creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

 

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here!

When this post goes live we will have just finished the holiday of Yom Kippur, a very meaningful holiday filled with lots of deep spiritual work for many, myself included hopefully! For us, the holiday, which includes a 25 hour mandatory fast (except for those under the age of 12/13 and exempt for medical reasons,) is basically spent in the synagogue, well not basically but actually! There is a beautiful prayer service called kol nidre on the evening of the holiday, in which all the Torahs are taken out of the Aron HaKodesh and then another hour or two in the synagogue, and then home we go to get to bed early in order to be up and out of the house at 7am. From 7am until around 7pm plus a bit more we are in the synagogue, and truthfully it is truly wonderful. Mothers with young children of course can not usually spend the day doing what I do, but come for the last prayer of the day called Neilah. The fast is broken together in the synagogue, and then everyone goes home, eats a meal of some kind and starts working on building the succah!

Around here as you can imagine that means the craftiness is on high gear, so without further ado, here are the features from last week's party:

Love this simple straws and beads garland from duct tape and denim, and this fabulous DIY velvet clutch purse from the style safari.A great look for fall from lolly jane, and gorgeous homemade oatmeal soap from five spot green living.

Recycled Magazine Page Feathers

Feathers are such a lovely thing to make out of paper, and with Yom Kippur in just two days, and Succot following four days after that, well there is no time like the present than to whip up some great recycled magazine page feathers yourself! Jewish holidays aside, they'd also look just lovely in a baby's room if done in pastel colors, and in a child's room done in brights. Make a really big one and frame it for some gorgeous wall art! (Just thought of that, gotta try it, just wish i had an oblong frame........)

On Yom Kippur we liken ourselves to angels as much as possible, and feathers are certainly a great symbol for that, right? Tape a few feathers on your door, or anywhere, just use removable tape, and then mount those feathers to some thick cardboard, or even put them in a frame as a lovely decoration for the succah! Of course they'd also look great hanging from a hoop, dream catcher style, or strung as a garland, so make a bunch!

They really are so simple to make, so lets get started, shall we?

Recycle Magazine Pages And Make Artful Crafting Paper

 

Hey fellow packrats, I've got a great recycling craft idea for you, you know to help you unload some of those piles of old magazines! You can make some really artfully striped crafting paper using old magazine pages, and believe me it is so much fun you'll want to make a bunch, Roll up your recycled magazine page paper once you've completed a nice long strip, and save it for the future, Hmm, okay better yet use it to make something fun so you can make some more, and of course make a dent in that pile of magazines.

What can this fun recycled paper for you ask? Well, you've come to the right place as this happens to be recycling crafts central. Keep on reading for the how to, (can you guess how it is made? hint, no glue involved!) as well as a list of ideas for crafting with the paper.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

 

 

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, and hope all is well in the new year! Yes, dear readers, it is now a new year on the Jewish calendar, though the good news is that unlike the new year on the gregorian calendar, which is only one day, our Jewish new year, and the opportunity to make amends as well as to make resolutions starts with Rosh HaShana, continues with Yom Kippur, is extended until Hoshana Raba (the 7th day of Succot) and according to many, the gates of opportunity for all this spiritual work don't actually close tightly until the last day of Chanukah! One great big phew I'd say, and it is comforting to know that even if life throws you a curveball during this important period, not to worry, nothing is lost, just make up for it! And I think that is probably a good life lesson in general, right?

Speaking of making up for it, I still can't visit all of your blogs to grab features, so please be patient, and my apologies for that.......I'm going to change to another internet filter that will hopefully be more craft schooling sunday friendly!

And now, for the feature from last weeks party:

Love these boho upcycled jeans pillows from pillar box blue and this simple embroidery hoop wreath from lolly jane.

Sweeter than sweet kid's playroom via lolly jane, and look at the amazing similarities between these two photos, the second one being super cute upsherin (jewish haircut celebration for boys when they turn three years old) from beyond the balagon. Oh and just by the way, the word upsherin is yiddish, and here in Israel most of us call it a chalakeh. Almost forgot to explain that the items in that photo are a juice box tzitzit (four cornered garment) and cookie kippas!

Quick Postage Stamp Themed Birthday Card

Does anyone other than me actually sit down and draw simple birthday cards, you know with a permanent marker and colored card stock? As you can see, I do, and fortunately so, as how else would I make a cute birthday card from the heart in ten minutes or so, in a pinch? Fourteen years ago today I gave birth to a sweet baby boy, and so today as my husband rushed off to pick him up at school and head out of the country for their yearly Rosh HaShana men's get away (that we women are honestly thrilled about, truly) I of course had to send some birthday treats, and at the least a card!

