creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Love this ice hanukkah menorah from design megillah that could also be made in the freezer for those of us who won't be having a snowy Chanukah!

 Love these painted bead key chains from pysselbolaget (Sweden) and a simply lovely patchwork blanket from Audrey B. (The Netherlands.)

Love these heart ornaments made from air drying clay by there and back again (USA) and this fantastic wicker chair remake with paint by Aunt Peaches (USA.)

The oh so creative Red Ted Art (United Kingdom) shared this beyond adorable little matchbox camera, and I just had to show you how wonderful it looks as a doll accessory!

A beautiful crocheted curtain from my world of crochet (Germany) and a fabulous knit lizard from Ginx crafts (United Kingdom.)

A cozy crocheted granny square baby blanket from chris in de haak (the netherlands) and a lovely ruffled pillow cover tutorial from Anne's Attic (USA.)

 
A wonderful little crocheted jar topper tutorial from haak en maak (The Netherlands) and a fanstastic little toiletries purse with pattern, made by crocheting plastic bag yarn from eye love knots.

A fun crocheted clothes pin holder from crafts mommy (India) and a lovely and bright lacy crochet piece from homemade at my place (Mozambique.)

A fun paper plate pop-up snowman from crafty journal, and a lacy crocheted snowflake from lizzie bella blog (USA.)
 

A sweet lamb cross stitch from handmade by Amalia (Israel) and a very useful (great for gifts!) DIY pendant tutorial from creative khadija (Pakistan.)

A gorgeous and so simple to make sea glass pendant from sew what's happening (USA) and a fringe "flapper" necklace from jewelry making journal (USA)

A "berry bonanza bliss" loaf cake from homemade interest, (USA) and zucchini lemon cake from Winnie (Israel)

That is it for the features, what have you been up to?

My Giant Doily Rug Crocheted Using Two Strands Of Yarn!

Isn't this version of my giant crocheted doily rug nice? Rather than crocheting with t-shirt yarn as I and other readers did, Claudia from Germany choose to use two strands and yarn and a 7mm hook, and the results are just lovely! Of course using t-shirt yarn gives the rug a great deal of thickness and solidity, but if you have lots of yarn hanging around, one could certainly try that as well! In any case, I honestly use my "rug" as a giant doily on my dining room table, so for that purpose regular yarn will certainly be fine.

Hankkah Crafts For Kids Round Up From The Archives

Now is the time to start making some serious plans for Hanukkah crafting, and here are a bunch of my best projects to get you started! A fire resistant cardboard tube menorah hanukkah craft might be a great place to start, or at least start collecting those tubes, either from paper towels or toilet paper.

Dancing Hanukkah figures with wine work feet craft is so much fun and something that my kids actually worked on for a few days!

 A glittery cardboard tube menorah kid's craft made from an aluminum foil box and aluminum foil tubes.

Hanukkah dancing characters craft for kids is another great project that kids can do by themselves, tell them to surprise you!

 

Fun beaded hanukkah sun catchers are a great quiet project for a winter afternoon!

 A hanukkah decoupage catch-all craft is beautiful and usefull!

 Geometric string stars make gorgeous Hanukkah decorations that you can enjoy all winter!

I love this "green" gift wrap craft, potato printed chanukah boxes with plastic bag toppers. Fun to make and fun to give!  And fun for all ages, even moms, go for it!

Hanukkah magnet craft for kids will make your kitchen look oh so festive, and they're so easy to pack away for next year! That is it for the round-up, and of course there are many many more projects in the archives, enjoy, but more importantly get crafting!

Crochet Projects For Chanukah Or Hanukkah!

Crochet projects for Hanukkah? Of course, because as you all know, I love to crochet, and so crocheting is often a big part of my hanukkah crafting! With the holiday approaching quite quickly I thought I'd share some crochet projects from the archives to get you started, as the time is now!

Above: A beloved upcycled t-shirt yarn bowl that we use to hold a huge collection of dreidels.

Above: Make fun crocheted drawstring pouches, or gelt bags using a strand of variegated yarn and a stand of solid yarn for great results!

