creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Thanks so much for joining me here for this very international party, with contributors from places like The United Kingdom, Sweden, The Netherlands, Portugal, Pakistan, Italy, Slovakia, Macedonia, The United States, Guatemala, Australia, India, and Israel! Here are the features from last weeks party:

An amazing chocolate cake with strawberry mousse heart, made by none other than Winnie (israel) for her blog's birthday! And Anne Marie (The Netherlands) shares these sweet crocheted grannie stars which she styled so wonderfully, love the photo.

Tin can winter garden ornaments from howling at the moon (The Netherlands) and a stunning photo by Letitia Tibia (Slovakia) of her nut bird feeders.

Adorable knit and embroidered booties from ginx craft, (United Kingdom) and a fun crocheted ear flap hat, plus ton of other inspiration from Lanas De Ana (Guatemala) she has been very busy crocheting and knitting wonderful warm hats!

Love these pom pom cupcake toppers from homemade interest, (USA) and this adorable fabric bib from home grown inky. (USA)

A fun beaded bauble ring from moms and crafters (USA) and a wonderful hidden zipper pillow cover DIY from threading my way (Australia.)

Dress up a simple crocheted scarf with some lace, from Little Treasures (Macedonia) or make a fun triangular paneled crocheted pillow from Chris in de haak (The Netherlands)

A dyed coffee fllter topiary from artistic endeavors (USA)  and an egg carton flower from creative khadija (Pakistan)

A tea light plastic plate DIY from anu rainy drops (India) and fun melted bead heart from grandparents plus, (USA) love melted bead projects but please do be aware that melting beads can produce toxic fumes so the best way to go about this is to use a toaster oven outside.

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

Hardenbergia Vine In Bloom!

What more can one wish for than a vine that is lush and green in the summer and blooms with gorgeous tiny purple blooms in the winter, when the rest of the garden looks well, no offense, dead? That my dear friends is hardenbergia, which I can't rave about enough, as it does great as a container garden plant! So do look into this plant to see if it will live in your climate, (tolerates snow and some freezing weather, but I'm not sure how much.) and if so do start a container garden which includes hardenbergia, or add it to your collection, you won't be sorry!

As you can see, these are just the first tiny blooms, with many many buds waiting to open, and then of course I'll share a photo of this plant at it finest! Ahhhh, the simple joys of gardening, whether it be in containers in my case, or in the ground, if you're lucky to have some!

Before Rainbow Loom There Was Spool Knitting, Remember?

Remember good old fashioned spool knitting and how satisfying it was to see that snake of knitting emerge from the bottom of the spool? There are of course many shapes and sizes of knitting spools available for sale out there, but you can also make a DIY knitting spool with your kids, which is even more fun!

Okay, I confess, the knitting spool you see here is actually something I saved from a childhood summer camp experience, and since I still have it that means it was something precious! But truthfully the really precious thing about this is that my eleven year old non-crafter enjoyed knitting this snake on one of our no-snow snow days, and plans to make enough to spell out his name!

You'll Need:

• A spool of any size, or a piece of round wood with a hole in the center and nails with the smallest heads possible
• a hammer and appropriately sized nails

You can make your spool loom with just four nails, or if the hole is large, go for more, like six or eight!

And by the way, do check out my photo of the most amazing knitting spool collection ever, spotted in the window of a home in Amsterdam, just across from the Anne Frank Museum, you'll want to collect them too!

A Round-Up Of Crafts For Tu B'Shevat

Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish holiday which celebrates the New Year for the trees is coming up next Tuesday night, so it certainly is time to get crafting! As you can see that hasn't exactly happened around here as I have been swamped with other work and obilgations, but I hope we will squeeze out some last minute crafts as this is truly a fun holiday for which to make decorations! And a holiday just wouldn't be a holiday without crafty decorations, right?

How about making a cute and colorful cherry blossum tree or almond blossum tree from just cardboard and tissue paper?

This tree just makes me smile every time, so get out the pastels, some paper and some recycled cardboard, and have fun making this kid's blooming tree craft with pastel circles.

The fleece pom pom flowers that have been in my header for some time now are perfect for Tu B'Shevat, and you can of course make them in pinks and whites to refect blossoming almond trees, which is the first treet to flower here in Israel, usually right around the holiday.