Other years I have sent birthday decorations and all kinds of things, but now that he is a big whopping fourteen, I know he'd rather celebrate in a slightly more private and less creativejewishmom manner, as they will be staying with a slew of other men and boys who do not have wives/mothers that would ever in a million years dream of sending birthday decorations in the suitcase!

Rosh HaShana Basket Of Blessings Craft For Kids (Or Anyone!)

Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year is in just a few days, so now is the time to dedicate a few hours to making wonderful cards to wish our family, friends and neighbors a wonderful new year, filled with blessings. And since the standard card may produce a bit of a yawn from the crafters in your home, why not do something special and make a Rosh HaShana basket of blessings? It is like a card, only a much more unique experience, since the pieces are removed from the basket in order to read them......and then of course the basket can be displayed as a decoration for the holiday!

I held a little crafting session with some 4th grade boys from the neighborhood, which was such a pleasure, and this little basket of blessings was the result of two crafting sessions that were roughly 1.5 hours each.

If you are looking for a craft that could easily be done in just one session, take a look at my Rosh HaShana Fish cards, which are one of the elements in the basket, but are great as a stand alone craft as well.

Rosh HaShana Kid's Card Craft: A Stuffed Fish!

Rosh HaShana is Wednesday night, so there is no time like the present to make fun cards for the new year and to keep the kids busy with crafts while you prepare for the holiday! If you are not a mom, so you may have even more time for crafting, and this little craft is fun for adults too......your fish may just look a bit more grown up, or maybe less detailed....you decide!

The tradition of giving cards for Rosh HaShana, to wish others a sweet new year (for starters) is a wonderful one, though we can certainly think a bit outside the box and make cards that are not actually cards, but in this case little stuffed shapes! And if you really want to take this craft one step further, include some little loops of ribbon for hanging before stapling it all together, and then these Rosh HaShana cards can become sukkah decorations as well, yippee!

For a few more simple ideas, keep on reading!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

 

 

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Rosh HaShana starts on Wednesday night, and as you can imagine I am busier than busy, not so much preparing for the holiday as trying to accomplish some organizing before year's end! Last week's party was on the small side, but not complaints here as I still have not been able to adjust my internet filter such that I can actually visit everyone's blog, sigh. I'm changing to another filter this week which hopefully will better serve my needs, so in the mean time, my apologies to those of you whom I was not able to visit, and to those who I wanted to feature but on account of the filter the photos couldn't be dragged to my desktop in the right state.

The main thing is that we are all here together, and blessed with the time and ability to experience the joy of creativity! And now, here are the features from last week's party:

A fun fall pinata from hello nature blog, and a simply lovely fall chalkboard and styled wall from rain on a tin roof.

A lovely burlap and lace ruffled table runner from flamingo toes, and silver candlestick pumpkin stands from rain on a tin roof.

Rosh HaShana Apple, Pomegranite And Carrot Yarn Craft For All Ages

There is something about gluing yarn onto recycled cardboard shapes that is just so much fun, and with great results. So with Rosh Hashana just around the corner, time is of the essence, and this is one craft that is great for all ages, and teh results can then be hung in the succah as well. Okay, you may not want to hang a carrot in your succah, but apples and pomegranites certainly work for both Rosh HaShana and succot, and you can then add some grapes and olives and figs later if you so desire.

You very likely don't recognize this project, as I posted it a whole seven years ago, wow, so I thought I'd dig it up and show it to the world once again. Ah yes, and of course this project is perfect for those of us who have tons of little bits and bobs of yarn, and is great for all ages! I wish i had a spare hour or so to make some too......

Needlepoint Apple On Plastic Canvas

With Rosh HaShana in just a week, now might be a great time to take a few moments for yourself and make a little needlepoint apple on plastic canvas! The results are so very sweet, and of course you can use your little apple as a Jewish New Year's card, as a gift tag, a fridge magnet, or as part of a little wall hanging for the holiday, which is what I'm hoping to do. As a tween I used to design my own geometric needlepoint patterns, and so whipping up this little apple was a bit of a trip down memory lane, and I would love to do more........then again free form embroidery is really much more up my alley, as are a million other things, I'm sure you can relate!

That said it is always fun to try out new crafts on a small scale, so pull out some yarn scraps, a get yourself a very small piece of plastic canvas (as opposed to me who of course has a huge roll, sigh) and lets get started!