creative jewish mom

Square Wreath With Felt Flowers Is Sweet Anytime!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuout starts tonight, and our door is decorated with this sweet little square wreath adorned with felt flowers! (A little disclaimer: door wreaths are decidedly un-Jewish if you delve into their origin, and I generally try not to use the word wreath, but for the sake of folks finding this post, well I just couldn't think of another word that would suffice.) Round floral wreaths are a symbol of military funerals and memorial day, so I went with a fun variation of a square wreath which actually reminds me of a trellis, perfect!

This project came about as I had a bunch of felt chrysanthemum flowers left over from my felt flower napkin ring project, and I have to say, I just love it! Change out the little banner (which reads chag sa-may-ach, with a gutteral ch that is, translated happy holiday) and this project could be perfect for so many occasions, or just as sweet as can be in a baby's room. Ready to whip up one of these square wreaths, using supplies that you likely have on hand (assuming you have a big bag of felt that needs using up, like I did, did, being the operative word, yippee!) let's get started.

A Ten Minute Felt Chrysanthemum Made From A Strip

The Jewish holiday of Shavuous, (in which, among other traditions, we decorate our homes with flowers and greenery to celebrate the receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai) is tomorrow night, so with the idea of some really large felt flower napkin rings for our holiday table in mind, yet not a lot of time, I knew I needed a felt flower that would be quick to make and great looking! A quick felt flower is without a doubt one made by rolling a strip of felt, yet that are many variations on the technique with quite different looking results. (I've made felt rose buds, way back when, another flower type to combine with this one, if you like!)

The felt chrysanthemum made from one long strip of fringed loops came to mind, and after a bit of experimenting I was sold. In fact so much so that I used up almost all of a large bag of felt scraps and yardage that had been hanging out for way too many years, yippee! (Note: I do have a large blister on my middle finger from the scissors and all that cutting, such is the price......it nicely compliments the hot glue gun blister on my ring finger!)

I ended up settling on using grey felt for the napkin ring flowers, as that will look the best on my white table with lots of cobalt blue Moroccan dishes, the ones made with pink and yellow and blue ended up being used for a really cute felt flower decoration for the front door, which I will be sharing shortly.

Want to make some of these fun felt chrysanthemums too? If you've got ten minutes or so and felt and hot glue on hand, then lets get started!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks for joining me here! The Jewish holiday of Shavuot or Shavuos, depending on to where your Jewish ancestors wandered (namely Eastern Europe, Northern Africa or the Middle East) when the Jewish people were dispersed, or more bluntly thrown out of their land. As it turns out, we are a worldly bunch, having wandered around the globe, but really truly not by choice but as a means of survival. And speaking of survival, no matter how far the Jewish people are from their physical roots in Israel, the Torah remains near and dear to many, and the giving and receiving of the Torah is celebrated each and every year with great joy.

We start the holiday by decorating our homes and places of worship with greenery and flowers, then we eat a festive meal, and then.......those who are able stay up all night studying in preparation for receiving the Torah come day break. Of course caring for children generally prevents women from doing this, but those whose children are grown certainly do (or can) stay up all night and would ideally arrive at the synagogue for the sunrise prayers, but no pressure! After early morning prayers we go home and have a festive breakfast including all things cheese and especially cheese cake! (My daughter is going to take care of that one....phew.) Then we take a much needed long nap and rise in the afternoon sometime to continue the festivities......this year we are having a table full of guests at the night time meal, but it will likely just be our immediate family for the afternoon meal which means we truly can enjoy the comfort of our beds as long as well like! Well within reason of course, but if the kids get up before the adults, they'll be more than happy to snack on the cheesecake and dairy desserts I'm quite sure, ah yes not to mention the Israeli chocolate puddings that many eat weekly or even daily, but this health conscious mom buys them just once a year for her kids on Shavuot!

Thanks so much for joining me here and now for the features from last week's party:

Love these unicorn sleeping masks from bird's party, and love this slanted stripes shawl free pattern from happy in red.

DIY homemade moisturizer from five spot green living, and a fun birthday teepee for a unicron themed slumber party from bird's party.

A Visit To Historic Tel Kedesh, Northern Israel

A few weeks ago I shared photos of the burial site of Deborah the Prophetess, with a promise of more photos of the gorgeous location, Tel Kedesh, and now I finally found a moment to realize that promise! Tel Kedesh is such a lovely spot, and certainly at its loveliest in the spring when the wild flowers are in bloom and the fields are green! Tel Kedesh is a historic site with a huge excavation that I didn't even know about when we visited (gotta go back!) though we did enjoy the Roman ruin seen here. As you may know, the Romans occupied Israel at one point, and thus we have Roman ruins in numerous places around the country.......so skip Rome and come to Israel!

Just as an added point, Tel Kedesh has a prominent place in history during many periods of antiquity, and from their excavation work archeologists have been able to get a picture of what life was like on this border settlement, especially during the period from Alexander the Great through the revolt against Rome (ca. 330 B.C.–A.D. 70.) Really interesting stuff, so if you love history, look it up!

Keep reading for a little arm chair escape to a lovely spot in Northern Israel with Lebanon just beyond.......

Sunset Over Mount Meron On Rosh Chodesh Sivan

Chodesh tov, wishing you a joyful new month, dear readers! Every month on the Jewish calendar has its own special qualities, and the first day of the month, rosh chodesh, is a mini holiday of sorts. We have a special affection for the cycle of the year and the numerous celebrations it includes as well as the periods of mourning and fast days to remember the sad times. As it turns out, the month of Sivan contains the special holiday of Shavuot, on which we celebrate the giving of the Torah, and receive the Torah each and every year. The four days between the beginning of the month of Sivan and the holiday of Shavuot are very special, and so I just had to smile when my son called me outside to witness the stunning sunset yesterday evening, marking the beginning of this period. We do see sunsets like this now and again, but this time the intense orange sky was so nicely placed beside the mountain making it a perfect image for Shavuot!