Pomanders with cloves  are lovely and making some that look as good as these do is really quite simple if you follow my simple instructions!

A winter topiary can be so pretty that you'll enjoy it year round, so keep your eyes open for some vintage flowers like the ones I used here and you're all set!

That is it for this ilttle inspirational post, take a look in the Tu B'Shevat Crafts archives for many many more ideas, and stay tuned for some super quick ones that hopefully will be happening at our place!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, my little international linky party full of so much creativity from around the world! It is so wonderful to reconnect with all my virtual friends after our little break at the end of 2014, and now is the perfect time to get crafting, so here are some inspiring projects from last weeks party:

Make some fun pom pom bouquets from left over yarn from little treasures (Macedonia), and love this little vial necklace that you could fill with so many fun things from artistic endeavors (USA.)

Two great upcycling projects: a revamped chair with a seat covered with an upcycled sweater, from providence hill, and heart soda can lights from crafty journal (USA).

Love this felt bear and the embroidered and felt appliqued neck roll by handmade by Amalia (Israel)

Felt bunny treat bags for a rabbit themed birthday party (because a pet rabbit is coming soon!) from howling at the moon (The Netherlands) and some fun little felt folks from handmade by Amalia (Israel).

A lovely granny pillow from vrolijk by leen (Belgium) and a wonderful crocheted granny poncho from Lanas De Ana (Guatemala.)

 Love these crocheted flowers from home made at my place (Mozambique)

Love this crocheted doily from mara haakt  (The Netherlands) and this fantastic little crocheted skirt, also from mara haakt (The Netherlands.)

 Super sweet crocheted booties and a zig zag baby blanket from domestic evolution (USA)

Our very own beloved Ginx craft  (The United Kingdom) has an amazing article in an Australian craft magazine which give patterns from making these super cute little Australian animal pendants.

Two fun crafts for kids: cd spinners from grandparents plus, (USA) and a sweet little love bird collage from there and back again (The United Kingdom.)

Jam doughnt muffins from Winnie (Israel) and love this pvc pipe field goal decoration for a party table from homemade interest (USA). That is it for the features, what have you been up to?

A Granny Square Crocheted W.I.P. That Became A R.I.P. Or Rather A Rip?

A WIP that became a RIP. Now how is that for a good tongue in cheek joke just for us, the die hard crocheters in the crowd? How many WIPs do you have hanging around? And how many have you decided to rip apart in order to use the yarn? Now most of you can easily take a little trip to the store if you need some inexpensive yarn, but in my case while there is yarn available just a fiveteen minute hike up the hill, there isn't any DK weight yarn like for example Red Heart Super Saver, which is what I used to have quite a bit of. Only I've been using it up, and while in the process of crocheting myself an experimental shawl of sorts I ran out of black yarn, hmmmm. And then I realized that I had crocheted this (unfinished) pillow case last year with the entire back, plus button flap in that same black that I reallly needed. It didn't take much for me to start ripping out all that precious work, because sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

And truthfully, while this would certainly make a nice pillow, I'm thinking I'd rather wear these granny squares as a scarf of some kind. So the grannny squares stay (plus there are nine more all ready to go that were crocheted for the matching pillow!) but the pillow idea is history for the moment, and I now have a new black shawl, and hopefully a funky granny scarf, coming up!

Chunky Crocheted Slipper Socks

Yes, it is true, at long last I listened to my husband's request for some crocheted socks to keep his feet warm in bed, and surprised him with them for his birthday on Chanukah. I know it is hard to tell in the photo, but these are actually quite large, well just right for a 10 1/2 sized man's foot that is, and they really were quite simple to make.

Stunning Schlumbergera In Bloom!

My beloved schlumbergera (xmas cactus) is in bloom, and somehow this year the plant produced both red and pink blooms, prooving that it is not only a hybrid, but a hybrid of a hybrid! I bought this plant last year from a local nursery, full of buds but a little worse for the wear. And after a year of pampering by yours truly, it is blooming so gloriously that most people would assume that it is artificial!

