creative jewish mom

Packing Peanuts And Cardboard Stars Craft

When I received a box filled with packing peanuts I immediately started thinking about how I'd use them for a craft project, and the first thing that came to mind was packing peanut stars. Of course, I actually thought I'd make the entire star out of packing peanuts, but with no real plan in mind, these fun stars are what actually came to be! The stars are quite large (the cardboard circle in the middle is from a family sized frozen pizza package) and fortunately turned out to be pefect decorations for the stage of our community Purim party this week. My only regret is that I only had time to make seven of them, the more the better!

I truly hope that none of you will have a bunch of packing peanuts delivered to your door, but if it does happen, now you'll know how to use them up rather than tossing them, right? As for the remainder of the packing peanuts, I did use a few more for another craft that I'll be sharing with you soon, but I still have quite q few to use up, and I'm thinking they could make great frosting for a large cardboard cake!

Star Of David Mosaic Craft For Kids

I love making mosaics, so when judaica web store asked me to try out their star of David mosaic kit, from their Jewish gifts for kids collection,  just couldn't resist. and of course I was secretly hoping that at least one of my kids would actually finish the whole project without my having to step in and finish it, and hurray, my ten year old stepped up to the plate and over the course of three evenings finished the mosaic with only a little help from mom.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Chodosh tov to all of my dear readers, wishing you a very joyful new month on this first day of the Jewish month of Adar. This is leap year, so this is actually the second Adar that we are ushering in this year......and it is no accident that Adar was chosen as the month to double up on as it is a happy month filled with only good things!

I am writing this on a sunny clear day here in Northern Israel, perfect weather to welcome all the guests we are having from out of town for Shabbat, and perfect for just being thankful for all the wonderful things that we experience on a day to day basis living in such a special historical spot. Speaking of historical, the holiday of Purim is less than two weeks away, so next week is going to packed with making costumes and decorations on top of many other things, and as always I am rushing to include all the important things into our busy schedule! Thanks so much for joining me here, and now for the features from last week's party:

 Mason jar applique and embroidery hoop art from flamingo toes (Tennessee, USA) DIY scalloped cake stand from the log book (Iowa, USA.)

A felt heart bag from busy being Jennifer (Texas, USA) glitter stag head wine bag from pink heels pink truck (Texas, USA)

Crocheted Flower Basket Made With Plastic Bag Yarn

I just discovered a wonderful way to use my crocheted basket made with plastic bag yarn, as a flower basket centerpiece or placed anywhere you need a little injection of fun spring color! Buy some flowers from the nursery and use them for a few days indoors before planting them outdoors, the best idea for enjoying fresh flowers on a budget! This cute little basket, made from plastic bags from the grocery store, which are certainly something you don't want to put in the garbage looks great with the scalloped top, and you could also use this same technique to made a sleeve for a plastic pot to be used indoors or out, as of course it is 100% water compatible, though of course only for use in the shade.

Crocheted Bath Scrubbie Using Potato Sacks

Crocheting scrubbies using upcycled potato sacks is one of my favorite ways to go green. It is a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn, and to make something useful out of something you'd ordinarily throw in the garbage. I started out crocheting very simple kitchen scrubbies, and then i realized that this idea could certainly be used to make scrubbies for the bath and shower as well. And why not use this project to try out some simple trim patterns as well? So I now introduce to you the crocheted bath scrubbie with picot trim, give it a try!

Milk Carton Flower Pot Craft

Crafting with recycled milk cartons is so much fun, so after we made a bunny and bear milk carton characters desk organizer, we just couldn't stop, and thus the cutest little milk carton frog was born, to join the others. Milk carton frogs could be great for Purim, for Passover, and of course for birthday parties of all kinds. A princess birthday party with milk carton frog party favors would be so adorable, and of course you could add a little crown somewhere, maybe attached to the back panel, you'll have to see what works.

I love the idea of using these milk carton characters to make flower pots, either as table decorations, or as party favors for guests to take home, or both of course! Just pick up some flats from the nursery a day or two before the party, and simply place one container in each milk carton. Guests can choose to replant their little plant, or add some more dirt and use the milk carton as an actual planter.

