creative jewish mom

Pine Cone Animal Crafts For Summer

What do pine cone animals, which are fun craft to make with kids, have to do with cleaning for Passover? Well, honestly, I was inspired to do a search of pine cone crafts after I posted the orange tree pine cone craft, and loved these six pine cone animals so much I just had to share them with you. And then I remembered that I had some pine cones in a drawer that we actually cleaned out last night, so that kind of sealed the deal.

Kids and adults alike love collecting pine cones after a nature walk, and they tend to be aplenty at many forest locations of day camps and sleepover camps, so pine cone crafts are a perfect summer craft, as long as one stays away from red and green felt if you know what I mean? Keep reading for links to all these projects, and hopefully I'll have time to use those pine cones I just found in drawer during our Passover/Spring cleaning, now seriously underway. Lucky for me the pine cones are already painted white, so maybe there will be some pine cone penguins in our near futures!

Orange Orchard Pine Cone Craft For Kids

Collecting pine cones on a nature walk is always a fun activity to do with the little ones, but what to use them for afterwards? Here's a good one for you: make a pine cone orange orchard! This idea is so simple yet with great results and fun for a variety of ages. And maybe they'll even take the time to make a popsicle stick shed for their orchard, and some little crates to fill up with oranges. That would be a good start to encourage creative activities rather than anything with batteries or that plugs into a wall, right? And of course if you want to get particularly crafty, how about making a plan to build an entire farm, or little town with all the usual amenities, just from simple supplies like these?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Thanks so much for joining me here at this crafty get together that never disapoints as far as being a great source of inspiration from around the world, and from a nice variety of bloggers! We are now in the Jewish month of Nissan, which means that Passover is less than two weeks away and it is truly time to get serious about everything that needs to get done for the holiday. For myself and my neighbors that means a very thorough spring cleaning, together with a serious attampt at overall organization and geting rid of stuff we don't need. It is that last one that is always a struggle for a repurposer and recycling crafter like myself, sigh. So there isn't going to be a whole lot of time for crafting in the next few weeks, but of course gotta squeeze in some Passover projects with the kids and some simple decorations, as we do for every Jewish holiday! Okay, gotta run, enjoy these fabulous features from last week's party:

A whimsical flower box from an upcycled tool box from summery umbrella (USA)  and a fun pretend seder plate made from felt for the little ones from moms and crafters (USA)

 Tips for keeping hydrangeas indoors from clean and scentsible (BC, Canada) and a wonderful skeleton key wind chime from simply darrling (Washington, USA.)

Moroccan Marinated Eggplant Slices Without The Frying!

We enjoy a variety of homemade Moroccan salads (okay, they aren't technically "salad" but that is what they are called in Hebrew) every week for shabbat, and while I have been making smoked Moroccan eggplant salad for years, I recently introduced a few more classic Moroccan eggplant salads to the repertoire, only I've managed to make them without frying. Moroccan cuisine often includes lots of oil, but it really doesn't have to. It is true, something fried can sometimes be mouth wateringly delicious, on the other hand, yuk, it can make you feel sick, no? Not ot mention the negative health effects. So, I introduce to you my version of a classic marinated eggplant slices, and certainly for those not familiar with this dish they'll never know the difference, and for those who are, well, I actually had one guest mention that he likes my version better! And since my kids are eyeing how many slices each of them took, their never seem to be any leftovers, but if their are, the eggplant slices are great for including in a sandwich or eating on a cracker or rice cake, with a bit of techina of course!

DIY Paper Plant: Flowering Bromeliad

A DIY paper plant can be the perfect solution if you need an inexpensive and festive party centerpiece (especially if you need a bunch) and best of all they can be made in any size that works for you. Not all the paper plants that i've seen in blogland have been quick to make, so I've come up with one that truly is.....ta da, introducing the paper flowering bromeliad. And I have to say, I haven't seen any flowering paper plants, with the exception of a cactus, so I'm happy to present you with an idea that is quick, budget friendly and can be made to suit your color scheme! Oh, and did I mention that this is a great craft for kids as well? Bingo!

Regardless of your thumb color you can now fill your home with greenery, so lets get crafting!

Origami Pyramids Modern Passover Centerpiece

Passover is around the corner, and now is the time to start thinking about how to make your holiday meaningful for the whole family. The telling of the Passover story via the Passover seder is first and foremost in order to pass on the tradition ot our children, so a fun Passover table is a must for creating great memories! Origami pyramids in all sizes can look great on any table, just use colors or patterned papers that will match your table, be it super elegant (go for metallics) or modern (go for brights.) Once you get the hang of making these simple pyramids, you can make a whole bunch to march them down the table. And maybe even keep it a surprise until you set the table, they can be stored flat until then!

I made these colorful versions four years ago, but am now revisiting this idea myself as my kids are interested in origami these days, and so am I. I'm thinking about trying these in large sizes, wouldn't it be great to have some to put on the floor around the table? Kids could certainly use them to re-enact the Passover story, right?

Milk Carton Frogs Passover Seder Craft

 

With Passover less than three weeks away, it is certainly time to get crafting, if you can squeeze it in of course. Then again, maybe keeping the kids busy with some fun crafts for Passover may be the best idea right about now while you spend time getting the house and most importantly, the kitchen, in gear? These milk carton frogs couldn't be cuter and also make great party favor boxes or flower boxes any time! Of course, they are perfect to use in a variety of ways for the Passover seder, as the frogs represent the second plague discussed in the seder. And red frogs? Well that could represent the first two plagues, blood and frogs, right? And then how about using these milk carton frogs to hold other object representing the remaining 8 plagues, could be adorable! If you don't end up finding time for that, so just fill these frogs with little prizes to keep the kids occupied during the seder, and call it a night!

My ten year old made 19 of these fun red frogs, and I was so proud of him. And really happy to use up so many of those milk cartons I've been saving! So you or your kids certainly can make a bunch too, just do the project in a few stages as the paint does require drying time.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Thanks so much for joining me here for this crafty get together that continues to be an amazing source of inspiration due to the contributions of so many great creative bloggers from around the world. The features are truly fabulous, and I hope you'll get off the computer and get crafting yourself! In the midst of all the very busy Passover preparations, I have started taking painting classes from a dear art teacher that left our little town 5 years ago, but has now returned, just in time to teach two of my kids as well. And, her new place is just a stone's throw from ours, so we are doubly excited. Can't wait to hopefully share some of our new adventures with painting and drawing! So my message to you today, is no matter how busy you are, take time to enhance your everyday with creativity, and go out of your way to give your kids the tools as well. And if you're lucky that opportunity might even arrive almost at your doorstep.

And now, for the feautures from last week's party:

A fun pastel striped pot from the logbook (Iowa, USA) and a wonderland embroidery set from flamingo toes (Tenesse, USA.)

A fun spring printable from the scrap shoppe blog (Tennessee, USA) and sweet mother's day jewelry from just JP (California, USA.)

The Best Way To Make Yarn From Sheets, Hands Down!

Passover is just around the corner, which means we have started going through closets and organizing our possessions, for starters! Of course, this includes a good look at the linens and choosing things which have seen better days and are ready to be made into rag yarn. I have had more time letely to make yarn from sheets and linens than actaully crochet with them, but just knowing those balls of rags are ready and waiting is a great feeling, whenever their time may be!

After years of making yarn from sheets, pillow cases, comforter covers and of course t-shirts, I have finally realized the simplest and best way to go about doing this, especially when it comes to making yarn from a flat sheet. Can you guess? No sewing strips together, no cutting or tearing in a spiral, nope, the results are so much better, and I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!