know we care.

And of course, you could use this idea for a teacher appreciation gift, a birthday gift, a gift for a friend who's in the hospital, a graduation gift, etc. Enjoy!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! We gearing up for our last week of summer vacation, so gotta run, but thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy all the wonderful featured projects from last weeks party! 

I just love this jute and sand dollar ampersand from Kelsey Inspired in Grenada, and this simple shell artwork with a rolled newspaper frame is simply brilliant, made by The Lazy Hobby Hopper in India. How's that for some beachy crafting from around the world?

Isn't this crocheted tray from Alessia just gorgeous? My Italian isn't the greatest, but she told me that she put a piece of cardboard in the base, which I'm guessing is two layers. And crocheted jar covers are certainly not new news to most of us, but I just love how sweet and simple this one is, thanks to Anne Marie. You can expect to see some of these from me very soon.....

The crafty cpa is back with another winner, this adorable patchwork change purse. And of course, you gotta love these rain boot planters from homespun with love, right? These would be so adorable at the front door!

Here's some more great crochet projects, first some adorable owls from little woolie in Australia, and secondly some great crocheted beads from the little treasures in Macedonia, or is it Muldavia, forgive me Maya, I'm a bit sleep deprived!

I just love these little sponge pom poms from every little day, wouldn't they be great party decor/favors for a summer birthday party? And who wouldn't want to play with some play dough made from kool-aid, thanks to run with glitter, for the inspiration and recipe.

 

Of course most of us have painted rocks, but never in gorgeous intense colors like these, inspired by Red Ted Art from the painted Aboriginal stones whe brought back from Australia. And these gorgeous lavender wands, also from Red Ted Art, are the perfect example of a traditional craft that seems so perfect right now. Now if I could just get my hands on some lavender right now, I'd make some! That's all for now, hope you're as inspired as I am and that maybe you'll have a chance to harness that inspiration!

Container Gardening: Vinca In Bloom

  

When you find a plant that grows really well in your garden or on your patio or windowsill or even your fire escape, so don't be afraid to go all out with just that one species, especially when it comes in a few colors like this Vinca, otherwise known as Periwinkle. No one ever said that gardening has to be difficult or time consuming, and playing it safe with something you know will be successful is certainly a good idea if you're busy like I am, and happen to have more than just a few interests to fill your free time!

One of the things I happen to love about Vinca is that blooms seem to fall off every day, which means that you can float them in some water for some instant loveliness on your counter or just about anywhere. Somehow when I gaze at floating blooms like these I feel transported to some tropical island, for just a moment, ahhhhhh. Depending on where you live, it may be just a bit on the late side to start with Vinca now, so do keep it in mind for next year!

For some more information on Vinca, continue reading below.

Wine Bottle Vases Decoupaged With Tissue Paper

Remember those wine bottles that I spray painted white and made a bunch of DIY wine bottle vases? Remember that tissue paper that the kids stamped on to make our own DIY wrapping paper? Remember these DIY pom pom flowers? Well, isn't it nice to combine the efforts from several projects and come up with yet another? Here it is— painted wine bottles decoupaged with printed tissue paper. So sweet and the perfect look for a birthday party, baby shower or really any time to bring a little joy into your home. I've actually had these on our Shabbat table for a few weeks!

You'll Need:

• recycled wine and liquor bottles, spray painted with a primer, and then white
• printed/stamped tissue paper, more info here
• mod podge or a mixture of white glue and water
• a brush to apply the mod podge

How To: You can choose to cover the entire bottle with tissue paper, as we did with the polka dotted versions, or cut pieces of tissue paper and decoupage that as I did with the large circles. Either way, brush some mod podge or glue onto your bottle and carefully place the tissue paper on top, gently smoothing with the brush. It you want a very smooth surface I would recommend working with fairly small pieces, as tissue paper is difficult to work with because it's so thin. Set aside to dry and apply an additional coat of modpodge as a protective layer.

And by the way, if you don't feel like going through the trouble of painting the bottles, you can of course decoupage the tissue paper onto clear bottles for results that will look our tissue paper decoupage on glass jars. And if you're looking for something just a bit more sophisticated, check out my black and white wine bottle vases. That should be enough to get you rolling, right?