creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! With Hanukkah just a week away (yikes!) it is seriously time to turn up the fire on the crafting.....in my case for homemade family gifts! I remember just a minute ago when I had a whole month to get ready for the holiday, where did that time go? Well, not a whole lot to do about that now, other than really being conscious about how I spend my time, and prioritizing, hmm what is that exactly? Thanks so much for joining me here, now for the features:

Love this clothespin Hanukkah menorah craft from moms and crafters, and this bunch of paper dreidels door ornament from design megillah.

A crocheted mini granny pillow from chris in de haak, and a fun scrabble tile coaster craft from simply darrling.

DIY copper pipe menorah from moms and crafters, and a fun Hanukkah rag garland from felt so cute.

 

Snowman wood slices from living lavida holoka, and a felt garland from pillar box blue.

Inside Out finger puppets from nap time creations, and an interactive snowman board from scrap shoppe blog.

Cotton vase arrangement from sparkling footsteps, and a doily placecard from lemon thistle.

 

Burlap table runner from decor by the seashore, and a super sweet felted sheep from time to craft.

DIY monogrammed ring dishes from simply darrling, and lavender sachets from Ginx crafts.

Embroidered hoop art from shabby she, and a fun gift bag from atta girl says.

 Embroidery hoop snowman from albion gould, and rustic candle holders from marty's musings.

Washi tape clip board from hello nature, and washi tape sweater ornament from living lavida holoka.

 
Cheesy calliflower gratin from just us four, brown butter and sweet rosemary mashed potatoes from spoonful of flavor, and roasted winter vegetable salad from spoonful of flavor.

 

Maple walnut fudge from gold lining girl, linzer cookies from a simple pantry, and a pumpkin cheesecake cookie tower from gold lining girl.

Amaretto pumpkin pie from gold lining girl, and oatmeal cranberry cookies from honey and birch, and chocolate chip cookie dough fudge from sweet cs designs.

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

Schlumbergera (xmas cactus, hanukkah cactus) Buds Now In Stock!

I've been patiently waiting to see when my beloved schlumbergera cactus would start to show signs of the brilliant flowering show that it gives us every year in December, and at long last yesterday I spotted tiny buds beginning to form. So truly exciting!

I keep this plant outdoors (in the shade) for the summer and until the buds are quite large and about to open, at which point I bring it indoors and await the fabulous show.

Right now the buds are really quite small, with many more to appear, so it looks like this year we'll be enjoying the blooms in January, but no complaints. Interestingly enough, the shemittah year had varying effects on my container garden. There were several plants that wouldn't stop blooming (after generally giving only a few blooms) and there are other plants who usually bloom in late October and haven't bloomed or shown signs of blooming at all. And no, this is not on account of the harsh winter, these pots were moved indoors. Go figure. Just another chapter in the amazing adventure of raising plants!

By the way, a schlumbergera cactus would make a wonderful gift this holiday season, take a  look at how mine looked last year here. And speaking of gift giving, I think I deserve another plant myself. 

Hanukkah Craft: Adorable Cardboard Menorahs With Washi Tape

Looking for a fun craft for the whole family this Hanukkah? How about filling the house with some fun stand-up Hanukkah menorahs that you can make using recycled cereal box cardboard? Using my digital craft kit, which you can purchase here, you can make menorahs in three sizes and using just about any cardboard that you like. I'm planning on making some to give to my kids to paint with beautiful watercolors, or maybe we'll just leave them plain and add some washi tape for added cuteness!

Whoops a windy day and a little photoshoot don't always work together, but in this case the menorahs looks like they're ready to take off, which is what I recommend you do with the Hanukkah crafting right about now, time is of the essence!

 

Hanukkah Menorah Craft Digital Kit Now In The Shop!

Drum roll please.....after weeks of wanting to bring to you printable templates to make this adorable Hanukkah menorah craft, at long last, an digital craft kit and tutorial is now available in my Etsy shop, here. The file has templates to make the cardboard menorahs in three sizes and comes with complete instructions.

So pick up a downloadable file, and fill your home with cheer this Hanukkah. There are so many ways to go with this one....give the pieces to little ones to scribble all over, or color, or paste, or let older kids cover them in beautiful water colors or just about anything. And the truth is, I actually made the small versions seen below using only scissors, so really, anyone can do this!

And as you can see, just a bit of washi tape and brilliantly colored flames and the results are just too much fun, so go for it! I promise, you'll be so happy that you did. I have a bunch of these sitting on our piano, and they make me smile everytime!

Hanukkah Craft: Eight Nights Stenciled Dreidel Wall Hanging

Ready for a Hanukkah craft with amazing results that isn't actually all that difficult? How about making my 8 Nights Dreidel Wall Hanging, and patting yourself on the back afterwards? You can find the complete tutorial right here on Houzz.com Please support me by taking a look and leaving a comment there, pretty please!

