creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

 

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday and thanks so much for joining me here! Spring has sprung and that means that just stepping outdoors inspires as nature comes to life......I have supplimented and filled in holes in my container garden with little flats of daisies, and am delighted to see that many of the flowering perennials from last year have re-seeded and there are tons of tiny little plants filling my containers......now just gotta keep them moist so they'll grow to be big gorgeous flowers! For those of you who are less inclined to garden, the features from last week are filled with enough flower themed projects to keep you busy, I hope you enjoy then as much as I did!

Thanks so much to all those who contributed, I don't always get a chance to leave comments for everyone, but do know that I do appreciate you! And now for the features from last week's party:A gorgeous broken pottery plant holder from pillar box blue, you gotta check it out, and love this simple pillow from Ginx Craft.

A DIY succulent wall box from lolly jane, and a fun recipe for peppermint foot soak from five spot green living.

Pride Of Madeira, Dramatic and Draught Resistant In No CAL and Northern Israel!

The Pride Of Madeira plants that I planted in a little neighborhood garden that I designed four or so years ago are in bloom, and it is truly a gorgeous site! I thought I'd share a few photos with you for those of you who might like to try a plant that has a great Meditteranean garden flair, grows really quickly and is very dramatic looking. Sorry folks on the East Coast this one isn't for you, but those in California and Texas, and other areas without freezing winters, run out and get one! In fact that reminds me that I'd like to try growing one in a container in my own garden! The plant you see here was just a little baby, the size of a small houseplant when I planted it, and wow, how it grew, even within two or so years into a huge woody tree/bush.

Recycled Cardboard Tube Logs, A Fun Craft For Lag B'Omer!

Here's a fun recycled cardboard tube craft, in this case I used paper towel tubes, that is perfect just about any time really......though of course with the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer coming up, that is what I have made them for. Lag B'Omer involves bonfires, generally really huge ones in our neck of the woods, so all things log and campfire related are perfect. It is true, many Lag B'Omer bonfires are fueled by olive oil, or made from towers of crates and palettes and old furniture, but logs are just so much cuter, I'm sure you'll agree!

So lets make a bunch of cute logs, faux bois style, shall we? Oh, haven't heard of faux bois? That may just be a crafting faux pas, so lets get you up to steam. Faux bois means fake wood, namely anything with a wood grain pattern or made to look like branches, even sculpted. Are you with me? Now lets get crafting and doodling!

Toilet Paper Tube Butterfly Craft Plus Doodling Equals Fabulous!

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day, and it turns out that the butterfly is actually a symbol used in Holocaust Education (check out my previous post, here) and a yellow one turns out to be even more timely.......and so you see the craft that I was thinking was just too cheerful to post yesterday is actually right on time! Speaking of right on time, I'm so happy to present to you this toilet paper tube butterfly that is just so darn cute and makes a great project for all ages........make it a true work of art, or stick to patterns really seen on butterfly wings, you decide! Either way, no one will confuse your results with something made in nursery school with pipe cleaner antennae, not that I'm knocking that, just giving the toilet paper tube butterfly a higher ranking in the crafting world!

This guy has been sitting on my picture ledge in our kitchen table gallery, and he is just so much fun I hope to make some more, and maybe even a much larger one using a paper towel tube! Ready to get started? Okay, lets fly with this one........

Why Is The Butterfly A Symbol Of The Holocaust?

The butterfly has become a symbol for the 1.5 million children murdered in the Holocaust and for Holocaust Education, and I did a little research to find the source. What I was truly stunned to discover is that there are three separate sources in which concentration camp victims used the butterfly in their art and poetry. A connection that I haven't seen written anywhere, but may or may not have been in the minds of the artists, at least in the painting above, is that the yellow butterfly can be likened to the yellow Jewish star that Jews were forced to wear on their clothing.......a star however that is not about limitations but rather that takes flight and lives on forever, in stark contrast to the goals of Nazi Germany and their desire to exterminate the Jewish people.

Keep reading for some very moving information about butterflies and the Holocaust.....

Holocaust Education Project: Labels Do Not Define Us

After a sad day thinking about the Holocaust, and doing a little research as well, I had the idea that one could make a project in which yellow Jewish stars become butterflies, as the butterfly is a symbol that has and is being used to represent the Holocaust and in one case specifially children who perished in the Holocaust. So I cut up a bunch of yellow Jewish stars, only the butterfly idea didn't really become anything, so I decided to take my own advice and do a collage with the stars. As I was making this little collage, an abstract conceptual piece of sorts, I started to reailze that how I chose to make the piece could indeed represent so many aspecits of the Holocaust, and that abstract art can be a great medium for discussing heavy concepts, especially with somewhat older children.