Mind you, when I say "pampering" that really wasn't the case, as this plant is really quite hardy. I did put him outside in a shady spot for the summer, but even that may not be necessary. It loves to be potbound, any pieces that break off will re-root in soil, and of course looks stunning as a hanging plant as well. I would love to buy some more, but will have to wait until after Rosh HaShana, as during shemittah year we don't buy plants. But for those of you outside of Israel, run don't walk and find one of these just in the budding stage so that you can enjoy seeing the buds develop. If you can only find one with blooms, snatch that up too, there's always next year to enjoy the whole process! And by then of course your plant will be even bigger!

Raising schlumbergera is so very easy and the return is huge, so go for it! I think I need at least three or so of these plants blooming in my living room come December/January, and if you have several plants in different colors, you can easily cross-polinate to produce plants with multi color flowers! Enjoy!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Thanks so much for joining me here for a celebration of crafting from around the world! Last week's party was full of great projects and I hope we'll get to see even more inspiration as our regulars trickle back to the party. And without further dely, here are the features from last week's party, each and every one so very special!

Fabulous and artful painted gift bags from Aunt Peaches, (United States) and a fun pom pom pillow from little treasures (Macedonia.)

Wonderful clay houses from my home is my castle (Sweden) and the cutest ever knit mini cooper from Ginx crafts

Love this crocheted ribbed infinity scarf from lanas de Ana (Guatemala) and a truly amazing crocheted pixel rug from my world of crochet (Germany)

Getting organized can be so gorgeous with inspiration from this example by mia kinoko (Sweden.)

Love this crocheted tiara, with link to pattern, from haak en maak (The Netherlands) and this wonderful felt birthday crown from howling at the moon (The Netherlands.)

How about crocheting a vintage camper from chris in de haak (the Netherlands) (link to pattern at end of post), or make  adorable DIY heart friendship bracelet from moms and crafters (United States)

Instructions for a solid granny square from eye love knots (United States) and a nice intro to reading granny square charts from little treasures (Macedonia)

 Two more amazing knits from Ginx Crafts (United Kingdom), gorgeous knit fair isle mittens and a wonderful knit polar bear.

A fun fabric scrap greeting card from shabby she (United Kingdom) and a stunning crocheted bowl from my world of crochet (Germany.)

Dessert looks amazing courtesy of Winnie (Israel), apple cinnamon doughnuts, and shortbread crescent cookies.

Quick Crocheted Handwarmers For A Two Year Old (Or Any Age!)

If you find yourself in need of a quick handmade gift anytime soon, why not crochet some chunky handwarmers, which are an especially quick project if they are for a two year old! The story goes like this: daughter is traveling to a neighbors wedding in Jerusalem and will see some family while there. Said family has a two year old that I love to make things for as we don't get the chance to see him nearly enough. But given that the kids has already been home from school for a few days on account of expected snow, and a heavy workload, I really didn't have much more than an hour to devote to this idea. And so little handwarmers using two strands of wool was really the only project I could hope to finish!

But wait a second, what size are a two year old's hands? I quickly phoned a neighbor and she kindly traced around the hand of her 2 1/2 year old (as seen above) which I mostly used as reference for the height of the handwarmers and the thumb hole placement.

You'll Need:

• the yarn of your choice, I used two strands of DK weight acrylic "jeans" yarn
• 5.0 mm hook

Directions:

Crochet a base chain of 16 chains. (or desired height of handwarmers)

Row 1: dc into 4th chain from the hook, and into remaining chains until end. Ch3 and turn.

Row 2: Dc into back loop of first stitch and into every stitch, in back loop, to end, but do not dc into top of ch3. Ch 3 and turn

Row 3-8: Repeat Row 2. Do not break off yarn.

Finishing: Bring two sides of handwarmer together and join with a row of single crochet, using slip stitch to pass over stitches that will create the thumb hole. I made my thumb hole three stitches down from the top, and the hole itself spanned four stitches. You make the hole by slip stitching into one side only. Break off yarn and weave in ends. Finish the second handwarmer in the same way, making sure that thumb holes are in the exact same spot.

If you like you can crochet a row or two of sc around the thumb hole for a nice touch.

That is it, enjoy! And If you'd like to make wristwarmers for kids and adults with slightly more details but using the same technique, check out my chunky wristwarmers for kids and adults post from last year!