Above: For something just a bit different, crochet granny medallion bottomed drawstring pouches and use your family's favorite colors.

Above: Use up your yarn stash with some simple crocheted striped drawstring pouches that everyone will love.

These crocheted star zip tie bookmarks are great to have on hand, and a sweet little gift especially together with a book!

Above: I thought I'd give that crocheting plus holiday greeting card look a new twist by crocheting around panels from the hanukkah candle boxes that still sport great vintage graphics.

Above: A crocheted button garland is quick to whip up and can be great on its own, or a string to hang a host of decorations.

Happy Hanukkah crocheting, your family will love you for it! In fact my daughter is convinced that a collection of my crocheted drawstring bags made over the years is a good thing, so while I was actually thinking of sewing something this year, I just can't deny her sweet request! And I'm certianly not one to turn down the chance to crochet something fairly quick and oh so meaningful for the family, right?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! I hope you are all safe and well, and I thank you for joining me here to help spread the joy of crafting from around the world to the world. Here are last week's features, lots of amazing inspiration to get us going:

 A fun DIY chanukah menorah made from baby food jars, from moms and crafters (USA) and a drawstring gift bag that would be just perfect for Chanukah, from threading my way (Australia)

A stuffed vintage camper that is just adorable from my home is my castle (Sweden) and lovely little crocheted flowers with a complitmentary pattern from the little treasures (Macedonia.)

Fun tassel napkin rings are great for the holiday season, from Aunt Peaches, and a fun striped crochet blanket from my world of crochet (Germany.)

A fun crocheted coffee cup sleave from mara haakt, (The Netherlands) and a fantastic crocheted granny square stool cover from estrea chikitu (The Netherlands)

A wonderful patchwork crocheted blanket from chris in de haak (The Netherlands) and styrofoam print snowflake cards from art club blog (USA)

 

A beautiful little cuff embroidery from anu rainy drops (India) and a DIY wooden moose (or course you'll need some power tools!) from Laurie's projects (USA)

And now for the desert portion of the party: fabulous acorn cookie balls from homemade interest, and a fabulous apple halva bundt cake from Winnie. (Israel) That is it for the features, what have you been up to?

The Tragic Act Of Terror In Jerusalem & A Letter From Rebbetzin Heller

Dear Readers, I'll be honest, there are many aspects of my life that do not make it to this blog, and then there are some aspects of my life that I feel compelled to share with you all my virtual friends despite the fact that they are so totally unrelated to creativity and crafting. So here goes:

This past Tuesday, as you may know, in the city of Jerusalem, in our old neighborhood of Har Nof, two young Palestinian Arabs who carried Israeli ID numbers and lived in East Jerusalem entered a synagogue with a gun and axes, while a group of men were in the middle of their morning prayers, and carried out the heinous act of cold blooded murder. Cold blooded murder of men who were in the middle of the silent prayer called the Shemonah Esrei or Amidah, wearing their tefillin and while prayer shawls. Cold blooded murder of innocent men who happen to be Jewish, and as it turns out are like me, dual citizens, three were from the United States, and one was from the UK. A policeman of Druse descent was also murdered at the scene and at least one victim is barely hanging on, while others are critically wounded.

In the past our Arab cousins respected the place of prayer as holy and something not to be defiled.. But no more. And now we must all live in fear that someone who celebrates the murdering of Jews with dancing in the streets, and whose mother and family are proud of their acts of self sacrifice, may come to our neighborhood and carry out more unforgiveable acts.

We now live far from Jerusalem and yet an attack on our people is an attack on us, and we are forced to go on with our daily lives with a heavy heart and the desire to live lives of truth.

If you would like to read a personal and moving account of what happened at the scene, from Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller, please click here. Rebbetzin Heller requested that we all do our best to spread the truth, and now by sharing this with you all I hope I have taken steps in that direction. And I can only hope that these baby steps of mine will somehow bring comfort to the four Jewish widows, one Druse widow, and 25 orphans who are most certainly struggling to comprehend the incomprehensible.

