creative jewish mom

Crocheted Rag Rug From Sheets

Crocheting rugs from recycled sheets, comforter covers and pillow cases is simple and the results are great! The rug is heavy weight and can be thrown into the washing machine for cleaning. Plus it's just a great feeling to make a gorgeous rug from rags.....what more can I say? I actually made this rug over a year ago, and put it aside to save for a publishing project that hasn't yet happened, so lucky you I decided to share it!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! It's so great to meet up with crafters from around the world right here, every week! Last week we had not one, but two contributors from Tokyo, the first time Japan has been represented on Craft Schooling Sunday! And interestingly enough, they both used to live in the US, and they both recently moved to Tokyo, and they're both in the features! Enjoy, and thanks so much to all those who took the time to share!

I love these simply DIY cupcake liners from funkytime, and this quilting block from Pink Penguin is just the cutest....can't wait to see lots more great quilting ideas from Tokyo!

Isn't this scrappy tag from Sandy's Space just great? And this decoupaged pumpkin, also from funky time, is just gorgeous, don't you think? 

Felt so cute made this amazing felt bird cape, and guess what, she's the other contributor now having a new life adventure in Tokyo! And Helen over at curly birds made this adorable felt birthday pouch with her daughters as a gift for a friend in school.

Love this patterned bottom tote bag from happy in red, and another version of the well known black apple rage doll, from red ted art. When I get around sometime to making some dolls, this is gonna be my first one!

Argyle wreaths are all the rage (apparently) and Summer over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff did a great job with hers! And a great big thanks to Anne Marie who translated this sweet frog foot stool (pouf) into English!

Linda over at mermaids creations shared this really wonderful street scene that her daughter made from recycled containers, would love it if my kids made something like this! And last but not least, this really great robot art lesson from the art annex. That's all for now, it's time to get the party started!

Gorgeous Zaanstreek Region in The Netherlands

The area around the Zaan river, one of the world's first industrial regions dating back hundreds of years, is just a 45 minute bus ride from Amsterdam and is breathtakingly beautiful. There were once over 1000 operating windmills here, and it's also home to most of the other things you might associate with Holland: cheese, wooden shoes, sheep, canals......I can't wait to get back to this region again sometime and explore by bike or by boat, until then I'll just look at my photos and sigh, and be grateful for the fact that I even had the chance to visit in the first place!

A fun collection nailed to the side of the wooden shoe store in Zaanse Schans.

The Zaan river and the outdoor windmill museum at Zaanse Schans.

Majestic windmills, restored and in use today!

Whoever thought of making these shaped rooves was just brilliant!

From this windmill you can take a little jetty across the Zaan river ( for 1 euro) to the lovely little town of Zaandijk, with many beautifully restored homes, and a nice little walk.

Looking across to Zaandijk.

Homes in Zaandijk.

More.

A last glimpse at a beautiful little canal in Zaanse Schans. Truly picturesque. 

Arriving back in Amsterdam as the sun was setting. Wow. Historic architecture beautifully cared for (even though many of the buildings look they are only standing by virtue of being sandwiched between others) and water, lots of water. Love it.

Make Doodle Coloring Pages From Connect The Dots

Ya see, I told you to expect some doodling around here! Once you add some doodling to your life you may even find it quite useful! Last night as I was preparing dinner, my daughter was copying the designs on my doodle envelopes, but this turned out to be too challenging for my sons 6 and 8, so I quickly found them a connect the dots book for a little quiet fun. Okay, now what? Go over their outline with a black pen, add some doodles and give it back to them to fill in with color! That's called thinking on your feet thanks to doodling!

Fall Color In Israel: Pomegranates!

Pomegranates are an amazing fruit, and watching the pomegranate trees in our neighborhood bloom and produce fruit is always an exciting process for me. Our coffee table outside was looking just a bit bare, so when a friend of my husband's dropped off a bag of fruit from the tree in his yard, I was quite happy to whip out a Moroccan plate and make a little arrangement. Ahhhhh, the colors are just so brilliant I had to share this photo with you. No pumpkins around here, but red pomegranates, yes indeed!

Doodling As Surface Design and Meditation

Instead of doodling on little scraps of paper that usually get thrown into the garbage, how about doodling on some envelopes and saving them for sending out holiday greetings and birthday cards? As you well know, the internet is an amazing source of information, and yesterday, while researching art journaling, which I hope to do with my daughter, I came across a whole community of people who make art based on doodles as well as a school of thought and business called zentangles, which teaches doodling as a form of meditation!

And if that wasn't exciting enough, well there are a ton of little diagrams here, showing how to make all kinds of little doodle drawings......I immediately grabbed some pens and some envelopes as they happened to be on hand, and got started. And I must say, while I don't think I'll be doing anything as specific as the zentangle method, I love the idea of using doodle art as surface decoration!

And I have to tell you, my kids were absolutely fascinated! The little doodle drawing on the blue/green envelope on the upper right is the doodle that we all did in grade school, and I'm just thrilled to have added a few more designs to my repetoire! You can expect to see a whole lot of doodling going on around here in the future, because let me tell you.....it's not only addictive but really relaxing....! 

Here are links for the three doodle drawing in black:

• woven zig zag
• archer
• twisted rope

 Enjoy and let me know where your doodling takes you! 

