creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, and thanks so much for joining me here!  We have been having tons and tons of rain, and a tragedy in the Southern Israel with 10 teenagers in an army preparation outing caught in a flash flood in a normally dry river bank. Nine beautiful girls and one boy, just before army age, 18, ......my heart goes out to their families, most of whom buried their beloved on Friday. Be creative, enjoy nature, but always practice caution, sigh.

We are in the period called "The Omer" right now, which is both a time of mourning and a time of self refinement in preparation for the holiday of Shavuous, On Wednesday night there is a respite from the mourning to celebrate the holiday of L'ag B'Omer, which is also the day on which Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai left this world. Not exactly sure of the date, but lets say more than 1,000 years ago!

Hundreds of thousands of people come, from all over the world to be at Rebbi Shimon's gravesite on Lag B'Omer, and it is an event unlike any other, which requires lots of planning, security and patience for those attending! We of course will be attending, as we wouldn't miss it! Know anybody else that can attract more than half a million people to his grave, let alone a thousand plus years later? Truly amazing!

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

Reb Nosson's Gravesite In Breslov, Ukraine

 

During our Passover trip to the Ukraine, we had the opportunity to the gravesite of the very great Reb Nosson, the student of Rebbi Nachman of Breslev. This was my second trip to this special location, and while this time winter still had its grasp on the area, the beauty and peaceful countryside location was just as lovely as I remembered. You can see my recent posts showing the Old Cemetary In Bratslav, The Soliterman Family Mill In Bratslav, and Mass Holocaust Gravesites In Bratslav, to get an even better look at our visit.

The Ukraine is a very interesting country, with lots of rich (and sad) Jewish history, and while there is prosperity in cities like Kiev, the countryside often looks as though time has just stopped.The small city of Bratslav is one of those places, sparse and empty, which makes the location that much interesting, and while it is a 2.5 hour drive from Uman, and a 4 hour plus drive from Kiev, it is well worth the drive. Just be prepared for tons and tons of potholes in the road, which slows down the journey.

Tp quote Wikipedia: "Rev Nosson of Breslov (January 22, 1780 – December 20, 1844), whose name was Nosson Sternhartz, was the chief disciple and scribe of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, founder of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty. Reb Nosson is credited with preserving, promoting and expanding the Breslov movement after the Rebbe's death. Rebbe Nachman himself said, "Were it not for Reb Nosson, not a page of my writings would have remained."

For more information about Reb Nosson, you can refer to this post from Wikipedia. And now, won't you join me as we look around a bit?

Brush Lettering With Crayola Marker Paint Drips Background

Thanks to my teenage daughter's love of brush lettering and faux watercolor backgrounds, I have yet another great idea to share with you! I will admit, this piece is actually the back of the brush lettering birthday card I shared with you yesterday, and I thought it was just too lovely not to get its own post. While this faux watercolor paint drips background is the back of a card, you can do this as a stand alone piece as well......so many fun ways to go! So grab those markers, familiarize yourself with either brush calligraphy (using a brush marker) or fauxligraphy and lets put that creativity to great use!

Brush Lettering With Faux Watercolor Background Birthday Card

 

It is true, here at CJM headquarters the little ones are now teens and tweens, so not a lot of kiddy crafts going on, but fortunately my daughter is picking up the slack with her creative endeavors. She just loves brush lettering and especially creating faux watercolor backgrounds for her lettering, which I've shared several times in the past. Today I photographed this birthday card before we put it in the mail, and not only is it great, it also goes along with all my orange/red fire themed crafts for the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, coming up next week! Ah yes, and this card is the perfect partner to my brush lettering practice sheets wrapping paper, really truly.

So dear readers, whether you are looking for a fun way to add a colorful background to your brush lettering, or to make some abstract watercolor art with the use of just crayola markers, you are in the right place! I was even thinking that something like this could be great for a little Lag B'Omer sign, right? Okay, lets get to it!