So thus was born my Holocaust Education Project: Labels Do Not Define Us. Because education about the Holocaust should state the facts, but at the end of the day shouldn't just be a historic lesson, but rather a lesson in how to combat the evils of human natur, and to dispell hatred from this earth of ours. Keep reading for some insight regarding this project, and how to do it with a group of kids, or even just yourself as I did in my kitchen this afternoon.

A Somber Collage Of Jewish Stars For Holocaust Remembrance Day

Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah, here in Israel. I realized today that on this day I generally post a photo, which is a message of sorts, but not really the kind of message that is my forte, namely education thought crafting and creativity. So today, as I personally remember the victims of the Holocaust, which certainly did include relatives of mine who did not flee Europe in the early 1900s as did the families of my grandparents on both sides, I am going to make a small attempt to present some ideas for craft projects that might be appropriate today, or any time really when educating children about the Holocaust.

A collage of Jewish stars for Holocaust remembrance day is a simple yet compelling image that can certainly be a powerful education tool. I do not know whether the above image is actually an art piece, or taken from a Jewish museum, nonetheless, we can certainly use it as inspiration for our own projects. Okay, lets get started:

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

 

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, and wishing you all a healthy summer, which is what we say here at the completion of the holiday of Passover. Okay, for most of you it isn't technically summer just yet, so enjoy the spring, I know I certainly am! 

Last week's party was full of all kinds of great ideas, and now with the major Passover holiday preparations and clean up behind us well, deep breath, maybe just maybe there will be some time for a bit of fun crafting that isn't specific to any Jewish holiday. Hmmm, on the other hand the holiday of L'ag B'Omer is a few weeks away and I realize we haven't crafted for that day in a while, so I'll just have to put my mind to that, and then the Jewish holiday of Shavuot follows about two weeks after that.......our Jewish calender sure does keep things varied and exciting and BUSY!

I think the best advice is to just make the most of our time, and fill in those little pockets of time with actual creativity, whatever that may be! And now for some great inspiration, the features from last week's party:

 

Crocheted spring bear from frau tschi tschi, and a fabulous tied rag wreath (I'd like to make a square one!) from typically simple.

DIY skinny tie is adorable, from bombshell bling, and love these granny square pillows from Chris in de Haak.

A Visit To The Gravesite Of Devorah The Prophetess

Above: A Roman era sarcaphogus, not actually used to bury Devorah, but the same location was used for hundreds even a thousand years after Devorah for burial as well.

During the week of Passover we were fortunate to have enough lovely weather (though quite a bit rain as well) to venture out a bit and do some exploring here in Northern Israel, not far from home. The Galil, especially the area close to Lebanon is lush and lovely in the Spring, and this time we went to visit the gravesite of Devorah (Deborah, yes THE Deborah) the Prophetess, located in a place call Tel Kedesh, about 500 meters from the border of Lebanon. It is truly amazing if one starts to realize just how much history we have here in Israel! Fields dotted with wild flowers and a lovely spot with virtually no people made the experience even more special! Now that i've done a bit of research, after having visited this spot, and realizing that we actually missed a whole large archaeological excavation near by, we will just have to go back again, hopefully soon!

Watercolor Still Life Fruit Exercise Is Great For All Ages!

My fourteen year old daughter is once again taking painting lessons, this time with a teacher who learned painting as a trade in Russia, so the lessons are precise and skill oriented, which can be a good thing, though not exactly how art is taught in the USA generally. Nonetheless since we are seeing great results with piano lessons from our teacher who is from the Ukraine, I'm trying to be a bit open minded as far as teaching techniques go! My daughter in any case has and will be exposed to art education on many levels, so the main thing is to just do it, and not worry too much about the process assuming something is being taught!

I'm happy to say, that today, the day after Passover, a day in Israel called "isru chag" which is in effect an extension of the holiday (and occurs for Passover, Shavuot and Succot, on days that are still part of the holiday outside of Israel) my daughter had the desire to paint, and while I was recovering from the holiday by sleeping, she was painting this sweet watercolor still ilfe, using some of the skills that she has been learning recently, and some that she learned from a different teacher a good five years or so ago.