Spring Container Gardening

Spring is in the air here in Northern Israel and now is the time to put a little bit of effort into my generally very patient container garden! I really needed some new top soil for my bed of roses, and as you can see I just couldn't resist treating myself to some flowers from my local nursery. Don't they look amazing all packed together? I'll be using these flowers to add color here and there, at the base of my lemon tree, and in some window boxes that line a little public walkway. My container garden is something that I do not just for myself, but for the general beautification of our little neighborhood built on a hill with many stone walkways and walls that need some softening with greenery! All of my neighbors with the exception of one just do not have the time or know how to take care of plants, but they do enjoy mine!

So what are my immediate plans for the container garden?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, so wonderful to be hosting this creative get together of fabulous bloggers from around the world, whose work keeps my features looking amazing week after week! This week there were contributors from The United States, Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Italy, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and Israel.  Oh, and now that I'm keeping track of states too, we had contributors from California, Nevada, Texas, Iowa, Tennessee, Connecticut, South Carolina, Colorado, New Jersey and more! If only there were enough time in the day to truly take all this inspiration and use it to create more amazing things!

Speaking of creating, the festive holiday of Purim is just three weeks away, and it is time to get started on costumes and party decorations and creative ways to give gifts of food, called mishloach manot. Take a look at my DIY costumes and all the Purim crafts in the archives! Maybe I'll even have a look there myself, hmmmmm. Or maybe I'd just better take a look at all those recyclables I've been saving for months and months that really need to be put to use!

Thanks so much for joining me here, and for those of you thinking about joining the party, please don't be shy, we'd love to meet you! And now for the amazing features from last week's party:

A lovely hoop doily clock from busy being Jennifer (Texas, USA) and adorable felt doughnuts from flamingo toes (Tennessee, USA.)

 No sew felt pinwheels from growing up gable (Nevada, USA) and a fun granny stripes blanket from Anne Marie (The Netherlands.)

Sugar Free Biscotti With Dried Fruit And Nuts

I love biscotti, what can I say, but I don't love the idea of eating a cookie packed with sugar and wheat, even if it is low-fat, as most biscotti are. So, I decided it was time to come up with a sugar free biscotti recipe, even though I'm not exactly an expert baker! Experimenting in the kitchen can have all kinds of results, but I have to say, my daughter and I really loved these fruit filled oat biscotti, even if my young boys crinkled up their noses and didn't even finish the pieces I gave them. Silly boys, I guess they need some chocolate chips thrown in there, sigh.

So I will say, these biscotti are for those who have shunned the taste of processed, sugar laden, white flour baked goods and whose tastes lean in the all natural, not so sweet direction. And I won't claim to have come up with the end-all in recipes, but it certainly is good enough to share, and maybe one of you will have fun tweaking it some more? I would love to make an egg-free version so that these could be classified as vegan biscotti, any ideas? And I do wish that these were crisper, like real biscotti. These are much softer, not sure why, maybe I needed to bake them at a lower temperature, so that they would bake longer without burning, next time! And just by the way, one can make biscotti that are vegan, and if you are vegan or want to incorporate more vegan foods in your diet, check out more tips for vegan deserts and lifestyle from Vegan Liftz

Crocheted Basket Using Plastic Bags For Spring

Once upon a time I made a crocheted doily clock using plastic bags, as well as a crocheted placemat using plastic bags, and now at long last I had the chance to use up some of the balls of purple plarn (plastic bag yarn) that I had hanging around to make a fun crocheted plastic bag basket, which makes a sweet basket for tiny toys, fruit or even for Purim gift gift giving! Crocheting with plastic bags is so much fun, and for those of us who do care about minimizing our footprint, using those plastic bags instead of tossing them is so very satisfying!

As you may or may not know, I love the challenge of crocheting with non-traditional materials, and I have to say, that crocheting with plastic bags is actually quite enjoyable as the material is somewhat flexible, as opposed to rope or yarn made from rags.

So gather a ton of grocery bags, scour the neighborhood (or an adjacent state if you live in California!) f you have to, make some yarn from those bags, and lets get crocheting! This sweet basket can be made easitly in an evening in a few hours, and if you're like me, you'll probably want to make a few more!