How To Make A Quilled Paper Bonfire

Call it a quilled paper campfire, or call it a quilled paper bonfire, either way it is a fun craft for all ages and requires only very simple supplies. The wonderful Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer is coming up on the night of May 2nd, so now is the time to start thinking about some simple crafts to celebrate. The bonfire is one of the major symbols of the holiday (and kids in my neighborhood are now hoarding wood of all kinds to contribute to bonfires around town) and as it turns out quilling with orange and yellow paper is a great way to depict fire! So whether you will be celebrating Lag B'Omer or are looking for an artful summer craft, this quilled paper campfire or bonfire is perfect.

Ready to get rolling? Let's do it.......

Rope Granny Squares Using Brightly Colored Clothesline

I love crocheting, and especially using the crochet technique to crochet with recycled materials and non-traditional materials. Recently I spotted this bright clothesline at the dollar store, and just had to buy some to see what would happen if I tried to crochet with it. It turns out to be a bit difficult to crochet with synthetic rope as it has no give and is on the slippery side, but I managed to use up my purchase by making these bright orange granny squares.

Now the question is, how shall I use them? They are waterproof, so could be used to make a garden or patio garland, or maybe something decorative for my son's room. Hmmmmm, they are too thick to use as coasters, but joined together they could make a mat of some sort. Maybe a trivet to put under a plant......? Any ideas?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks for joining me here! I'll admit my head and heart are still very much in the Ukraine, despite having returned a week and a half ago, but life marches on and with Spring in full gear and a bar mitzvah and 2 Jewish hoildays coming soon, well there is not time to sit around day dreaming. Okay, I can go over photos and edit them to share with you, which I will continue to do over the next few weeks. So that is a great way to keep the vacation energy going for a bit!

Spring is a time of rejuvenation, and the perfect energy for crafting and taking life outdoors, so do make the most of your precious time and don't forget to enjoy this wonderful season! And now speaking of wonderful, here are the features from last week's party.....

The Old Jewish Cemetary In Bratslav, Ukraine

On our recent Passover trip to the Ukraine we had the great privilege of visiting some very special gravesites of spiritual leaders who made great contributions to Judaism two hundred years ago plus or minus. Interestingly enough I had the same very distinctive "coming home" feeling I had 18 years ago (on my last visit) at several places, one of which was the old Jewish cemetery in Bratslav. Now you may find it strange that I had such feelings in a cemetery, but according to Jewish tradition the cemetery is called a "Bais HaChaim", house of the living, meaning that once souls have departed from this world they are still very much alive, just in a different way. So, while the world in general considers cemeterys to be spooky, a Jewish cemetery filled with holy amazing folks, is anything but that.

Come take a look, don't worry, I'm right there with you......and the view is spectacular!

Large Quilled Leaves Using A Quilling Peg Board

Looking for a large quilled leaf to add to your quilling project? This one is roughly 3" long, and its skeletal shape makes it great for pairing with more dense quilled elements. This week I have been experimenting with some quilled leaf shapes, some which I've made using tutorials from others, and this one which I made up myself. Now, I can't say I love it as much as the quilled leaf sprigs I shared yesterday, but this leaf is much larger and could certainly represent leaves from many kinds of plants, I'm thinking roses, or even thistles.

Using my simple instructions, you can also come up with some leaves to call your own. Lets get quilling shall we?

Quilled Leaf Sprigs Are So Lovely You Can't Stop

Shavuos, the holiday of greenery is coming in another month, so why not start quilling some lovely leaves? Paper quilling isn't one of those crafts that you can whip up quickly, but it is oh so lovely, and can be done in spare moments just about anywhere, so give it a try! These little quilled leaf sprigs look so fabulous that I just couldn't stop! And since I have the excuse of recovering from our recent travels, well, I just kept making more and more.

I have seen that many quillers make large quantities of quilling elements that they keep in nice little divided boxes, so truthfully one could start making with no real plan. For me it is the making that satisfies that little voice,  and I can always come up with a plan later on, right? That would in any case be the more creative approach, so if you follow my example you've got my seal of approval.

Ready to get quilling?