Hoooked Zpagetti Story That Was Just Meant To Be

Here's the story of me and zpagetti:

When I was finalizing our recent trip to Amsterdam, it suddenly occurred to me that the yarn I'd been slightly coveting, zpagetti, was made in The Netherlands, and would therefore be a great thing to purchase there, yippee (since I certainly can't get it here....) I checked out the prices on line and decided that I'd buy say two skeins and grey would be a good choice.

Once in Amsterdam I checked out store locations on the zpagetti website.....there were several stores in the area near where I was staying and my friend decided that it would be the most convenient to purchase it at the department store V&D downtown. So we went to V&D, to the basement in the homewares department where it seemed to me the product would be sold, but there was no crafting or yarn section in site. Hmmmmmm.

On a whim I asked a salesman if they carried yarn, though it seemed like such a silly question amidst the pillows and dishes and candles......and he said "Oh, zpagetti? We did sell it, and I don't know if there's any left, but let me go check in back." He emerged with a package of two skeins of grey zpagetti and said, "here you go, this was the last one."  Now really my friends, what is the likelihood of that? Deciding to buy two skeins of grey zpagetti while standing in my living room in Northern Israel, and then finding the very last package waiting for me in a department store basement in Amsterdam. Gotta love it.

So I guess for some reason that grey doily rug that I designed and made yesterday has some important role to play in the world, which is why that package of zpagetti was waiting for me? Maybe my whole trip to Amsterdam was for the purpose of buying those two skeins. We may never know, but it does make a good story, right? A just meant to be kind of story.

Crocheted Doily Rug

Two more things to cross off my crafty to-do list: 1. make a giant rug sized crochet doily 2. try crocheting with zpagetti, the recycled fabric remnant yarn made in, you guessed, it The Netherlands! 

You can crochet a giant doily and use it as a rug, or even as well, a giant doily! This one would look great on a round table, or just about anywhere really. I have to admit though, as much as I just love this rug doily, I really don't have a use for it, good thing this was a quick project made over two afternoons while the kids were playing on the living room floor!  

I wish I could tell you that this is just the greatest project and the greatest yarn, oh well— I love the rug, but I wouldn't recommend using a single strand of zpagetti for a rug with an open pattern like this one. I would recommend making your own yarn from jersey fabric or recycled t-shirts which will produce a thicker rug, or crocheting with two strands of zpagetti, that could be GREAT, or try using a size 9mm hook instead of the 12 mm hook that the zpagetti people recommend for their product, really with more fashion accessories in mind.

Now I'm really tempted to try making this doily rug with rags, namely sheets, or maybe with some thick rug wool I've got up in the attic somewhere.......As for the pattern, I sort or made it up by piecing together elements from other patterns, so while it's not a perfect pattern, I'll be happy to share it with you when I have a moment to type it up. I'm hoping to share it with you but with a very busy life I still haven't gotten to it, sorry about that!  you can find the pattern here. And by the way, I did actually make a crocheted rug from rags last summer, like in 2010 that I, gasp, never shared with you! So stay tuned for that project coming up soon!

For a post regarding making yarn from t-shirts, click here. For making yarn from jersey material, cut strips along the length of the fabric, and join in the same manner.

For a post regarding making yarn from sheets, click here.

 

Polymer Clay Miniature Food Craft For Kids

Polymer clay is a great thing to have on hand when the kids are in need of a fun project. And if you happen to have kids, like my daughter, who enjoy making teeny tiny things, well you're in luck because a little polymer clay will go a long way!

Once baked, items made from polymer clay can become magnets, pins, or even be glued to a picture frame. The possibilities are really endless, and of course one could make doll house miniatures too. I mean really who would have though that one could make such a great looking pita sandwich with falafel and fries (that's how it's eaten here.....), and check out that bagel! And just for the record, this project was made with zero input from mom.....zero, zilch, nada, really!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Thanks so much for dropping by Craft Schooling Sunday! With crafters from around the world from places like Muldavia, Macedonia, Australia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, The United States, Italy, Poland, and possibly more (sorry if I missed anyone!) this is truly one amazing party! Thanks so much to you all for keeping it going and for joining me here week after week! There were some amazing projects from last week, and here are my favorites:

I am totally in awe of this lamp shade by the 3rsblog, made from origami fortune tellers, remember those? And these painted sticks from Lilla A. look fantastic with touches of aqua and metallic gold, perfect for fall.

 

This super simple glass tea light holder pin cushion, from craft snob, is just adorable, and I love this granny recently finished by happy in red.

A felt flower gift topper from spoon full of sugar looks amazing and could be made with a pin back so that it's really part of the gift, and I think this faux crewel embroidery idea from inspiration realisation, using ruffles yarn is just brillant!

Alessia was inspired by my recycled bottle apple box and brilliantly used  some yellow bottles to make pumpkins, love it! And my recycled bags crocheted this fabulous treat bag with a plastic tray base, using yarn made from orange plastic bags!

I just love this child made nature collecting pouch from nurture store, and jellyfish jelly made this adorable fairy village that I know my daughter will want to make just as soon as I show her this photo!

Isn't this drip painted pumpkin from creativity my passion just fabulous? Love the wrapped stem! And I can't wait to try this spider web art from the chocolate muffin tree, you'll need white glue, black paper and pastels, gorgeous!  Thats all for now, inspired? I know I certainly am! And now it's time for some more fun from crafters from around the world:<