PS: I just read something truly amazing that will quite possibly blow your mind:

The widows of the Har Nof massacre have asked that this Shabbat be dedicated to ‘ahavat chinam’ – love for no good reason. In other words those who are right now in the deepest pain imaginable are asking the rest of us to somehow work on loving the ones who don't love us, and that our answer to those who try to fill the world with hate, is to fill the world with love! Try to wrap your brain around that one, as it is truly the essence of the Jewish people, and I couldn't be prouder.

Embroidery On Patterned Fabric Can Add That Something Special!

As I was about to use some of this blue fabric that a neighbor once gave me for a little chanukah crafting I looked at the leaves and berries and realized that they certainly could be olive branches, which would be oh so perfect for chanukah. (On account of the miracle with the olive oil.) So, in order to turn some of those berries into olives, a little embroidery seemed like a great solution!

As it turned out, the gold thread was quite difficult to work with, and I'm really not sure if it will truly enhance my project, but as you know, the creative process always leads us somewhere, even if not where we expected to end up. I'll keep you posted!

Embroidery With Simple Stitches Is So Much Fun!

The little embroidery that I started on my vintage wool blanket has evolved into something different altogether and now I'm dreaming of all kinds of embroidery projects using simple stitches. French knots, lazy daisey, satin stitch, chain stitch and straight stitch are all simple embroidery stitches that anyone can learn and then use to create embroidered masterpieces! I just need to add stem stitch to my repetoire and maybe another trick or two, and all set. Well sort of, then one really needs to decide whether to do embroidery on the proper fabric, in this case with wool crewel thread that would be linen, or just do as I've done here and not worry about that so much?

I did this crewel embroidery by simply drawing with a felt pen on the blanket, but now maybe I should really plan my next design on the computer so that I could make a file for others to use as well? So that means I need an iron on transfer pencil? Or should I run some very lightweight fabric fused with freezer paper through that printer I don't have? Or use a laser printed sheet the way one would use like an iron on pattern, which apparently works on some fabrics? Sigh, life was so simple when I just decided to embroider this blanket on a whim! Enjoy!

Granny Square Triangular Shawl With Pom Poms!

Last winter I crocheted this cozy granny square triangular shawl/scarf with a fun pom pom edging, and am just getting around to sharing with you now! I used aran weight 100% wool, the creme is vintage and came from a neighbor and the red and brown were from my mother's stash from the 70's!  So glad to have used something that had yet to find it's purpose in this world, and was taking up space in my craft room storeroom!.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to craft schooling Sunday, this little yet very inspiring crafty get together comprised of crafters literally from around the world! Thanks so much for joining me here and to all those who contributed to last week's party. With so many great projects it is always a pleasure to choose the features and share them with you here:

A fabulous tiny crochted granny pillow from handmade by amalia (Israel) and these fun smashed can planters from my home is my castle (Sweden.)

Love this gorgeous and cozy striped shawl crocheted from an alpaca/silk yarn by estrea chikitu (The Netherlands), and the packaging gets a gold medal as well, perfect!

A fun and quick crocheted scarf from haak en maak, (The Netherlands) and another fantastic knit stuffy, this time a vintage tractor, from ginx crafts (The UK.)

A stunning autumnal brooch from the little treasures, (Macedonia) and a lucious striped knit cowl from lanas de ana (Guatemala.)

 

A crocheted knight helmet by vrolijk by leen, (Belgium) and a wonderful tutorial from eye love knots (USA) showing exactly how to make plarn from plastic bags.

An innocent drinks bear hat from joy jonne (The Netherlands( and no bake chocolate peanut butter oat bars from Winnie (Israel).

For some fall touches: a 3D hanging leaf ornament from crafty journal, and curly wire and crystal elements from jewelry making journal (USA.)

 

And for a few recycling crafts: a great recycled tube zebra from life's little treasures (Australia) and a fun "this is my house" model from anu rainydrops (India.)

A fun little turkey craft from crafty journal (USA) and a snowman gift bag from grandparents plus (USA.) That is it for the features, what have you been up to?