Anyone see anything on that mountain that reminds them of something?

Floating Musical Notes Party Decor With Faux Helium Balloons

Here's an idea I came up with last night (for my son's guitar themed birthday party) that is soooooo simple and looks amazing, plus you'll be able to plan ahead and do an even better job than I did! And by the way, since Shavuot is in just four days, replace the notes with hebrew letters and you've got a great decoration to celebrate receiving the Torah!

Presenting floating musical notes that look like they're being carried away by balloons, you know like music floating up to the heavens! Best of all this music themed party decor idea could be used for just about any festive occassion, so be sure to keep it in mind! And as far as the faux element is concerned, well faux seems to be a hot topic of late in the blogging world with faux driftwood and faux crystals and faux succulents and faux shiplap etc. etc. So I now present to you faux helium balloons! This idea is something my daughter actually taught me, as it is a popular one around here! Keep reading for the simple secret and you'll just have to laugh, promise!

Quick Cartoon Character Bundt Cake Is Perfect For Birthdays!

Introducing my ten minute cartoon character bundt cake for a guitar themed party. Of course you can use my simple formula to make a cute cake that works perfectly for you, and best of all less stress and more time to focus on other equally important aspects of the party, like decorations, which after all really make the party.

Quick birthday cakes are the best kind really, in my opinion, after all it does get eaten......okay it is true you have the photos to remember your efforts, but in my book going for a larger scale wow factor with decorations is time more well spent. It may be that is because I don't know my way around icing or fondant or ganach, (and hope to keep it that way) or maybe it is just that after all the years of making fun birthday party decorations for my kids I realize that the cake needs to be a cute element within the whole look, and that can be achieved quite simply, yippee! And I'll admit, last night when I came up with these decorations for the last minute cake my daughter baked for the birthday, it was a huge relief that simple just worked. Especially since the birthday boy was waiting outside to be let into the decorated house when all was ready! A true life story, though of course he knew that he would have to keep himself busy after school, outside of the house, and had even planned this ahead of time, assuming that we would do our usual birthday party routine of surprise decorations.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

 

 

 Hi there, welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday and thanks for joining me here!  We have another really important Jewish holiday coming up in less than two weeks, namely the holiday of Shavuot, where we celebrate the giving of the Torah. You can find projects for that holiday in the little image carousel just under the blog title! It is all about greenery and flowers, gotta love it!

Last week's party was full of great ideas to help us enjoy outdoor living and summer entertaining, and while I certainly have been filling pots with flowers and tending to my container garden, the project that really has me interested is the DIY tiki torches from upcycled wine bottles, check that one out, and I hope to present my own version soon.......of course that would mean a trip to the hardware store which could be dangerous as that is one of my favorite places to find craft supplies! 

And now, for the features from last week's party, enjoy!

 

Fun quilt as you go coasters make great scrap busters from busy being Jennifer, and love these painted pots and wooden crate side table from the style safari, perfect for your outdoor living this season!A sweet bird embroidery in a pom pom hoop from flamingo toes, and a lovely faux driftwood centerpiece from Worthing Court.

The Ancient Cemetary Of Safed Covered In Yellow Wild Flowers

The fields of Northern Israel are indeed a world unto their own, and I just love to watch the progressive show as wildflowers and maidenhair fern and thistle, to name a few, each bloom during their own special time slot, only to dry up and be replaced by the next species in line. It really is truly magnificent, and while of course this show has a general theme that is the same year to year, this year I noticed that a particular yellow dasy-like wild flower seems to have really taken over, and the hills are golden and lovely, well at least they were two weeks ago when I took these!

For those of you who don't know what you are looking at, well the mountain is Mount Meron, the second tallest mountain in Israel. The white buildings on the left at the base of the mountain are the gravesite of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and the site of the Lag B'Omer festivities that took place on Saturday night and Sunday. In the foreground of the photo is portion of the ancient cemetary in the Holy City of Safed (also spelled Tsfat, Tzfat,Tzefat, Zefad because there is no agreement apparently on how to write the hebrew letter tsadi, which is also called sade, tzade.....oh dear!) This cemetary holds the gravesites of many very great figures in Jewish history. Burials took place here thousands of years ago, and there is a new section where burials take place today, well you know what I mean, not today hopefully, but on a given day when some one leaves this world after living a long fulfilling life.

Fleece Scraps Pouch For Kids Is Perfect For Holding Magnifying Glasses!

Last week just before my favorite little four year old was to arrive for a visit, I quickly whipped up a pouch to hold the magnifying glass I had promised him on his last visit. And of course since I love giving the kind of gifts that are truly exciting and will be used, I made a pouch with a strap so that it could be worn across the body, and added straps to the magnifying glasses so they could be worn around the neck, for convenience and because the largest magnifying glass is actually glass, and keeping it safely around the neck does seem like the best way to keep it intact!

The good news? The gift was so well received that it was worn constantly for a few days, yippee!  Ah yes, and for those of you who have been following me since Chanukah 2015, well, yes I actually made this pouch back then, and called it quick and cute fleece gift pouch.

And I will say, I was so thankful to come across this lone pouch that was for some reason hanging around with no tie, as I was able to refashion it for this project with minimal time committment, which was the only way to go just before receiving house guests! Want to make one or several to give to the little explorers in your life? Let's get started!