creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to craft schooling Sunday, Passover edition! Those who live outside Israel are still in the middle of the first part of the 7/8 day holiday, meaning there is a second seder on Saturday night, while those of us who live in Israel only make one seder, which is just fine with us! And that means that I can still go ahead and get this party started, assuming all the leavened products are no where to be seen. Which is also just fine with us as we love Passover and certainly never feel deprived what so ever. And seriously, it is only a week in any case! 

Speaking of week, last week's party was full of amazing inspiration, and now, here are the features, enjoy!

Wishing You A Wonderful Passover!

Dear Readers, Passover starts tomorrow (Friday) night, and so I'm just popping in to wish you a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate it, with whom ever you celebrate it, and where ever you celebrate it, if you celebrate it! That should cover everyone, right?

After all the intense preparations, at least in our world, we are sometimes so exhausted from the process that while we certainly feel as if we've been delivered from slavery, we may not spend enough time to truly reflect on what that means and how we can take this message and use it to enhance our lives today.

This year, for the first time my family and I are actually traveling to the Ukraine for Passover, where we will be celebrating with friends and visiting many important and holy Jewish sites. So while we didn't clean the house from top to bottom this year, I think we'll more than make up for that in another way with the mindfullness we'll be practicing during our adventures.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful and meaningful holiday!

Kitchen Scraps Gardening: Grow Your Own Beet Greens

Aren't these beet greens just gorgeous? I grew them myself, on my kitchen table, from scraps that would ordinarily be tossed....gotta love it! You can grow your own beet greens to make a lovely Spring centerpiece, or to actually eat, when they get a bit bigger that is. Either way, kitchen scrap gardening is so much fun and certainly a great activity to do with the kids.

Enjoy some beets, I recommend oven roasted for the best taste, and save the tops for this project that will have you smiling from ear to ear.......and this sure beats moving to someplace with an actual garden to satisfy that desire to grow your own food, right?

Drinking Straw Pyramids Passover Craft

Looking for a simple craft to add a creative touch to your home this Passover? Look no further, drinking straw pyramids are perfect and right on trend as well. Make them in lovely pastel colors, or get some metallic straws and make elegant versions that would look amazing on your Passover Seder table. Of course you can also use spray paint, I personally try to avoid that whenever possible.

Geometric shapes made with straws look amazing in general, and when you add the pyramid shape to the mix, well hello Passover! There are many many video tutorials out there for making geometric shapes with straws, and I just love the contemporary versions of Himmeli, which are Scandanavian mobiles originally made with real straw. In any case, start with the simple pyramid and take it from there!

Origami Pyramid Passover Centerpiece

Origami and geometric shapes are all the rage as the moment, so origami pyramids for your Passover table seem oh so perfect! Since the Passover seder recounts the story of Jewish slavery and redemption in Egypt these colorful origami pyramid reminders are so fitting— an interesting combination of solemn and cheerful! 

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, and so wonderful to have you here with me in this special little virtual place, special because of all the wonderful contributions made by so many of you! The holiday of Passover starts in less than a week, so now is a very very busy time for celebrating the holiday as the preparations are rigorous! Each and every year it as if the Jewish people are delivered from slavery once again, and without all that hard work to prepare for the holiday it sure wouldn't feel like freedom once the holiday begins. Of course everyone has their own take on this, this is just my personal outlook, and that said, gotta run!

Enjoy the features from last week's party and don't be shy to share what you've been up to!

The Fig Tree Awakens With Tiny Leaves And Fruit In Northern Israel

One sign that Spring has truly arrived is the tiny leaves and tiny figs that begin to appear on the sculptural bare branches of our native fig trees. The leaves are miniature versions of their larger selves, and just so very very sweet that I had to capture the magic on my camera. Enjoy the signs of Spring where ever you may be! And keep on reading to see the tree these leaves belong to!

Early Spring Is Alive With Blossoms in Northern Israel

Spring has arrived here in Northern Israel, and a little walk around town revealed so many flowering delights I just had to share them with you! Now if I can just find the time to take a nature walk to see what is blooming in the fields, more gorgeous flowers I'm quite sure. But with the packed pre-Passover schedule, I'm grateful to have at the least taken in the gorgeous wisteria and more.........

Simple Passover Craft: Napkin Rings For The Seder

With just one week left until Passover, time is of the essence, and so I'm here to share with you this oh so simple and yet totally adorable Passover craft to use at your Passover Seder, or during the week of Passover, you decide. In any case, make a ton of these ahead of time and you'll create smiles all around regardless of when you decide to use them.

I just love the clean modern look of black and white with light pink IKEA napkins and matching straws, and since this craft is something for adults or teens and tweens (little ones may or may not be able to use the necessary supplies with success, but give it a try!) the whole family can take a break from holiday preparations to do a little doodling!

Passover Craft: Make Your Own Patterned Paper

If you are looking for some simple Passover crafts right about now, good for you, there is still a whole week until the Passover holiday starts, which means more than enough time to make some quick crafts to enhance the holiday. For starters, how about getting some black paper and making some of this fun "eyes in the dark" patterned paper that refers to one of the Ten Plagues recounted in the Haggadah? Make a bunch of sheets in no time while you're taking a few minutes to relax, or give this task to some medium sized kids and you'll be off to a great start.

I've already used the  paper seen here for a fun craft, and I have more suggestions for you as well. Ready to get started? Full steam ahead......