I just love how this turned out, and while I did have a rough plan, the actual outcome was a surprise as always, and I just love the wrapped yarn ball fringe. And best of all crafty friends, no cutting machines or even a printer required, just a computer with a screen! Of course if you want to use your printer, you certainly can, a downloadable file has been provided, so no excuses.

Don't you just love how this wall hanging looks with the yarn wrapped branches? I'm truly loving this look, though those branches keep getting moved outside as they can get in the way just a bit. Today I'm going to find them a home in my bedroom, and then back to more Hanukkah crafting, or rather Chanukah crafting as we call it around here.

Again, you can find the complete tutorial for this Hanukkah dreidel wall hanging over at Houzz, and please do me a favor and spend a minute to leave me a comment and a Facebook like would be great too.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to craft schooling sunday, so wonderful to have you here at this party, which i used to call "little" but has seriosly grown, maybe like my kids! Thanks so much for contributing your latest creativity here, and please do your best to shrea the love and link back to my blog where ever possible. And now for the features:

 Love love love  these graham crackers decorated for Hanukkah from growing up Gabel (USA.)

A wonderful crocheted blanket from chris in de haak (The Netherlands), and fun wooden frame coasters from flamingo toes (USA.).

 A sweet crocheted house from Anna simple crochet (Portugal), and love this striped crocheted scarf from Chris in de haak. (The Netherlands.)

A slice of wood turkey craft from living lavida holoka (USA), and crocheted bows from flamingo toes (USA.)

A wonderful paper mache fox from from Ginx crafts (United Kingdom) and a fun yo-yo sachet from time to craft (United Kingdom.)

 Fantastic jewelry holders from albion gould (USA) and a great printable from lemon thistle (USA.)

 Glittered candles craft from pink heel pink truck (USA) and glitter wrapping paper from creating really awesome free things (USA.)

Make Yarn From Plastic Bags To Use For Holiday Crafting!

Imagine my delight when my local grocery store temporarily switched from yellow plastic grocery bags to purple plastic grocery bags.......pure heaven as it were for a dedicated recycling crafter like me, right? I was actually swooning I believe, or maybe that was on account of the mesh potato sacks that instead of their standard white became orange, right around the same time!

Hanukkah Menorah Craft Using Recycled Cereal Box Cardboard!

I have been busy making the cutest Hanukkah menorahs ever, using cereal box cardboard and a template that I'm planning to have in my shop any day now. The month before Hanukkah is always super crazy for me, and while the template isn't 100% ready, I did want to put the idea out there for those who are thinking about getting serious with the holiday preparations.

These cardboard menorahs can be made in a few sizes and they are equally great as centerpieces or displayed around the house. I have a bunch on my piano right now and it looks fabulous!

And if you'd like to make a cardboard menorah that is larger than a cereal box, well I did that too, using chip board, and the results are so much fun!

If you'd like me to shoot you an email when the template and tutorial are in my shop, just leave me a comment and I'll be more than happy to do so!

 

Moroccan Hanukkah Party Inspiration

With Hanukkah quickly approaching, now is a great time to think about how you'd like to make your week long celebration special this year! Regardless of your own Jewish heritage, how about a little bit of Moroccan Hanukkah influence this year? The Moroccan aesthetic is perfect for a Hanukkah celebration, I must say, with all he ornate patterns, jewel tones and lots of brass and gold, so why not infuse your Hannukah with a little something exotic from across the seas?

At the very least, serve some delciious Moroccan mint tea (with fresh mint) on one of he nights of Chanukah, and maybe even try making some of my Moroccan Mofleta, one of the healthier dishes one could make, since most everything else is deep fried! Then again if you are going to eat something deep fried, so Hanukkah is the time, on account of the miracle of the oil which many love to remember via fried doughnuts and latkes.

Okay, I'm actually in the middle of trying to come up with some quick Moroccan style crafts for Hanukkah (which is how I came across these photos from a few years back) and time is of the essence, so gotta run!

Hanukkah Craft: Eight Nights Of Surprises Wall Hanging

Here is a nice Hanukkah craft idea that you can make according to my DIY Hanukkah post on Houzz.com, or use as inspiration to make your own version. Just about any combination of colors and materials could work, as the fun part of this wall hanging is of course opening one little gift each nigth of hanukkah.

You may be thinking that this doesn't really look like most of the other projects you've seen me create, and yes, you are right! I went out on a limb with this one (ha ha) and created something nature inspired and neutral as opposed to the bright colors I generally favor.

The wrapping paper is part of the DIY project, and represents olive branches, a nice universal symbol for peace (which we could sure use right about now....) and a connection to the miracle of Hanukkah.

And speaking of miracles, you actually get to see a little corner of my home this time, mostly because I'm working on taking better photos, yippee! Happy Hanukkah crafting!

And don't forget to head on over to Houzz.com for the complete tutorial here.